Part 3My Boyfriend Became Her Long-Term Rental

The next morning, Mom texted me a little after 5:00 pm.

"Your dad went to the farmer's market and came back with the freshest halibut fillets."

She also sent me a photo of Dad wearing an apron. He was polishing the wine glasses.

I thought there was no way anything would go wrong this time.

At 4:00 pm, Winnie called. "My mother's birthday celebration started early. All of our relatives are here."

Chase was driving. "And?"

Winnie's voice turned coquettish. "I told Mom you'd be here."

Chase frowned slightly. "Who told you to say that?"

"It's not like I'm not paying you." She paused for a moment before continuing in a cajoling tone. "How does 800 bucks sound? If that's not enough, how about a thousand? You just need to show up for a few minutes."

Chase glanced at me before saying, "I'm not going."

The call ended.

I almost laughed. For the first time, the tension I'd been holding in me finally loosened for good.

Half an hour later, Winnie sent a photo to Chase. Her mother was sitting in front of a birthday cake. The whole table was filled with relatives. Her eyes were red.

Her message read, "Mom asked me if you deliberately chose not to show up because she couldn't afford to have a lavish party. If you don't come, I'm going to be humiliated."

Chase's smile disappeared. For a moment, the car was silent. I already knew what was about to happen, but I wanted to hear him say it anyway.

"Isla."

"I'm listening."

"I'll just pop in for ten minutes," he said.

I kept my eyes fixed on the road as I replied, "My parents are also waiting for you."

"I know that."

"You promised me you'd visit my parents with me today."

"It's not like I won't be going over at all." Chase's tone became increasingly urgent. "Your parents are family anyway. It won't matter if I'm a little late. Mrs. Stuart's relatives have all shown up for her birthday. I can't let her end up embarrassed because of me."

I laughed. "Run along then."

He glanced at me. "Are you upset again?"

"Nope."

"You sure?"

"I am."

Chase sighed. "Isla, why do I get the feeling that you're becoming harder and harder to placate these days?"

When the car stopped at the red light, he reached out to squeeze my hand. "What happened to my old boss, the one who was always so understanding?"

I pulled my hand away, and he frowned.

"See? You're doing this again. It's not that I don't care about you. I just know that you won't dump me over trivial matters like this. That's the only reason why I think it won't matter if I help her out first."

He even chuckled as he added, "This proves how much I trust you, you know."

I looked at him. I never knew someone could twist willful neglect and disregard into an act of trust.

Chase continued, "No matter what I do for Winnie, you're still the one I'm marrying, aren't you? What do you have to be worried about?"

I said nothing.

…

One hour later, I sat at the dining table with my parents. From 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Dad kept pushing the platter of grilled halibut toward me.

"You should start eating. Fish spoils easily if you don't keep it warm."

Mom also tried to help me feel better with possible reasons for Chase's absence. "Maybe he really can't get away."

At 10:00 pm, Winnie uploaded a video on her Instagram. Chase was sitting beside her mother, and the relatives were teasing them.

"My, my. Winnie has an excellent eye for men!"

Someone even asked, "When are you guys getting married?"

Winnie smiled and looked at Chase, who neither affirmed nor denied their implied relationship. But he did stop someone who tried to refill her wine glass.

"Winnie can't drink too much. It'll give her bad headaches."

In the comment section, Winnie replied to someone, "It's not a rental today. Today, he's my date."

I stared at the words for a few seconds before heading back to my rented apartment. I started packing my things. I only stopped when I saw Winnie post a screenshot of money being refunded to her account in the group chat.

Winnie: "Why aren't you taking the money?"

Chase: "I'm just helping you celebrate your mother's birthday. I can't take payment for that."

Winnie: "So, what does this count as?"

After two minutes, Chase replied, "It counts as me willingly helping you."

I sat frozen on the edge of the bed for a very long time. As it turned out, it was never Winnie who couldn't afford to pay the rental fee. Chase simply didn't need money for his "services" anymore.

At 1:12 am, the door unlocked. Chase came in and said breezily, "Hey there, boss. Your boyfriend's back from his side gig."

When there was no answer, he chuckled and took off his coat. "Are you asleep?"

However, the moment he entered the bedroom, he froze. Half the closet was empty. Everything of mine that had been on the bedside table was gone. Only one toothbrush was left in the bathroom.

Chase pulled out his phone. The location-sharing app we'd both installed now showed a line of gray text.

"The other person has stopped sharing their location with you."

This time, for the first time, Chase no longer looked quite so confident that he could coax me with just a few empty words.