Chapter 5: Out of Her Life

I’d just hung up on Tanya when Rachel called. I ignored it, so she bombarded me with texts:

[Caleb, are you serious? You’re actually resigning?]

[Don’t push it, stop with the drama, or I’ll really take it seriously!]

[If you resign on your own, you get no severance. Not a cent from the company!]

I laughed bitterly at myself.

After seven years together, does she really think I’m just after her money, that I’d cling for a payout?

I scrolled up through our old texts—memes, lunch reminders, inside jokes that now felt like they belonged to someone else. The last time she sent me a heart emoji was almost six months ago. I watched the three gray dots as she started another message, then stopped.

[Whatever you want. I don’t care.]

My reply shut her up instantly. After that, Rachel never called or texted again.

I got my resignation as I wished and joined Westview Innovations.

After passing my probation, my new department threw a welcome party at a high-end private dining club. Coincidentally, it was the same place I’d once invited Rachel, but she’d always agreed and never shown up.

The club’s lobby smelled like lemon furniture polish and old money. The waiters wore crisp white shirts with little American flag pins, and there was a framed print of the 2009 Obama inauguration in the hallway—a reminder of how different my life was now. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

Even more coincidentally, I ran into Rachel there for the first time in a while.

She looked thinner. She sat in a private room with Tanya and a few familiar girlfriends; Derek was the only man present.

“Rachel, did you really break up with Caleb? He left without taking a single penny?” someone asked.

Hearing my name, I couldn’t help but pause and glance inside.

A shadow crossed Rachel’s eyes.

Derek sighed beside her. “I’m close to Rachel, but Caleb was always so suspicious. It made things hard for her. It’s better they broke up.”

Rachel looked tired and said nothing.

“Yeah, it’s for the best. Caleb’s background is too ordinary. If he hadn’t started Silverline with Rachel, Mr. Miller wouldn’t have given him a second look.”

“He’s not that capable himself. He’s just been riding on Rachel’s coattails these past two years, a kept man. If you ask me, Rachel wasted seven years on him. Now that they’re done, she should ask him for compensation.”

“Tch, Caleb finally managed to latch onto someone as good as Rachel. No way he’d let go so easily. Give it a month—he’ll come crawling back like a lapdog!”

Everyone burst out laughing.

Only Rachel and Tanya didn’t join in. Tanya seemed lost in thought, her mind elsewhere. Rachel just kept drinking, glass after glass. Derek watched her with concern.

Seeing this, my heart felt calm as still water. I walked away from their private room.