Chapter 3 · The Woman Who Walked Away

The next morning, my mom sent me her train number.

She wouldn't let me pick her up. She said she'd be here at 4 PM.

David got the reminder before I did, since we shared calendars.

All these years, he could see everything—my family calendar, my location, even my emergency contacts.

He made sure the pickup spot was right by the exit, and set up a private car to get her. "Her back's been acting up, so she shouldn't have to walk too much."

David passed me the confirmation info. "I had the guest room mattress replaced, too. You two can stay here for a few days and take it easy. We'll talk when things have settled down."

I stared at the itinerary, my heart aching.

Every time my mom came to visit, David would always check the weather for her ahead of time.

She'd complain about him being too fussy, but once she got home, she'd always ask me, "When is David finally going to settle down with you?"

I'd been covering for him for seven years.

This time, he still remembered my mom's bad back, but he never once thought about what he should call himself in front of her.

"My mom won't be staying here," I said.

"Then I'll book her a hotel," David replied.

"She's taking me back home."

David looked up. "Claire, it's okay if you go home for a bit. But you really shouldn't be alone right now."

He slid his phone over to me. "People from last night's party are already gossiping. Joanna left the group chat. She's worried some of the parents might be connected to people in there."

On the screen, our group chat was filled with random questions.

Some people were asking what the voice message meant, others were digging into who Joanna's husband really was, and a few even DM'd me, asking if I was the mistress.

"I'll handle things with Joanna," David said. "Just tell everyone last night was a joke, and that voice wasn't mine."

I stared at his calm face. "You want me to lie for you?"

"Just say something, so they'll stop speculating."

"They're gossiping about your marriage, but it's my name that's getting dragged through the mud."

"They trust you."

David paused, his voice softer. "The kid's in school, and the parent circle is tiny. If this gets out, it won't just affect us adults."

When I graduated, there were rumors going around that I'd hooked up with my professor just to secure a spot at the university.

David dropped everything and rushed across the city that night, going with me to personally confront every single person involved.

He told me, "Don't let anyone ruin your name just because it's easier to stay quiet."

Now, he wanted to use the trust I'd built up over the years to keep his marriage spotless.

"I'm not saying anything," I said.

His eyes darkened. "Joanna's willing to take the kid and stay with her parents for a while. I'll make sure she never shows up in front of you again."

No divorce, no truth. Just burying his other life even deeper.

"David, you're not dealing with her. You're just trying to cover up the fact that I saw her," I said.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Claire, you used to know your boundaries."

"I didn't know I was just making way for your wife and kid."

He reached out to touch me, but I stepped back.

His hand hung in the air, and for once, I saw a flicker of panic cross his face.

"Once this is over, we can talk about whatever you want. Marriage, a house, even a kid," David said.

He paused on the last word, and even he knew it was just talk. "Just help me keep things quiet in the group chat for now."

I stayed silent.

Back in my room, I removed David from my emergency contacts and put my mom in his place.

I turned off location sharing, left our shared payment account, and canceled the waitlist tickets for our vacation trip in three months.

Finally, I logged into the apartment management app and removed David's access to manage my place.

Every time I finished one thing, my phone would pop up a confirmation.

It only took a few minutes to tear down half of the life we'd built together over seven years.

That afternoon, David knocked and came in.

He set a piece of paper on the table.

There were just a few lines.

It read, "Last night's party was just friends messing around. The person in the voice message isn't actually connected to me. Sorry for any confusion. Please don't let this go any further. It could end up hurting families who did nothing wrong."

My name was at the bottom.

"Just send it as is," David said.

I picked up the paper. "No personal connection?"

David looked exhausted. "It's just what we tell everyone else. Seven years together. One text won't erase what we've had."

I pressed the paper flat along its old fold. "Then why do you need me to say it if nothing's going to change?"

Chapter 3

The next morning, my mom sent me her train number.

She wouldn't let me pick her up. She said she'd be here at 4 PM.

David got the reminder before I did, since we shared calendars.

All these years, he could see everything—my family calendar, my location, even my emergency contacts.

He made sure the pickup spot was right by the exit, and set up a private car to get her. "Her back's been acting up, so she shouldn't have to walk too much."

David passed me the confirmation info. "I had the guest room mattress replaced, too. You two can stay here for a few days and take it easy. We'll talk when things have settled down."

I stared at the itinerary, my heart aching.

Every time my mom came to visit, David would always check the weather for her ahead of time.

She'd complain about him being too fussy, but once she got home, she'd always ask me, "When is David finally going to settle down with you?"

I'd been covering for him for seven years.

This time, he still remembered my mom's bad back, but he never once thought about what he should call himself in front of her.

"My mom won't be staying here," I said.

"Then I'll book her a hotel," David replied.

"She's taking me back home."

David looked up. "Claire, it's okay if you go home for a bit. But you really shouldn't be alone right now."

He slid his phone over to me. "People from last night's party are already gossiping. Joanna left the group chat. She's worried some of the parents might be connected to people in there."

On the screen, our group chat was filled with random questions.

Some people were asking what the voice message meant, others were digging into who Joanna's husband really was, and a few even DM'd me, asking if I was the mistress.

"I'll handle things with Joanna," David said. "Just tell everyone last night was a joke, and that voice wasn't mine."

I stared at his calm face. "You want me to lie for you?"

"Just say something, so they'll stop speculating."

"They're gossiping about your marriage, but it's my name that's getting dragged through the mud."

"They trust you."

David paused, his voice softer. "The kid's in school, and the parent circle is tiny. If this gets out, it won't just affect us adults."

When I graduated, there were rumors going around that I'd hooked up with my professor just to secure a spot at the university.

David dropped everything and rushed across the city that night, going with me to personally confront every single person involved.

He told me, "Don't let anyone ruin your name just because it's easier to stay quiet."

Now, he wanted to use the trust I'd built up over the years to keep his marriage spotless.

"I'm not saying anything," I said.

His eyes darkened. "Joanna's willing to take the kid and stay with her parents for a while. I'll make sure she never shows up in front of you again."

No divorce, no truth. Just burying his other life even deeper.

"David, you're not dealing with her. You're just trying to cover up the fact that I saw her," I said.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Claire, you used to know your boundaries."

"I didn't know I was just making way for your wife and kid."

He reached out to touch me, but I stepped back.

His hand hung in the air, and for once, I saw a flicker of panic cross his face.

"Once this is over, we can talk about whatever you want. Marriage, a house, even a kid," David said.

He paused on the last word, and even he knew it was just talk. "Just help me keep things quiet in the group chat for now."

I stayed silent.

Back in my room, I removed David from my emergency contacts and put my mom in his place.

I turned off location sharing, left our shared payment account, and canceled the waitlist tickets for our vacation trip in three months.

Finally, I logged into the apartment management app and removed David's access to manage my place.

Every time I finished one thing, my phone would pop up a confirmation.

It only took a few minutes to tear down half of the life we'd built together over seven years.

That afternoon, David knocked and came in.

He set a piece of paper on the table.

There were just a few lines.

My name was at the bottom.

"Just send it as is," David said.

I picked up the paper. "No personal connection?"

David looked exhausted. "It's just what we tell everyone else. Seven years together. One text won't erase what we've had."

I pressed the paper flat along its old fold. "Then why do you need me to say it if nothing's going to change?"