Cassidy’s arrival only made the arrangement visible.
She wasn’t the problem.
She was the invoice.
She showed me exactly how Derek viewed my role in his life.
Not girlfriend.
Resource.
Pamela returned after speaking with security.
“They understand they’ll need to gather their belongings.”
“Is there a problem?”
“Your boyfriend is objecting.”
“Former boyfriend.”
“Right.”
She gave me a measured look.
“He says he has been living there.”
I nodded.
“I expected that.”
“We’ll follow building procedure.
You don’t need to go upstairs.”
“Good.”
I had no desire to watch.
That surprised me.
An hour earlier, part of me might have imagined enjoying the moment Derek realized the apartment wasn’t his.
But sitting there with the lease closed and my bag packed, revenge felt smaller than relief.
I didn’t want him defeated.
I wanted him detached from my life.
Still, Derek refused to make the exit graceful.
He called from Cassidy’s phone.
I answered because I suspected he was about to say something useful.
“You planned this,” he accused.
“No.”
“Then why did you know exactly where to go?”
“Because I signed the lease.”
“You’ve been waiting for an excuse.”
“No.
I’ve been ignoring reasons.”
He breathed heavily into the phone.
Then he tried another strategy.
“What about my car?”
I almost smiled.
There it was.
Not us.
Not the relationship.
The car.
“What about it?”
“The insurance.”
“What about the insurance?”
“You can’t just cancel everything.”
I hadn’t even mentioned insurance.
But now that he had, I opened my laptop.
“Derek, are you asking whether I intend to keep paying to insure your luxury car after you threw me out of the apartment I rented?”
He realized his mistake too late.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“It sounded exactly like what you meant.”
“You’re trying to ruin me.”
“No.
I’m stopping myself from financing you.”
