18 Missed Calls In Fire, I Left Him

Chapter 3

The next morning.

I was sitting on the bed in a budget motel room.

The splint on my right leg gave a dull, throbbing ache.

Emily had gone downstairs to grab breakfast.

At Ten o'clock, Miller didn't show up at the County Court.

My phone rang right on time.

It wasn't Miller.

It was his assistant, Owen.

"Ma'am, Mr. Miller Shaw is in an emergency meeting and can't get away. He asked me to deliver the necklace to you. Where are you? There's no one at the house."

Smith's voice was clipped and businesslike.

To the people in Miller's circle, I had always been the pathetic, jealous wife who loved to throw a fit.

"Don't bother," I said. "Just throw it in the trash."

Owen paused.

His tone turned annoyed.

"Ma'am, Mr. Shaw said you should quit while you're ahead. His sister, Linda, even baked you some cookies. She asked me to bring them along."

"Mr. Shaw said as families, you should stop making things so ugly."

I stared at the phone as the line went dead.

I looked down at my fingers, yellowed from the smoke.

Family.

That's who they were—family.

Ten minutes later, Miller called.

"Sarah, are you still mad?"

His voice was low, laced with obvious irritation.

"A necklace isn't enough to shut you up? What the hell do you want?"

I set the phone down on the pillow and put it on speaker.

"Miller. I told you, ten o'clock County Court. You stood me up."

I heard a faint clink of china on the other end.

He must have just set down his coffee cup.

"You're still playing these childish games. Fine. Since you don't appreciate it, I'll cancel our dinner reservation for tonight."

He declared this in an arrogant tone.

"I was planning to take you to that French restaurant you love so much. Since you're being so difficult, I'll take Linda tonight instead. Call me when you've come to your senses."

He thought this was a form of punishment.

He believed that by stripping away our dinner date, I would be reduced to tears and begging for forgiveness.

He was certain I couldn't live without him.

He was certain I'd be crying into my pillow tonight, only to crawl back to him tomorrow.

"Fine. Enjoy your dinner."

I didn't scream.

I didn't ask him why he was taking another woman to the restaurant we only visited on our anniversary.

I just hung up the phone calmly.

Then I opened w******p and blocked Miller's number.

Emily pushed the door open, carrying soy milk and fried dough sticks.

"Who were you on the phone with?"

She set the breakfast down on the table.

"Miller."

I picked up a fried dough stick and took a bite.

It was already a bit cold.

"What is he yapping about now?" Emily pulled out a chair and sat down.

"He said he's taking Linda out for French food tonight."

Emily rolled her eyes.

"A scumbag and a home-wrecker—a match made in heaven. Sarah, what are you going to do? Are you just going to let him off the hook?"

I took a sip of soy milk.

The sweet, cloying taste spread across my tongue.

"No way."

I set the cup down.

"I have to go back to the apartment this afternoon. The fire department's Fire Incident Investigation Report is ready, and the property manager needs me to sign it. Once I sign that, I can leave this place for good."

Emily looked at me, a trace of worry in her eyes.

"Can you handle it alone? Your leg..."

"I'm fine," I said, patting the splint. "Just a minor injury. It won't kill me."

Compared to the wound in my heart, this pain was nothing.

I shoved the rest of the dough stick into my mouth, chewing slowly, and swallowed.