Chapter 10
One day, my boss Linda told me that the company was considering collaborating with a firm in California and planned to send me on a business trip.
Linda looked up from her computer and said, “You’re from New York, and your English is fluent. It will make comunication smoother.”
I tried to decline the assignment. “But this is such an important task. How can I handle it?”
California was home to Brook and Alex–two people I wanted to avoid at all costs. Even though the destination was far away, I couldn’t bear the possibility of running into them.
Linda gave me a reassuring smile. “The trip list has already been submitted. I’ll go with you, so don’t worry. Nothing will go wrong.”
I had no choice but to prepare for the trip.
That evening, determined to avoid any chance encounters, I logged into a social media. account I hadn’t used in years and opened a group chat.
The group, with over twenty members, was always bustling with activity. I wasn’t interested in scrolling through their displays of luxury lifestyles, so I searched for Brook and Alex by
name.
Over the past two years, Brook had thoroughly ruined Janis’s reputation–and his wasn’t much better.
A year and a half ago, Janis claimed to be pregnant with his child and cried about it in front of the media. The scandal left Brook out of favor with his elders.
Less than a month later, Janis reportedly fell at home and lost the baby. She and her mother were then cast out by the Marshall family.
The mother and daughter left New York and moved to a second–tier city, but with Brook and Alex keeping an eye on them, their lives couldn’t have been easy.
From their conversations, I learned that Brook was currently on a business trip in Canada, and Alex’s whereabouts were unknown.
Having gleaned nothing else useful, I logged off.
Five days later, I set off for California with Linda and two other colleagues.
The trip was scheduled to last a week. It seemed unlikely I would run into those two.
After arriving, I resolved not to leave the hotel unless absolutely necessary. I spent most of my time indoors, refusing to step outside even for a moment.
The night before our departure, I attended a farewell dinner.
The event was held at a well–known club. As I entered, I felt someone watching me. But when I looked around, no one was there.
A sense of unease crept into my heart.
Halfway through the meal, I excused myself to go to the restroom. Grabbing my bag, I slipped out, intending to leave quietly.
To be cautious, I exited through the back door.
The traffic in California was heavy, so I waited under the shade of a tree for a car.
Suddenly, I heard hurried footsteps behind me.
The sound was so familiar that I felt an unexpected calm wash over me.
The footsteps stopped right behind me, and a trembling, cautious voice called out, “Erica, is that you?”
I didn’t turn around. I kept my head down, staring at my phone.
Brook stepped in front of me, staring in disbelief as he approached. “Erica, I know it’s you.! I looked up with a hint of confusion on my face. Excuse me, sir. Are you talking to me?” Two years had passed. My long hair had been cut into a shoulder–length bob, and my style of dress was completely different. Even my makeup and demeanor had changed.
Brook’s eyes reddened faintly. “Erica, I know you’re still mad at me. Back then, it was Janis who tricked me. That’s why I hurt you.”
“But I regret it now. Erica, I truly know I was wrong.
Janis’s schemes had been crude, even pathetic. But Brook and Alex had believed her without hesitation.
I had tried countless times to mend things, but Brook only escalated his abuse.
The person I loved and my own brother both chose to side with Janis over me.
Janis’s mother was the same woman who had destroyed my mother’s marriage.
To me, Janis and her mother were outsiders. The ones who truly hurt me were Brook and Alex -the people I cared about most.
One was my childhood sweetheart, and the other was my own flesh–and–blood brother.
But these two had wielded knives without mercy, stabbing me in the heart again and again until I was left bleeding and broken.
Two years had passed. The wounds had healed, leaving only scars.
The pain was gone, and the people who had hurt me could no longer stir any emotion in me.
I called the police.
Brook, once so confident and charismatic, now looked utterly defeated.
I had imagined that without me, the “nuisance,” Brook would grieve for a few days before resuming his carefree life with Janis.
It turned out I had held quite a place in his heart.
But who cared?
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