Chapter 7
Worried Sue would cause another scPHR
Nate stat
every conversation
sation for the rest of the night.
A few people came over to that, but he kept it short and polite.
Mostly, he just sat on a couch in the corner, knocking back drink after drink.
By the time the event finally wrapped up, he made a quick goodbye to the hosts-
And practically bolted.
The second he stepped through the front door, the buzz hit him all at once.
He steadied himself against the wall and stumbled inside.
“Sophia, water.”
silence.
Nate lifted his head, staring into the dark living room.
Right.
I’d left with our son yesterday.
He flipped on the lights and wandered into the kitchen.
He grabbed a can of soda from the fridge-
And only then noticed something.
The fridge door was plastered with stickers.
Bright, cartoonish characters, superheroes, animals-
All the stuff Leo loved.
Nate stared at them for a moment.
Usually, he found them annoyingly childish.
But tonight… he let out a soft laugh.
Berew You, Est My New Life’s Hotter Than Your Money!
41.89
Chapter 7
He could almost see Len sneaking into his office again.
Holding a picture book,
Tiptoeing up to him like it was a top–secret mission.
“Daddy, will you read this with me?”
And what did Nate say back then?
His hand paused halfway to his mouth, soda forgotten,
“I’m busy. No time,”
The memory sparked something sharp in his chest.
Without thinking, he pulled out his phone,
Typed out a message to me,
Send me the address, I’ll come get you two tomorrow,
No-
He deleted it.
Rewrote it.
Where are you and our son staying?
I’ll come pick you both up tomorrow,
He exhaled deeply and hit send.
A second later, a cold little icon popped up.
Sophia Hart has enabled friend verification,
You are not on their contact list,
Please send a friend request before messaging.
Bang!
The soda can hit the floor, fizzing out across the tile.
Nate’s face twisted as he quickly opened the company Slack group.
Brew You Fal My New Life Haller than Your Money!
Chapter 7
Scrolled.
Scrolled again.
Nothing.
Hundreds of employees… and not a trace of me.
Did I leave the group?
No.
No way.
Sophia didn’t quit–why would she leave the main team chat?
He gave a hollow laugh.
Except even he didn’t sound convinced.
Then he remembered the resignation email he’d ignored this morning.
And suddenly, the panic hit full force.
Without hesitation, he called HR.
“Hello?”
The line was noisy–TV in the background, a kid’s voice shouting.
“Daddy! The cartoon’s starting!”
A woman–Olivia–shushed someone and moved to a quieter spot.
“Hey, Nate? Need something?”
A deep male voice brought Nate back to the moment.
7
“I just… I was wondering why Sophia isn’t in the work group anymore.”
Olivia paused, then said simply:
“She resigned.”
“When?!”
Nate’s shout echoed through the room.
14.02
Screw You, Ex! My New Life’s Hotter Than Your Money!
43.2
Chapter 7
He nearly lost his balance.
“She turned in her resignation two mornings ago,” Olivia explained quickly.
“Said her husband’s been reassigned to Australia, and she wants to join him with their son.”
“Maybe take some time to study too.”
“She was really firm about it.”
“I went ahead and filed the paperwork-
You didn’t know?”
Nate’s grip on the phone tightened so hard it creaked.
He almost laughed.
Since when did Sophia have a husband in Australia?
He opened his mouth, ready to explode-
But a tiny voice interrupted from Olivia’s end.
“Daddy, why aren’t you watching TV with me yet?”
Olivia’s voice turned warm in an instant.
“Almost done, sweetie. Just a minute, okay?”
It was amazing, really.
How every parent instinctively softened around their child.
Nate stood there, listening to the gentle voices on the line.
And again, Leo’s face rose in his mind.
He used to have that kind of life too-
A full, happy family.
But somehow, he’d managed to lose it.
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