Chapter 3

3.

Two hours after I got home, Eason called.

The moment I answered, his voice, thick with anger, exploded through the phone:

“Tamsin, what the hell are you doing? You moved all your stuff out, and you tore up our picture!”

“Do you think this will make me come begging for you to come back? Don’t take it too far!”

He was panting heavily, and in the background, I could faintly hear Maya’s voice:

“Eason, don’t get so worked up. Tamsin’s not really leaving. She’s been with you for so long, how could she just let go?”

“We’re both women, I get it. Moving her stuff out is just her throwing a fit. Once she cools down, she’ll be back.”

Her words seemed to reassure him. His voice deepened with an unshakeable confidence:

“You think moving your stuff out means it’s a clean slate? I don’t believe you can really let go, that you can really leave me.”

“Tamsin, stop messing around. If you keep this up, you’re the only one who’s going to end up embarrassed.”

Listening to him talk to himself, I just felt a wave of indifference.

Even now, Eason was still the same.

He was convinced that everything I did was to get his attention, that I would never escape his grasp. Even me clearing out all my belongings was, in his eyes, just another childish drama.

“Eason.”

I cut him off, my voice flat, without a ripple of emotion.

“No one is indispensable. Don’t think so highly of yourself.”

Eason was about to say more, but I couldn’t be bothered to listen. Just as I was about to say I was hanging up, I heard soft footsteps beside me.

Leo walked over with a glass of warm water, casually tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. His voice was soft:

“You’ve been talking for a while, you must be tired. The water is just right, have a sip.”

He was so close that his voice carried clearly through the receiver.

The other end of the line went silent. Two or three seconds later, Eason spoke again, his tone laced with a new layer of sarcasm.

“Wow, Tamsin. You actually hired a guy to act this out for me.”

“But you don’t really think you can fool yourself with this, do you?”

My patience was worn thin. I spoke, annoyed:

“This is the last time we’ll ever speak. We don’t need to see each other again. It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not.”

“It’s over between us. Don’t call me again.”

With that, I hung up and immediately blocked him on everything.