"Well, I just brushed my teeth. Got rid of the cigarette smell. How about we… sleep together?"

I didn't turn around.

And Peter desperately got up and hugged me from behind.

"Babe, we're getting married in two weeks. Isn't this what you wanted? A home?"

A home?

Those words hit so deep that my eyes got welled up.

Yeah, I'd wanted that, dreamed about it for eight years.

Ever since my mom passed away so early, I’d craved security and a place to belong. I’d hoped to build that with Peter.

But then I realized his life was always going to be a mess.

He'll never really let go of Josie.

If this is how it's gonna be forever? Then I'd rather be homeless.

I took a shaky breath, pushing his hands away.

"Let's just talk about it later."

With that, I left the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind me.

Last night, I stayed up late writing my resignation letter, and I handed it in first thing this morning. My boss called me into his office to talk.

He's been really good to me over the years and has helped me get promoted.

When he found out I was leaving, he looked confused.

"Hailey, is something going on? Why do you need to resign?"

I just smiled and explained, "Well, I just want to try living in a new city."

He got the hint and didn't pry any further, quickly signing off on my resignation.

My colleagues, who I'm pretty close with, were sad to see me go. They wanted to take me out for dinner after work, but it was raining by the time we reached the company lobby, though I hadn’t noticed when it started.

While we were waiting for a cab, someone suddenly called my name from behind.

"Hailey!"

A black Audi pulled up not too far away.

Peter slowly rolled down the window, his gaze landing on my wet hair with a frown.

"Get in. I'm here to pick you up."

I didn't move. Just then, I heard a cheerful voice from the passenger seat.

"Hailey, I told you Peter really loves you! He came to pick you up on a rainy day—oh, I'm so jealous!"

Seeing my blank expression, Josie chuckled and explained.

"Oh, I didn't bring an umbrella today, and Peter was nice enough to give me a ride. You don't mind, right?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, not at all!"

But I still didn't feel like getting in the car.

Peter waited for a bit, starting to get impatient. Just as he was about to say something, my colleague's cab arrived.

We both hopped in and as I closed the door, I heard Peter's urgent voice.