From Clingy to Independent- He Thought I Needed Him Until He Realized I Didn’t Chapter 07
On my way home from work, I kept digging.
through my memory, trying to find some trace of
Cameron in it.
I came up empty.
My phone vibrated, and I answered
absentmindedly.
Adrian’s voice came through, anger pressed tight
beneath it.
“Jenna, why didn’t you show up for surgery today?
I waited for you all day.”
I answered vaguely, “I switched hospitals.”
Adrian sounded even more irritated.
“If you switched hospitals, why didn’t you discuss
it with me first?”
“And another thing, your closet is empty, and your
suitcase is gone. Did you and Autumn go on a trip.
or something? Why didn’t you tell me?”
I asked calmly, “For something this minor, did it
really need a special discussion?”
Adrian choked on the words.
That line, the one he had used to brush me off countless times, had now been returned to him word for word.
His tone softened, like he was offering peace.
“The day after tomorrow, I’m having dinner with some friends, and everyone’s bringing their partner. Didn’t you always want to meet my friends?”
“I’m busy.”
Back when I wanted to become part of his world, he thought I was too clingy and insisted he
needed personal space.
Now that I had left, he was the one throwing the door open.
Adrian clearly hadn’t expected me to refuse. He paused for a moment.
“Why are you with Autumn every single day? You’re dating me, not her.”
“If you want to travel, shop, or go to the movies, I can do those things with you. You don’t have to keep asking her.”
I had asked him before to do all those little couple things with me too.
Adrian always said he was too busy and that I
needed to wait.
But the tourist spots had burned down, the clothes
had sold out, and the movie had already left.
theaters, and he still had never made time.
I didn’t want to drag out all those old grievances
and get stuck in them.
So I told him the truth.
“I transferred to a different city. I’m not going
back.”
The line on the other end went dead silent.
As if he couldn’t process it, he repeated each word
slowly.
“Transferred?”
“When did that happen?”
“Jenna, something this important–how could you
not tell me?”
“I forgot.”
That answer obviously didn’t satisfy him.
He pressed his knuckles against his brow in
frustration and blurted out, “How did you become
like this?”
Then he started listing things off as if he knew
them by heart.
“You used to send me 99+ messages and tell me
everything going on in your life.”
“No matter how big or small, you told me
everything.”
“But now?”
His voice carried a trace of grievance.
“You disappeared without saying a word. You blocked me without saying a word. You changed.
cities without saying a word.”
“And I’m your boyfriend. I’m supposed to be your
future husband. Yet somehow I was the last
person to find out.”
“Jenna.”
He said my name like he was delivering a verdict.
“Don’t you think you’ve taken this too far?”
I spoke evenly, my tone plain and almost casual.
“You said I shouldn’t cling to you like some giant
baby.”
“You said I was really annoying and needed to
learn how to be independent.”
“So I started making my own decisions.”
“I stopped consulting you about everything. I
stopped bothering you.”
“Isn’t this what you wanted?”
“I became exactly what you asked for, so why are
you unhappy now?”
Adrian went silent.
On the other end of the line, all I could hear was
the sound of his breathing, restrained and uneven.
After a long time, he finally forced out one
sentence.
“That’s not what I meant…”
I cut him off.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m settled in this city now, and
I’m not going back.”
“As for that dinner with your friends, you can bring Lily. She’s your junior from med school, so she can. count as your plus–one.”
Adrian instinctively started to say something.
I didn’t give him the chance. I calmly finished with
one last sentence.
“There’s one more thing I forgot to discuss with you, so I’m notifying you now.”
“Adrian, we’re over.”