From Clingy to Independent- He Thought I Needed Him Until He Realized I Didn’t Chapter 03
When Autumn found out I was having surgery, she took time off work to stay with me.
“Hurry up and get the guest room ready. Your five-star caretaker is on her way.”
I laughed. “I cleaned the room twice and even bought you new bedding, so I promise your stay will be—”
The moment I opened the door, my voice cut off.
The brand-new bedding I had carefully prepared was balled up on the floor.
The guest room was crammed with unfamiliar things, and a teddy bear nearly half my height was sprawled across the bed.
It looked like an open declaration of ownership.
Then the front door opened again.
A soft laugh drifted in.
“Dr. Hayes, thanks for taking me to check out that restaurant. It was seriously so good.”
“And the dessert totally cured my bad mood after being iced out by my roommates.”
When Adrian saw me, he explained in a flat tone, “Lily had a falling-out with her roommates and can’t stay in the dorm right now.”
“She hasn’t found a place yet, so she’s staying in the guest room for the time being.”
I let out a cold laugh.
“Adrian, I told you a week ago that Autumn was coming to stay here.”
Adrian froze.
That split-second expression on his face said everything.
He had forgotten.
When I asked him about it back then, his voice had been full of impatience.
“It’s a minor thing. Decide it yourself. Don’t ask me about everything. It’s annoying.”
Adrian pressed his lips together, his voice dropping a little. “I’m sorry…”
He lifted the dessert bag in his hand, his tone softening, as if he were soothing a sulky child.
“The place we went to today seems like the kind you’d like. I’ll take you this weekend.”
I glanced at the logo on the bag.
It was the same restaurant I had begged Adrian over and over to go to with me.
He had always said he was too busy to make time for it.
I took the bag from him and tossed it straight into the trash.
The breath Adrian had barely started to let out seemed to catch in his chest again.
Lily hurried forward and said in that soft, timid voice of hers, “Jenna, this is all my fault. I can squeeze in with your friend. I really don’t mind.”
I let out a cold laugh, grabbed Lily’s bedsheet and teddy bear, and kicked them out into the hallway.
Lily froze, her eyes instantly filling with tears.
“Jenna, those are things I need tonight. What am I supposed to do if you throw them out?”
I glanced toward the primary bedroom and smiled.
“You can squeeze in with Adrian. I don’t mind.”
Lily’s face flushed deep red.
“If you don’t want me here, just say so. Why do you have to humiliate me like this?”
As if she had suffered some enormous insult, her eyes reddened, and she turned and ran out.
Adrian didn’t go after her. He only frowned at me.
“Jenna, she’s always been clumsy and a little childish. She didn’t mess up your things on purpose.”
“If you didn’t want her staying here, you could’ve just said so. I could’ve booked her a hotel. There was no need to target her on purpose twice in a row.”
The smile faded from my face.
“This is our home. If you were bringing an outsider here, shouldn’t you have discussed it with me first?”
His frown deepened, like I was the one being unreasonable.
“Lily’s been ostracized at school and she’s in a really bad place emotionally. I thought you’d have at least a little sympathy. Instead, the first thing you care about is whether I discussed it with you.”
“Besides, she’s only staying for two days. For a small temporary arrangement like this, did it really need a special discussion?”
“Just like Autumn staying here for the next few days. You don’t need to discuss that with me either.”
The old me probably would’ve called a male friend over to stay the night just to see how Adrian reacted.
But now I only nodded calmly.
“You’re right. There’s no need to discuss it.”
By the same logic, I probably didn’t need to discuss leaving this city or breaking up with Adrian either.