Where My Love Never Reached Chapter 05
I never saw it myself, but later Amelie told me how Jeremiah had practically flown back to the apartment and lost it when he got there.
“Gigi, you wouldn’t believe the state that jerk is in right now. He came tearing back home. And the second he saw all your things were gone, he called me.
“Of course, I told him I didn’t know where you’d gone. Then he actually showed up outside my office building to wait for me.”
I sat in the departure lounge at Charles de Gaulle Airport, headphones on, listening quietly.
“He asked if you’d gone back to your hometown. I practically spat in his face. I told him to go help Vanessa edit her diary. You’d already given up the apartment.
“You know how he reacted?
“He just froze there. Then he kept repeating, ‘That’s impossible. She asked me to review a contract for her yesterday.'”
Impossible. Of course, he thought it was impossible. In his eyes, I was supposed to stay exactly where I’d always been, quietly swallowing every disappointment, no matter how many times he ignored me.
A faint smile crossed my face as I texted Amelie back: “Did he see the letter?”
“He did,” Amelie replied. “He checked your browser history and found out you translated that French document yourself.”
At that very moment, Jeremiah was standing alone in the empty apartment.
The inexpensive engagement ring rested quietly in the key dish by the door. On the desk lay a printed report.
It was the last thing I had left behind. There was no blame on it, no curses—only rows of meticulously calculated figures.
“Three years, 1,095 days. Time spent editing and formatting Vanessa’s personal materials: 312 hours.”
“Time spent helping Vanessa choose clothes and perfume: 48 hours.”
“Time spent celebrating my birthday with me: 0 hours.”
“Time spent reviewing my urgent contract request: 0 hours.”
At the bottom was a single sentence: “Jeremiah Rowland, data doesn’t lie. Where you invest your time is where your heart belongs.”
That sheet of paper hit harder than any emotional outburst ever could. Because it spoke in the language he understood best, objective, measured, and professional.
A final voice message arrived from Amelie.
“He was holding that paper, and his hands were shaking so badly he could barely keep hold of it. Then he crouched on the floor with his head in his hands and cried as he’d completely lost his mind.”
Cried?
Five years ago, before he left for Geneva, I had sobbed uncontrollably at the airport. What had he said then?
“Gigi, crying doesn’t solve anything. Be more mature.”
Now he had finally learned how to cry. Unfortunately, I no longer cared enough to watch him grow.
A boarding announcement echoed through the terminal in elegant French.
I stood up, pulled my suitcase behind me, and headed toward the gate.
Jeremiah’s collapse didn’t last long. Because Vanessa came looking for him.
Jeremiah locked himself inside the apartment for three straight days. On the fourth day, Vanessa let herself in using a spare key.
The apartment was a mess. Jeremiah sat on the carpet, clutching the translation notebook with its cover torn off.
“Jem, are you okay?” Stepping over broken glass, Vanessa walked toward him. There was even a trace of dismissal in her voice. “Honestly, Gigi is being ridiculous. Leaving home over something so minor? That’s incredibly immature.”
Jeremiah slowly raised his head. His bloodshot eyes fixed on her. “Minor?”
“Isn’t it?” Vanessa pouted. “She’s upset because of my hardcover diary. But that was work.”
Then she paused. A flash of poorly concealed delight crossed her face. “Besides, isn’t it better that she’s gone? Now you’ll be my exclusive translator. Can you still help draft tomorrow’s conference materials?”
Jeremiah stared at her innocent-looking face. For the first time, he felt sick.
For this woman, he had neglected the person who truly loved him and destroyed a five-year relationship. Yet she felt no guilt whatsoever. Instead, she simply assumed she could continue taking whatever she wanted from him.
“Get out.” His voice was hoarse.
“Jem, what’s wrong with you?” Vanessa froze, then reached for his sleeve.
“I said, get out!” He violently shook off her hand and pointed toward the door.
“This notebook… When I was so broke I could barely afford food, Gigi stayed up night after night helping me write every page of it. Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to touch it?”
Vanessa was so frightened that her face turned white.
“Jem, please don’t be like this. I was only doing my job…”
“Your job?” He let out a bitter laugh. “I was a complete fool to let excuses like that blind me for five years.”
He walked to the desk and picked up the printed copy of the French authorization document.
“Do you know why she was so desperate to translate this?” He threw the papers at Vanessa. “Because it was her chance to go to Paris. Because she wanted a career of her own. And I left her alone all night because of your worthless interpreting mistake.”
Jeremiah looked like a wounded animal pushed past its limit.
Not only did he throw Vanessa out, but he also submitted a formal report to the Geneva headquarters the very next day. The report outlined the major errors Vanessa made over the past two years and documented how she used organizational resources for personal benefit.
She was removed from the core project team and reassigned to a minor proofreading position. Later, she came looking for Jeremiah in tears. She wasn’t even allowed into his office.
All of this reached me through other people. After hearing it, I felt nothing.
If he could see the truth now, why hadn’t he seen it years ago?