Chapter 4

ELEANOR’S POV

I saw the notices already at the foot of my door when I reached my apartment.

Three of them, all white envelopes with bold red stamps across the front. I picked them up and tore the first one open while still standing in the hallway.

The amount stared back at me.

I opened the second. It was the same number, same due date and the same reminder of exactly what Ian had left me with.

I unlocked the door, walked inside, and sat on the edge of my bed. The envelopes stayed in my hand for a long moment before I dropped them on the mattress beside me.

I could still hear his voice in my head the day he convinced me to borrow that money. Now I was the only one responsible for paying it back.

I stood there feeling the words hit harder than anything else he had ever said. After everything I sacrificed, that was what he called me.

I put the loan notices down on the bed and rubbed my face with both hands.

My phone rang. It was Hailey calling.

I almost ignored it, but I picked up anyway.

“Hey,” I said.

“How are you?” she asked immediately. “And don’t say fine.”

“I’m okay.”

“Eleanor.”

“I just got home.”

“Have you eaten? Have you slept? Talk to me.”

I stayed quiet for a few seconds.

“Ian left me with the debt,” I said finally. “The full loan. He spent all of it. I’m the one who has to pay it back.”

Hailey let out a long breath. “I warned you about him, more than once. You know this Eleanor.”

“I know.”

“I told you he was using you.”

“I know, Hailey. And I should have listened.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

“I can’t change what happened. I have to repay it myself. That’s the only option left for me.”

She was quiet for a moment. “Then the best thing you can do is find a better paying job, something that actually matches what you’re worth.”

“I know.”

“Pierce Enterprises is hiring,” she said. “I saw the posting this morning. They’re looking for someone in operations and the pay is good.”

I sat up straighter. “Pierce Enterprises?”

“Yes. Check it, the requirements look like something you already have.”

I put her on speaker and opened my laptop. I found the listing in less than a minute and read through all the lines.

I met the requirements, literally all of them.

For the first time since the breakup, I wasn’t thinking about what Ian needed or what he promised or how to fix him. I was thinking about what I needed.

A job that paid enough was a way to handle the debt and a way to stand on my own again.

“I’m going to apply,” I told Hailey.

“Good. Do it now before you talk yourself out of it.”

I filled out the application carefully, looking through every field and detail. When I reached the submit button I stared at it for a second, then pressed it.

“It’s done,” I said.

“I’m proud of you,” Hailey replied. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.”

We hung up.

I looked at the loan notices still sitting on the bed. The red stamps, the amount and due dates.

Ian may have ruined the plans I had, but he was not going to ruin the rest of my life.

I was going to start over.