Chapter 3
It was four in the morning.
I walked out of the gates of Peyton Residence 108, carrying that small black suitcase.
The autumn wind in Metropolis was biting, but even as I pulled my coat tighter around me, I felt warmth flooding through my body.
I ordered a ride and went straight to Metropolis International Airport.
My destination was Alzsee.
Joey, Lucas's runaway girlfriend, and also my college roommate and best friend.
She took off to Alzsee about two weeks ago and has been flooding her social media with snowy shots of the Alps ever since, driving me crazy with envy.
Security check, waiting at the gate, boarding the plane.
Everything went so smoothly, it almost felt unreal.
As the plane broke through the clouds and the first rays of morning light spilled in, I slipped on my eye mask and finally let myself fall into a deep sleep.
For the first time in five years, I actually slept soundly. No more being constantly on edge, waiting for my phone to ring, no more worrying about Charles suddenly calling me in.
Thirteen hours later.
The flight landed smoothly at Alzsee Kloten Airport.
The air here was crisp and fresh, carrying the clean scent of the snow-covered Alps. I pulled my cashmere coat tighter around me and made my way toward the exit, dragging my suitcase behind me.
Joey was waiting at the arrivals gate, rocking an eye-catching red puffer jacket and waving like a maniac.
"Sophia! Over here!" she shouted.
She dashed over and pulled me into a massive bear hug.
"Damn, you really ditched that living nightmare Charles? That's freaking awesome!" Joey's eyes sparkled with excitement.
I smiled and slipped the new Alpereichian local SIM card into my backup phone.
"Dumped? Nah, the contract ended, so we just went our separate ways, that's all," I replied.
"Come on, let your big sis treat you to some pizza, time to celebrate us finally breaking free!" Joey grabbed my hand and dragged me out.
Settling into the passenger seat of Joey's rented Land Rover, I connected to the car's Wi-Fi.
My backup phone automatically logged into WhatsApp.
As soon as I logged in, my phone started vibrating like crazy.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz, "
The nonstop buzzing was almost deafening in the cramped car.
Joey jumped, jerking the wheel. "Damn, what's going on? Is your phone about to explode or something?"
I scowled and tapped open WhatsApp.
The screen lagged for a solid three seconds before blasting me with a wall of unread messages.
All of them were from the same person.
Charles.
The unread messages counter was glowing red: 99+.
I opened the chat.
The messages started rolling in two hours after I sent that breakup text.
6 in the morning.
Charles texted: [Sophia, what do you mean by this?]
He followed up: [I haven't approved your resignation. Come back to the office immediately.]
8:00 AM.
Charles texted again: [Where are you? Security at Peyton Residence said you left with a suitcase?]
He added: [There's a limit to this attitude. I can explain about Melissa.]
He demanded: [Answer your phone!]
12:00 PM.
Charles texted: [Getting bold, huh? Turning off your phone now?]
He followed up: [You really think you can run away? All your connections are back home. Where do you think you can go?]
3:00 PM.
His tone shifted, every word laced with a harsh, almost suffocating edge.
Charles threatened: [You'd better show up in front of me right now, or you'll have to deal with consequences you can't even imagine.]
He added: [Going our separate ways? In your dreams.]
He demanded: [So what did these five years mean to you? What was I to you, huh?]
8:00 PM.
Charles wrote: [I checked the flights, you really went to Alzsee.]
He followed up: [Are you so desperate to get away from me that you don't even care about your own life? There's a blizzard over there, flights are getting canceled left and right, do you even realize that?]
He ended with: [Text me back.]