Escape from Mr. Whitman (Emma and Theodore) novel Chapter 372

He hadn’t left the room, but a moment later, his phone rang.

It was Jared.

“Hey?” he answered, already guessing why Jared was calling at this hour—it was probably another invitation to go out drinking or hit up a bar, but he was ready to decline.

Funny, he thought, how things had changed. Wasn’t it always him who used to drag out nights with friends, finding any excuse not to go home?

But this time, Jared was calling for something else: to have him comfort Cecilia Chambers.

“What did you do to make Cici cry like this?” Jared sounded genuinely baffled, and over the line, he could hear Cecilia’s muffled sobs in the background.

He paused, trying to remember—oh, right, he hadn’t agreed to buy Cecilia that new apartment she wanted.

He let out a humorless chuckle and hung up.

All that talk about someone caring for him, about love being enough as long as he kept her in his heart—he’d never really believed it. Back then, he was simply willing to indulge her.

Five years ago, when Cecilia left, it was right when he and Jared Hanley had hit a rough patch with their startup.

Years of hard work seemed on the verge of going down the drain.

That was when she decided to walk away and break up with him.

He wasn’t stupid—he knew exactly why she left. But he also had enough self-awareness not to drag someone down with him when he had nothing to offer.

Later, he heard the rumors: she’d gone abroad with some rich trust-fund kid.

None of it surprised him.

Yes, he had a chip on his shoulder.

That new apartment he’d furnished for his wedding—it was decorated exactly to Cecilia’s old dreams.

Back then, his company had just started turning around. He had some money, but not much, and he had to take out a mortgage for the place. But in his heart, he thought: See? The design you wanted, the door code you picked—I gave all of it to someone else. I could finally afford to.

So when Cecilia returned after five years, he carried that grudge, savoring her admiration and affection, finding a childish satisfaction in it. The woman who’d left him now clung to him, eager to please—and finally, he felt vindicated.

But over time, that balance inside him began to tilt.

Just as Cathie Marshall had said, he’d sunk into the cheap thrill of juggling two relationships, letting himself get lost in the ambiguity.

He basked in Cecilia’s worship, lavishing her with attention and forgiveness as if, by doing so, he could prove to his former, broken self that he’d made it—that he was invincible.