Page 42 of Vitamin Sea

" G ood to go, Chlo?” Jack’s voice came from outside the door.

“Yes!” she called back.

Chloe gazed around the condo, the place she had called home for almost six years. It was stripped bare of all her belongings and now looked rather sparse. It was sparkling clean and looked sadly empty without all her things. It was no longer a home. It was a place she no longer recognized.

She was moving back into her old condo that day—one month after her article about Costa Morpho had come out. Her tenant had agreed to leave early, and Chloe couldn’t wait to get back into her old place and get settled.

Liam, as she had anticipated, had read her article. He had picked up the latest issue of Strut the day it had hit newsstands and after he read her article, he went ballistic.

It didn’t bring Chloe any satisfaction, and she replied to his multitude of angry text messages and phone calls with her own message.

Liam , she had written, I am sorry you’re unhappy with my decision. I truly loved you and thought we would grow old together. When you broke up with me, I was devastated. My hopes, my dreams, and my future were shattered.

When you came back into my life, I seriously considered forgiving you and starting over.

But then I realized—I’m not the same person I was eight months ago.

I realized I want a fresh start and to give things a go with the man I am currently seeing.

Maybe it will work out, maybe it wont. One thing I do know is I will be okay either way.

I know this because I believed my life was destroyed when you dumped me, but I came out of it a stronger and more resilient person.

After I made my decision, I found out you cheated on me with Sophia for the last six months of our relationship.

I specifically asked you if that had happened and gave you the chance to come clean. And you lied to me. Again.

I forgive you, Liam. And I want to thank you for helping me to discover what the root of happiness actually is.

I wish you all the best in the future and I hope you are able to take something away from this.

There are no hard feelings on my part, but I no longer want you in my life.

I am moving out of your condo at the end of the month, and I will leave the keys in the mailbox. Have a great life, Liam. C

He hadn’t taken that text well either and Chloe had been forced to use the block function on her phone and email.

◆◆◆

Horns honked and vehicles zipped by as Jack drove them over to Chloe’s condo. It was a warm October day and people were enjoying one of the last sunny days of the season. The scent of pumpkin spice wafted from the container in Chloe’s hand, and she took a sip of the sweet autumn drink.

“I have a three-day assignment in Houston next month,” she said casually, watching Jack’s face as he concentrated on the road. “If you can swing it, do you want to come?”

Jack smiled.

“I say—I say—I say,” he said in a Yosemite Sam accent as Chloe giggled. “Tell me when and I’ll make it happen.”

A bright smile spread across her face as he made a lefthand turn onto Spadina. Chloe leaned back in the passenger seat of his car and a sense of tranquility washed over her.