Chapter 2
I looked at Millie closely. Her expression didn't change, and her voice stayed steady.
She was flawless, not a single crack in her act.
I smiled and walked up to her.
"Millie," I called.
She stopped in her tracks and turned to look at me.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Where's my gift?"
"What gift?"
She totally forgot.
"The ring," I said.
She froze, and the first thing she did was glance at Caleb.
I smiled again.
"The elevator's here!" Caleb called out.
Millie mumbled a response, grabbed Caleb, and rushed off in a panic, disappearing from my sight.
Five years ago, I asked her when she'd finally say yes to marrying me.
She threw herself into my arms, her eyes shining with determination.
She said, "On the day our company goes public, will you pop the question? I want to be the happiest woman in the world."
Millie said she would prepare the ring. But she never told me a date, and the ring never showed up either.
I made a call. "I'm agreeing to attend that banquet you mentioned."
The guy on the other end practically shouted, "I've been begging you to step back into the game for three years. You finally said yes!"
Then, as if something just occurred to him, he suddenly asked, "But weren't you supposed to marry Millie this year?"
I glanced around my empty house and shook my head. "That's not happening."
*****
When I woke up the next morning, Millie was already gone to work.
She'd only spent one night here, but her presence lingered everywhere.
Her clothes from last night were still in the bathroom.
Her half-finished coffee cup was sitting on the dining table.
The dressing table was littered with her makeup remover wipes.
I took a quick look around, but instead of cleaning up myself, I called a cleaning lady.
The cleaning lady was super efficient. She got everything done in under thirty minutes and even made me some breakfast.
"Sir, you're really good to your wife," the cleaning lady said.
"She's not my wife," I replied.
"What?" She paused, testing the waters, and asked, "So, she's a female friend?"
I replied, "Yeah. Drop by around this time for the next five days, and I'll pay you for a full day's work each time."
The cleaning lady grinned from ear to ear. "Sure thing."
After she left, I started packing my suitcase.
Hepta, my goofy dog, carried his food bowl over and tossed it right into my suitcase.
He stuck out his tongue and flashed a silly grin.
Hepta barked, and I gave his head a good rub.
"Alright, I'll take you with me," I said.
Hepta was six years old. Millie gave him to me the year I lost my father.
She told me that if she were ever gone, Hepta would be there to keep me company.
Hepta was family. Millie told a lot of lies, but this was the one thing she was always honest about.
Because in the end, Hepta was the only one who never left my side. She was the only one I wanted to take with me.
At six in the evening, my phone rang.
It was Millie.
"Don't bother making dinner for me. I've got plans," she said.
I glanced at the takeout on the table and replied casually, "Okay."
She added, "Oh, and today's your mom's birthday. Don't forget to call her."
I stopped chewing. "When did you two start getting along so well?"
"That's not important. In business, there are no permanent enemies. Be good, just do it for me, okay?" Millie said.
Before I could say no, she hung up.
She was convinced I'd let go of my resentment toward my mother because I loved her.
Back then, I loved Millie.
But now, I didn't love her anymore.
I put my phone down and kept chewing on the steak.
I didn't pay any mind to what Millie said.
Ten minutes later, my phone lit up again.
This time, it was Caleb. He shot over a video, barely a minute long.
It was a Stanton family gathering, and Millie was right there.
In the clip, Millie was sitting beside Caleb, peeling shrimp.
After she pulled out the last shrimp vein, she gently placed the shrimp in Caleb's bowl.
She was so thoughtful and gentle, but she never did anything like that for me.
My mom joked, "Girls can't stay home forever. Looks like we're about to have a wedding in the family soon."
Millie smiled and didn't say a word to refute it.
Then Caleb sent me a short message: [You can't make her happy.]
I smiled, typing out each word with deliberate care. [Yeah, so I'm giving her to you. Do you want her?]
Caleb: [Yes.]
I turned off my phone and started devouring my food, tears streaming down as I swallowed each bite.
My stomach was full, but my heart felt hollow, like there was a huge emptiness inside me.
Hepta gave a couple of quiet barks, then curled up at my feet, just silently staying by my side.
At eleven, Millie came home, carrying a takeout box.
Hepta was circling around her feet, but Millie nudged him aside with her foot.
Hepta whimpered and hid in my arms.
I pulled Hepta into my arms, then slowly glanced at the takeout box in her hand.
"Late-night snack?" I asked.
She set the takeout box down on the dining table and said, "It's pretty good. I made a special effort to bring this for you."
"I'm not hungry," I replied.
She frowned, her tone harsh, making it clear she wasn't taking no for an answer. "I made a special effort to bring this for you. Come over and eat some."
She claimed the leftovers were specially for me.
I didn't say anything.
Millie walked over, grabbed my phone, and towered over me.
"Brandon, what's wrong? If you've got something to say, spit it out. I can't stand it when you get like this," she said.
"Like what?" I asked.
"You're moping around like the whole world owes you something," she said.