Mr Efficiency Spent His Life WAITING for My Bestie Chapter 03
The “home” she spoke of wasn’t the small town where she’d lived with my father. It was that sunny southern city Grandma had always talked about, a place we’d never actually seen.
After seeing my mom off at the bus station, I returned to the apartment to pack.
Unlocking the front door, I walked straight into a private gathering. Susan and her coworkers sat around the living-room table. Eyes darted between Susan and me, sharp with curiosity.
One guest asked, “Susan, who is this?”
Susan’s eyes narrowed, shooting me frantic warning looks.
I stepped further inside. “I’m Zane’s girlfriend.”
Susan’s face paled. She forced a bright smile. “Zane’s never mentioned you.”
The others caught on.
“Wait, everyone knows Susan is Mr. Quinn’s girlfriend.”
“Oh right! This is the woman who was loitering around the office elevator. Is she some kind of stalker?”
They treated Susan like the lady of the house. “Susan, this woman’s clearly unhinged. What are we supposed to do?”
Ignoring them, I headed for the bedroom to pack my belongings.
Susan called sharply after me. “Hey, don’t touch anything in this house. Get out, or I’ll call the police.”
I spun around. It felt absurd.
This was my best friend, who had been part of my life for ten years. And now she was ordering me out of my own apartment.
Zane stepped out of his study. He saw me being shoved and jostled, my dress strap ripped and fabric torn. For a split second, sympathy flickered across his face.
But as the accusations of stalking grew louder, his expression hardened. Prioritizing damage control over my dignity, he said in a low, firm voice, “I don’t know her.”
Security escorted me out of the building at Zane’s nod.
I waited on the sidewalk for hours. Scratches and bruises on my arms stung as sweat seeped into them. Every sharp pain grounded me in reality.
Zane and Susan didn’t come find me until after they’d sent all their coworkers home.
Susan burst into tears. “Nina, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault, don’t blame Zane.”
She sobbed that she’d posted bridal-boutique photos to Instagram. “I didn’t notice the mirror caught Zane in the background. Everyone kept hounding me about our wedding date, so I just said we’d get married soon.”
Watching her dramatic performance, nausea rose in my throat. “Susan, you know exactly whether you posted that on purpose.”
Susan froze. “You don’t believe me?”
Zane tossed a tube of ointment down at my feet. All traces of guilt vanished. “Nina, how much longer are you going to drag this out? Let them think whatever they want. At the end of the day, I’m the one who’s going to marry you. Going public just creates unnecessary complications. I don’t see what’s wrong with that.”
I thought of everything I’d sacrificed over ten years, all the years I’d hidden in the shadows to avoid drawing unwanted attention to him.
“What am I supposed to be to you?” I demanded. “Some secret mistress who only gets a marriage license behind closed doors? How long are you planning to keep me hidden?”
“So this whole scene is just to force me to make our relationship public?” Disappointment colored Zane’s features. “You always overcomplicate simple things for your own sake. You ought to learn from Susan. She puts up with all the office gossip and brushes it off without making a fuss.”
He draped an arm over Susan’s shoulders and started walking back toward the building. “This is her emotional problem. We don’t need to waste our time on it.”
Susan kept glancing back over her shoulder, feigning concern. “Maybe I should move out so Nina can come back.”
Zane shook his head firmly. “No. Living together is the most efficient way to solidify our position. Next month, we’ll announce our wedding alongside the company’s IPO.”
I blocked every one of Zane’s and Susan’s contacts. I took a taxi to my workplace and handed in my resignation.