When I Walked Away

When she saw me, Lucy instinctively pulled her hand back. Beside her, Zack’s expression flickered with annoyance, but it passed quickly, and he recovered his usual calm, smiling as he stepped forward.

“No wonder I heard from HR the other day that you were looking for Lucy. You could’ve just given her a call. Why come all the way here in person?”

Hearing that, Lucy frowned, as if she suddenly realized something.

“Were you following me?” she asked.

“What do you mean? Don’t you trust me?” I countered, finding it funny, but didn’t bother explaining much. “I wasn’t following you. My friends and I are here for dinner.”

She clearly didn’t believe me.

“Cut the cr*p. Do you think I don’t know whether you have friends? If you were following me, just admit it. Why lie?”

I couldn’t help but smirk.

She knew me better than anyone. She knew I had left my hometown and had almost no friends, yet she had chosen to leave me alone in that city to cool off. I remembered last year, she lied about going home for the holidays, when in fact, she went to accompany Zack. Her excuse back then was that he was upset and alone, and she was worried he might do something drastic. Now, with me, she had another set of justifications.

“Lucy, since Graham is here, why don’t you two talk first? Oh, and hand me the keycard to the room.” Zack smiled at her and held out his hand.

Lucy naturally pulled a card from her pocket and handed it to him. “Wait for me upstairs.”

“Got it.”

Before leaving, Zack shot me a smug glance. The meaning was obvious—they had booked a room together.

Lucy seemed to realize that only a moment later, her eyes flickering in panic.

“The front desk said there’s only one room left,” she said. “Don’t overthink it. It’s a suite. He’ll sleep on the sofa.”

However, if she looked in the mirror, she’d notice the hickey on her neck. Even a fool could see that whatever she and Zack were doing wasn’t entirely innocent.

I didn’t bother exposing her. We were about to divorce anyway. I pulled out my phone and brought up the divorce papers I had prepared in advance. I had originally planned to handle it after my new job started, but since we ran into each other here, it was the perfect moment.

“What’s this?” Lucy asked, puzzled, as she reached for it.

Just then, Zack’s scream echoed from upstairs.

“Zack? What’s wrong?” Lucy sounded panicked, but without looking, she hastily signed the papers and prepared to leave.

“Don’t you want to see what you’re signing for?” I asked.

She replied nonchalantly, “Besides taking my money, what else would you do?”

She took a couple of steps, then paused as if she suddenly remembered something. “Oh, wait. Wait for me here. I’ll give you your gift later.”

Before I could respond, she hurried off in her heels.

I chuckled bitterly. I knew I wouldn’t get it.

Her rushed figure reminded me of years ago. That year, I had fallen seriously ill and didn’t have money for surgery. Lucy had told me not to worry, promising she could help. That night, I woke to find her exhausted, making call after call to borrow money on my behalf. From that moment on, I silently promised myself that I would never let her down.

Later, our company grew, and money was never a problem again. However, she and I could never go back to the way things were.

As Lucy’s figure disappeared around the corner, I silently sent the signed divorce papers to my lawyer. In one month, after the divorce cooling-off period ended, Lucy and I would have nothing to do with each other ever again.

That night, I didn’t let them ruin my mood. The celebration went off without a hitch. In fact, I quietly popped open another bottle of champagne to celebrate my successful divorce.

After drinking my fill and heading home, I received a text from Lucy. It was basically an apology. She said Zack suddenly had a stomach problem, so she couldn’t come back down to see me.

I didn’t expect anything from her, so it didn’t really bother me. What puzzled me, though, was that she even remembered to send a message. She had always stood me up before, and I usually had to ask the next day, only to be scolded for it.

"I had urgent matters. Why are you asking?" she would say.

Soon, however, I understood why. Two minutes later, Lucy sent me the hospital address, asking me to make a warm chicken soup for them.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Back when she wasn’t feeling well, I would always make chicken soup for her. It was meant as care, but now, she was basically treating me like a servant, so I ignored it.

That night, she called me over and over. Annoyed, I simply turned off my phone.

In the coming days, I focused on work. Hugh’s company was already on solid footing, and with Rylee’s help, my technical achievements improved drastically. When our project launched, it made over a hundred million in just three hours.

