I Told My Roommate My Date Rejected Me… Her Next Words Left Me Speechless
Chapter 12
The case lasted almost a year.
There were hearings.
Financial audits.
Witness interviews.
Documents released to the public.
Eventually, Olivia was convicted for the financial crimes.
Ryan cooperated with investigators and admitted his role.
My father’s name was officially cleared.
Thomas’s work was recognized.
Claire’s mother returned home.
Slowly, the past stopped controlling the present.
But there was one thing we still hadn’t resolved.
Our apartment.
It had been our home for two years.
But every room now carried memories.
Good ones.
Bad ones.
Secret ones.
Claire sat on the couch.
“We should move.”
I looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because this place was built around lies.”
I smiled.
“Maybe.”
“But we don’t have to keep it.”
I nodded.
“What would you want?”
“A place with sunlight.”
“That’s specific.”
“Three bedrooms.”
“Why three?”
She looked embarrassed.
“For someday.”
I smiled.
“Someday?”
“Yes.”
“Children?”
She threw a pillow at me.
“Too soon.”
I laughed.
Then the apartment door opened.
Her mother walked in.
She looked healthier.
Happier.
She hugged Claire.
Then me.
“Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“I do.”
She looked at us.
“I thought you were roommates.”
“We are.”
She smiled.
“For now.”
Claire groaned.
“Mom.”
Her mother laughed.
Then she handed Claire a small box.
“Your father left this.”
Claire opened it.
Inside was a ring.
Not an engagement ring.
A simple silver band.
A note accompanied it.
For the person who stays.
Claire looked at me.
“I don’t understand.”
Her mother explained.
“Your father bought this after he met Daniel’s father.”
“He intended it for me?”
“No.”
Claire read the note again.
“For the person who stays.”
Her eyes filled.
She looked at me.
I knew what she was thinking.
Not about marriage.
Not yet.
About trust.
About staying.
About all the years when people had left.
Her father.
Her mother.
My father.
Relationships.
Friends.
And yet here we were.
Still here.
That evening, Claire and I went for a walk.
We stopped near the river.
She looked at me.
“Do you remember what you told me the night Emily rejected you?”
“That I got rejected?”
“Yes.”
“You’re making fun of me.”
“A little.”
I laughed.
Then she smiled.
“You said you thought your romantic life was doomed.”
“I’m glad you remember.”
“I remember everything you say.”
I looked at her.
“That’s dangerous.”
She smiled.
“You know what else I remember?”
“What?”
“When you told me I was confident.”
“You were.”
“I wasn’t.”
“What were you?”
“Scared.”
She stepped closer.
“Scared that you’d never see me.”
I looked into her eyes.
“I see you now.”
She smiled.
“Good.”
I kissed her.
For once, there were no secrets behind the moment.
No hidden ledger.
No family conspiracy.
No danger.
Just us.
And it felt almost impossible that our story had started with me complaining about a date that rejected me.
