Chapter 3
I didn't raise my voice. "Alex, go ahead and record this call. The buyers showed up on time, but they weren't allowed to see the place. Make a note of it."
David's jaw tightened.
After a few seconds, he stepped aside.
On the screen, the living room was even more chaotic than yesterday.
On the coffee table sat Sophie's medicine, a water glass, and a half-eaten bowl of soup. A woman's cardigan was draped over the arm of the sofa. The master bedroom door was shut, and you could faintly hear coughing coming from behind it.
The buyers didn't even bother with the master bedroom. They checked out the living room and kitchen, then left.
Before hanging up, Alex said quietly, "Ms. York, I don't think this group is interested."
I watched as the screen went black, then reopened the listing dashboard.
The views were climbing.
More people were bookmarking it too.
David probably thought that if he blocked the door once, I would give up.
I pushed tomorrow's house showing back by half an hour and, while I was at it, texted the cleaning lady to come over and tidy up.
At 8 pm, David finally called me.
This time, he didn't snap.
He sounded exhausted. "Emily, come home. Let's talk face-to-face."
I stared at the stack of paperwork spread out across the hotel desk.
The property records, listing agreement, house showing logs, and cleaning service confirmation were all lined up in perfect order.
I asked, "Is she gone?"
The line went quiet.
After a few seconds, David said, "Her fever's down tonight. She'll be gone tomorrow."
I hung up.
My phone lit up again almost right away.
This time, I didn't even bother to look.
On the third morning, the cleaning lady called me up, saying no one was home to let her in.
I shot David a message, [Open the door in 10 minutes. The cleaning fee's coming out of your allowance.]
David replied right away, [Do you really have to do this?]
I didn't reply.
10 minutes later, the cleaning lady sent me a photo. The door was open, and David was standing in the living room, looking pretty upset.
In the corner of the shot, I could see Sophie's silver suitcase. It had been moved from the master bedroom door to the guest room.
She still hadn't left.
I saved the photo and sent it to Alex. "The house can be shown this afternoon. After the cleaning, take some new photos, and make sure there are no personal items in the master bedroom."
At noon, I stopped by the office.
My colleague, Rachel Moore, spotted me in a suit, looking exhausted with bags under my eyes, and dropped a coffee on my desk.
"Your training ended early, so why do you look like you pulled three all-nighters in a row?" she teased.
I fired up my laptop. "Dealing with some family stuff."
Rachel didn't ask any more questions. She handed me the meeting materials. "Client review at 3 pm. Can you handle it?"
I nodded.
Sometimes, that was the best thing about work. No one cared who had been crashing in your master bedroom.
Whether the proposal got submitted, whether the blueprints were flawless, or whether the budget was under control, those things were far more straightforward than all the messy feelings.
After the client review, I got a new set of photos from Alex.
The cleaning lady had tidied up the living room and kitchen, swapped out the bedding in the master bedroom, and pulled the curtains wide open so sunlight flooded the floor.
The room finally looked familiar again, but in the photos, it felt weirdly empty, like someone scrubbed out every bit of real life.
Alex sent another message, [Ms. York, the platform has approved the listing. It'll be fully visible tonight.]
I replied, [List it at the price we confirmed yesterday.]
Three minutes later, David called me.
He had obviously seen the listing link.
"You put our house on the front page of the real estate site?" David said, his voice tight with disbelief.
I pulled my car into the underground garage and didn't get out right away.
"The agent paid for the featured spot," I said.
"Take it down," David demanded.
"The contract's already signed," I replied.
I heard the sound of a chair scraping across the floor on the other end.
David's voice was low and tense. "When you signed that contract, did you even think about me? We've been living here for three years.
"You left from here on our wedding day. My parents, your coworkers, my friends, everyone knows this place is our home."
I stared at the concrete wall in front of my windshield. "When you let Sophie stay in the master bedroom, everyone knew she was your ex."
He didn't reply right away.
Sophie's voice came through, soft and hesitant. "Should I leave today?"
It sounded like David covered the phone for a second, and his voice got muffled.
When he spoke again, his tone was even harder. "You're using the house to make me give in."
I pushed open the car door and got out. "I'm coming back tonight to grab my stuff."
He replied right away, "I'll be here waiting for you."
When I got home, Sophie was sitting on the living room couch.
She'd put on some light makeup today, but her face was still pale. She wore a beige knit sweater, her suitcase parked by her feet.
David was sitting next to her, but there was a deliberate gap between them.
That gap was obviously on purpose.
Like they wanted to make sure I saw it.
I didn't even bother to take off my shoes. I walked straight into the guest room to grab my clothes.
My usual work outfits were still hanging in the closet. In the nightstand drawer was my jewelry box, and at the very bottom, tucked away, was the spare wedding ring box.
After we got married, I hardly wore my ring anymore. Sketching designs, visiting job sites, taking measurements, the ring kept getting scratched and dinged up. David always teased me about it, saying I barely looked married.
Looking back now, it actually made things easier.
I slipped the jewelry box into my bag.
David followed me to the guest room doorway. "What are you doing with all that?"
"I'm bringing it to the hotel," I replied.
"How long are you staying at the hotel?" he asked.
I folded my clothes neatly. "There'll be people coming to see the place until it's sold. It's not really convenient for you guys to stay here."