Chapter 6

Grace POV

It was dark when I left the coffee shop.

I stood by the roadside, hesitated for a few seconds, then dialed another number.

"Mom."

"Grace? Why are you calling so late? Is something wrong?"

My mom's voice carried that particular motherly alarm.

I smiled:"Nothing, just letting you know I might be making a decision soon."

"What decision?"

"I have an opportunity to study abroad, a full scholarship, for three years."

There was silence on the other end for a while.

My mom asked,"What about Ethan?"

I didn't answer directly, just said,"Mom, this is my own decision."

More silence.

Then my mom said something, her voice much softer than usual.

"Grace, when your dad was hospitalized a while ago, Ethan didn't even call once."

"You think I don't know, but I know everything."

I stood under the streetlamp, my eyes suddenly welling up.

Three months ago, my dad had been hospitalized for a week due to a herniated disc. I took time off to care for him.

Ethan knew about it. He only said, "Your dad's not serious, conservative treatment is enough," and then there was no follow-up.

He never called to ask once.

My mom had never mentioned it.

Turns out, she had remembered all along.

"Mom…" My voice was hoarse.

"Alright, don't cry," she said."Go if you want to. Your dad and I didn't put you through a master's degree just for you to fill out forms for someone else."

After hanging up, I stood by the roadside for a long time, until my tears dried before I moved.

My phone screen lit up.

An app notification.

[21:15 Ethan's Current Location: 10 West 74th Street, confirmed house empty again, called Grace, no answer.]

[21:16 Called Grace's mother, call duration 12 seconds, recipient hung up.]

He called my mom.

And my mom only spoke to him for 12 seconds.

I didn't know what my mom said in those 12 seconds, but I guessed it was probably just one sentence:

"Ask yourself."

I smiled.

Thanks, Mom.

I opened my phone, organized the resume and paper list Professor Miller needed, and sent them.

After sending, I sent a message to Maya.

[Please prepare the divorce papers for me.]

Maya replied instantly: [Already done.]

I took a deep breath.

Grace, from tomorrow, you make decisions only for yourself.

For the next two days, I worked during the day and reviewed professional materials at night.

Although I had been out of clinical practice for three years, I had always maintained the habit of reading literature.

I read at least two new papers in my field every week; my notes filled three folders.

Ethan didn't know about this.

He thought I was binging shows on my tablet every night.

Once, he walked past the living room, glanced at my screen, and said,"Stop watching useless stuff."

He didn't even see what I was watching.

But it didn't matter anymore.

These two days, Ethan hadn't come to block me at the administrative office, but the number of missed calls on my phone grew daily.

I didn't answer a single one.

The app, however, faithfully recorded his every move.

[Ethan called Grace from the hospital parking lot, no answer, then sat in the car for 4 minutes.]

[Ethan scanned the entire cafeteria, did not find target, left early, eating only 40% of his usual amount.]

[Ethan drove to the vicinity of 10 West 74th Street, circled twice, then drove away.]

[Ethan is in a state of insomnia, phone screen repeatedly lights up, lingering on Grace's social media profile, browsing duration 47 minutes.]

He was looking at my social media for forty-seven minutes past one in the morning.

But my last post was two months ago.

What was he even looking at?

I closed the app and continued reading the literature review in my hand.

I didn't want to know the answer anymore.

What good would knowing do? His insomnia couldn't cure my three years of disappointment.