Chapter 2
It was a three-month project out of town. I kept putting off giving them an answer. Jonah hated long-distance relationships, and he never liked it when I focused on things he couldn't keep an eye on.
Back then, I was thinking that after our birthday trip, we'd finally settle on a wedding date, and I'd take my time talking it through with him.
Now, there was nothing left to discuss.
I sent an email to the project manager. [Mr. Potts, I'll take the project. I can be there as early as the day after tomorrow.]
The fifth thing on my list: I booked a moving company.
By the time I finished everything, it was just past eleven.
I pulled the photo album out of my bag.
The first page was from our college graduation day. Jonah was wearing a white shirt, standing by the track, holding the bottle of water I'd bought for him.
The second page was from the year his business crashed. He was in the hospital, hooked up to an IV, and I was right there beside him, working on my laptop to help him fix his plan.
Later on, there was a photo from the night his company signed its first big client. He held me close and promised, "I'll never let you go through hardship again."
I flipped through the pages one by one.
Every page was real.
When I got to the last page, I stopped.
That line was something I wrote last night. [Let's get married when we get back from our birthday trip.]
I closed the album and tossed it into the trash.
A few minutes later, I bent down and picked it up again.
It wasn't that I couldn't let Jonah go, but I couldn't bring myself to toss five years of my life into the trash like they meant nothing.
At midnight, my phone lit up again.
Jonah messaged me. [Alina's been crying for a while. Is that what you wanted?]
I stared at his message, then sent him a screenshot of the moving company booking.
The note said: [Picking up personal items in three days.]
He called right away.
I didn't pick up.
After the call ended, his messages kept popping up one after another.
[What's that supposed to mean?]
[Are you seriously doing this over one dinner?]
[Can you stop making a big deal out of this?]
I sent one reply: [I'll come by the day after tomorrow to pick up my documents and laptop. If you're not around, I'll have the moving company contact the property management.]
Once I'd sent it, I switched off my phone.
*****
Meanwhile, Jonah sat on the living room couch, phone in hand. Alina settled in next to him, cradling a mug of hot water.
"Jonah, maybe you should go comfort Wendy. She's really mad," Alina said quietly.
Jonah set his phone down on the coffee table.
He said, "She always gets like this. She'll be fine in a couple of days."
Alina lowered her head. "Maybe I shouldn't have come. Does Wendy not like me?"
Jonah's voice softened. "It's not your fault. She's too sensitive."
Alina looked up at him. "But it's still her birthday."
Jonah was quiet for a moment. He then said, "I'll make it up to her."
With that, he grabbed his car keys and headed for the door.
Alina followed after him and asked, "Are you going to see Wendy?"
Jonah paused with his hand on the doorknob.
After a few seconds, he put the keys back in the cabinet.
"Forget it. She's still pissed," he said.
*****
Back at the hotel, I pulled the curtains shut and set my alarm for the next morning. I still had to turn in the project files tomorrow.
This relationship had already wasted my birthday. I wasn't about to let it waste another morning.
On the third day, at nine in the morning, the moving company showed up right on time.
When I walked in with the two movers, Jonah was standing in the living room. He'd changed his clothes, but his cuffs were still a mess, and there was a half-finished cup of coffee on the table.
Alina was there, too.
She was standing by the dining table, holding a thermos.
"Wendy, I didn't know you were coming today," Alina said.
I didn't answer her and turned to the movers. "Take everything from the wardrobe on the left in the master bedroom, and the desk by the window in the study. Leave the rest."
Jonah stepped in front of me and asked, "Wendy, you're really going through with this?"
I sidestepped him and headed straight for the drawer to grab my document bag.
"Yeah, I'm serious."
"Is this really because of what happened that day?"
I carefully packed my ID, passport, and bank cards into the bag, one by one.
"It's not just about that day," I said.
"Then what is it about?" Jonah pressed.
I zipped up the document bag. "Because you still think it was just that one day."
Jonah didn't say a word.
I went into the study to pack up my laptop and notebooks.
Those notebooks held everything from his company's early client lists, meeting notes, contracts, and all the plans and drafts I helped him put together. I'd labeled each cover and lined them up by year.
Jonah stood in the doorway, watching as I packed them into the box.
"Those are company files," Jonah said.
"They're my work notebooks," I shot back.
"What am I supposed to do if you take them?"
I paused and looked at him. "Jonah, I'm not your employee, and I'm not your assistant."
Jonah's brow twitched. "That's not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?" I shot back.
Jonah fell silent again.
Alina walked in, trying to ease the tension. She picked up a photo frame from the desk.
"Wendy, you two used to be so close," Alina said softly.
The frame held a photo of Jonah and me from our graduation.
The next second, the frame slipped from her hands and hit the floor, glass shattering everywhere.
Alina's hand flew to her mouth.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to," Alina blurted out, her voice trembling.
Jonah's first instinct was to steady her hand.
"Did you get cut?" he asked.
Alina shook her head, tears starting to fall. "No. I'm just scared."
I stared at the photo, but I didn't even bend down to pick it up.
The movers stood by, unsure if they should do anything.
"Leave it be, keep packing," I said.
Jonah turned to look at me. "Wendy, it's a photo. Do you really have to give me that look?"