Chapter 1
Eugene Wright yet again made up some work excuse and cut our dinner short.
I didn't bother stopping him, just quietly finished my own food.
That night, I saw his childhood friend Emily Mason post on Instagram a shot of Eugene rolling up his sleeves and serving food at her table.
She captioned it: [Thanks, Eugene, for changing my lightbulb and cooking for me. No matter when I need you, you always show up. That's why I feel so secure.]
This time, I didn't call him to yell or make a scene.
After that, whenever he ditched me for Emily, I just played along and said "sure," acting like I was totally fine with it.
Later, Emily even sent me a photo of her and Eugene sharing a Pocky stick in a game, and I didn't react at all.
He finally panicked, his eyes were bloodshot, anxious and aggrieved. Eugene said, "Why aren't you mad?"
When Eugene got the call, he'd only had a couple bites of his steak.
"Something came up at work. I need to go handle it," he said.
"Sure, go ahead," I replied.
I cut a small piece of steak and put it in my mouth. It was tender and juicy. I was satisfied.
Eugene didn't expect me to be so chill. He frowned, a little thrown off. "I'll bring you something when I get back," he said.
With that, he hurried off.
I just quietly finished my own food.
I felt a bit disappointed. I didn't think our last anniversary would end this way.
After I got home, I saw Emily's Instagram post on my phone.
The photo showed Eugene, sleeves rolled up, serving food at her table.
She captioned it: [Thanks, Eugene, for changing my lightbulb and cooking for me. No matter when I need you, you always show up. That's why I feel so secure.]
I turned off my phone and went to bed.
In the middle of the night, I heard the door code being entered. Half-awake, I realized it was Eugene and soon drifted back to sleep.
Before I fully fell asleep again, I had the sense someone was standing by my bed, watching me for a while.
The next morning, after washing up, I made breakfast and set it on the table. Eugene walked into the dining room.
Eugene glanced at the sandwich and orange juice, hesitated, then asked, "Did you not make breakfast for me?"
"Yeah, I forgot. Just order delivery or grab something on your way," I said.
I finished my breakfast in a few quick bites, got ready for work, and glanced up to see Eugene's face cloud over.
"I know you're pissed I lied to you yesterday, but you used to freak out so much, I honestly didn't know what to do..." Eugene muttered.
"I'm not mad," I replied.
"Emily's living alone, she can't even change a lightbulb. I just couldn't leave her hanging..." Eugene tried to explain.
"Seriously, I'm not mad," I said.
"Can you stop overreacting? I've told you a million times, Emily's like a little sister to me. Why can't you get that?" Eugene said.
"I'm really not mad, okay?" I shot back.
I couldn't help raising my voice, but when I saw the shock on his face, I eased up. "Look, I get it, but I have to get to work. We can talk about this later."
I didn't have time to deal with Eugene's feelings, so I just headed out the door to work.
At work, my boss called me into his office to talk about the relocation again.
"Gracie, this is a really great chance. The place is safe, and the environment's nice. Just think about it again, okay?" he said.
He'd been trying to talk me into it for a long time, listing off the salary, benefits, and career prospects. But I kept putting it off because of my thing with Eugene.
But now, I looked up and saw my boss giving me that 'why aren't you grabbing this' look.
"I've thought it through, Mr. Wilkinson. I'll go," I said.
Josh Wilkinson looked genuinely happy, and finally living up to his expectations felt like a huge weight off my chest.
After work, I grabbed dinner out, and to my surprise, Eugene was already home when I got back.
Honestly, that was a shock.
"You're home late," he said, looking totally unfazed as he handed me a box. "Anniversary present."
I let out a surprised "oh" and took it, feeling a bit guilty. "Thanks. I totally forgot to get you a gift. Promise I'll get you something later, alright?"
His expression turned even gloomier.
"Gracie, can you just chill and hear me out for a sec?" Eugene said.
"I've told you before. Emily and I grew up together. She's out here all by herself. It's tough for her, and I promised her folks I'd keep an eye on her," he went on.
I could tell he was mad, but honestly, I was still kind of confused. "Hey, don't get all worked up. I know, I understand."
"Just say what you want, okay? Can you not do this?" Eugene snapped, even more frustrated. "How many times do I have to tell you? Emily is like a little sister to me. What will it take for you to believe that?"