The client company was so thrilled that they invited Hugh to the celebration. They also wanted to secure a contract for the next project. Apparently, the next project already had other candidates, but we had done so well that the client held an emergency meeting and awarded it to Hugh’s company.

Ecstatic, Hugh brought Rylee and me along. At the venue, he went to the lounge to sign the contract with the client, while Rylee and I entered the hall. What I didn’t expect was to bump into Lucy and Zack here.

Lucy spotted me first. I guessed she was still angry that I hadn’t delivered the chicken soup. She shot me a cold glance and then deliberately shared a toast with Zack.

I knew she was trying to provoke me. Back in the day, I would have been jealous and angry, but now, I felt nothing.

Rylee didn’t know our history. Seeing my gaze linger on them, she kindly explained, “She’s Lucy Leavitt. She and her husband own a business similar to ours, and they’re our rivals. They’ve snatched quite a few contracts from us before. We’re lucky to have you this time, or we might have lost again. But their sweet couple act makes me gag every time.”

Rylee shivered for emphasis. I said nothing.

“Have you heard of them before, since you’re from the same city?” Rylee asked.

I nodded. “I have. In fact, I know them well. She’s my ex-wife.”

Rylee’s mouth literally dropped. Then, she looked deep in thought.

“Let’s go,” I murmured.

Just as we turned, Lucy stormed toward us and called out, “Graham! Stop right there!”

I didn’t want to see her, so I quickened my pace, expecting her to give up. Yet surprisingly, she ignored everyone and cut straight in front of me.

“Are you deaf, Graham? Didn’t you hear me call?”

I knew her well, and she always found a way to stop me. Hence, I stopped walking.

Curious as to what was going on, the people nearby stared in our direction.

“Who is she?” someone asked.

Lucy’s gaze fell on Rylee, her face dark.

Only then did I notice that Rylee was holding my arm. She usually stayed behind the scenes for tech work, but tonight she had dressed up in makeup, heels, and an off-shoulder dress so as not to embarrass Hugh. I held her arm to make sure she wouldn’t trip. It was perfectly normal, but Lucy reacted as if it were a provocation.

Before I could explain, Rylee laughed, covering her mouth, then shot a glance at Lucy and Zack:

“Our relationship is whatever we make it. Why are you worrying about some other guy when you should be with your own husband?”

Lucy froze, pale, and glanced at Zack.

For a moment, it seemed she distanced herself slightly and then said, “He’s not my husband.”

“Not your husband? In that case, why were you toasting him just now?”

She was left speechless, so Zack whispered something in her ear, softening her expression slightly. She then stepped forward, giving me a cold, teasing look.

“Graham, you’re so boring, bringing a woman just to provoke me. Relax. Zack and I are here for the contract. Everything else is for business,” she said.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

I wasn’t sure what exactly amused me—the idea that she thought I’d play the same tricks on her as she did on me, or the absurdity of her thinking appearances with another man were harmless while mine with another woman was scandalous.

It didn’t matter anymore. The contract renewal was already signed. The truth of who was working and who was causing trouble would soon be clear.

Before I could say anything, Zack spoke up, sounding upset, “Graham, you came knowing Lucy would handle the contract, right? So you’re here to help? I wanted you to come on this trip anyway, but you were sulking. Lucy didn’t want you overworking, so I tagged along. Now that you’re here, I’ll leave. You can stay with Lucy, and there will be no misunderstandings.”

He turned to leave, but Lucy grabbed his arm, suddenly firm.

“Misunderstandings? We’re here on a business trip. Only petty minds would misinterpret that.”

She even shot me a cold glance. Clearly, the “petty mind” she referred to was me. I found it hilarious.

I thought she’d start lecturing me, as she always did after Zack complained, but surprisingly, her face softened a little. She pulled me aside and sighed.

“Graham, stop overthinking. It’s exhausting. I promise, this time, I’ll make it up with a proper wedding. Just calm down and don’t make a scene, okay?”

At that, she deliberately glared at Rylee.

“Besides, we’re legally married. What are you still worried about?”

Of course, she had no idea she had signed the divorce papers. She still thought she could send me off with a wedding, like before.

The more I thought about it, the funnier it became.

“A wedding to make up for it?” I sneered. I pulled the printed divorce papers from my bag and tossed them in front of her.

“It seems you really do have short-term memory. Lucy, in case you forgot, we’re divorced.”