Chapter 3
The next day was the weekend.
When I woke up, Charles was already gone.
It was Violet's social media that told me where he'd gone.
There were so many designer gifts, she couldn't even fit them all into one post.
She typed out two lines, flaunting her happiness for everyone to see.
[I shamelessly ask you for money, for love, for your time, for everything.]
[And you just grin, give me everything I want, and say I'm the cutest thing ever.]
Seeing those words, my heart couldn't help but tremble a little.
Charles didn't tell me I was cute anymore.
Then, all those sweet words, he said them to her.
I packed up all my things.
Ten years' worth of belongings, crammed into two oversized suitcases.
A lot of them were gifts from him.
Stuff I once treated like priceless treasures; then, as I looked at them, all I felt was a wave of sadness.
That evening, I got a birthday dinner invite from Violet.
She said, "I've invited everyone from the department. Rachel, you should come too!"
Charles used to swing by and pick me up from work now and then.
I always hoped I'd get the chance to introduce him to my coworkers.
But he always said he was worn out from work.
He didn't want to bother with any more meaningless social stuff.
He gave her everything he never gave me.
I opened the moving app.
The earliest I could get a mover was 10 PM.
So I agreed to go to the birthday dinner.
I decided that this would be the last time I ever saw Charles.