He Asked For Space I Left With His Baby Chapter 07
I replied evenly.
“Would telling you have made a difference?”
Silence. Roman knew exactly where that question came from. He’d said the same thing to me more times than I could count.
When he spoke again, his voice was softer, almost pleading.
“Some friends are getting together the day after tomorrow. They’re all bringing their partners. I remember how much you wanted to meet them.”
“No,” I said, without a second of hesitation.
Just months ago, I had been desperate for a place in his world.
Roman had always claimed he needed his privacy, his space.
Now that I was gone, he was suddenly ready to let me in.
After a pause, he said, “You’re always with Mia. I’m your boyfriend. If you want to go shopping, or see a movie, or take a weekend trip, I’ll go with you.”
I almost laughed. For years, I had begged him to do those things.
There was always one more meeting, one more business trip, one more excuse.
Eventually, the restaurants closed, the shows ended their runs, and the places I’d wanted to see faded from my mind.
I stopped asking. There was no point in reopening old wounds.
So I just told him the truth. “I’ve moved. I’m not coming back.”
The line was silent for several seconds.
“You… what? When? Nora, why didn’t you tell me?”
“It slipped my mind.”
He let out a frustrated breath. “When did you become this person?”
His voice sharpened. “You used to text me all day. You sent me pictures of your food, told me every stupid thing that happened. But now? You disappear. You block me. You leave Boston, and I’m the last person to find out.”
His voice cracked.
“I’m your boyfriend. Don’t you think that’s a little cruel?”
A faint smile touched my lips. “You’re the one who told me to stop relying on you. You said I needed to grow up, that I didn’t have to run every little decision by you. So I stopped.”
“I started making my own choices. I stopped asking for your opinion and I stopped getting in the way of your life. Isn’t that exactly what you wanted? Why does it bother you now?”
For once, Roman had no answer.
The only sound was his ragged breathing on the other end of the line.
Finally, he murmured, “That’s not what I meant.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ve built a life here, and I’m not coming back.”
“As for the dinner, take Vanessa. You spent more time with my sister than you ever did with me anyway.”
“And there’s one more thing I forgot to mention.”
I took a steadying breath.
“We’re done, Roman.”
Then I hung up.
He called again and again. I let every call go to voicemail.
Soon, a flood of texts came through.
*We are not breaking up.*
*You’re just angry.*
*We’ll talk when you’ve calmed down.*
*Come home.*
I was about to mute his contact when a new notification popped up.
*Ethan Sterling*
*[crying cat meme]*
I stared at the screen, expecting him to realize his mistake.
A minute passed, then two. Nothing.
Instead, a second message arrived.
*I thought you might need this more than I do.*
Attached was a digital coffee shop gift card.
I smiled in spite of myself.
Earlier, he’d joked that my paycheck was the only thing I’d never sent him by mistake.
Apparently, he’d decided to send me something back.