Leaving Without a Trace

Just as I got out of the shower, my dad called me.

"I'm glad you thought things through, Jeremy. I'm getting old, and you're my only son. For the past three years, you've refused to come home and take over the family business from me—all for the sake of that woman. You have no idea how much your mom and I have missed you," Dad said.

"It wouldn't be so bad if she genuinely returned your feelings as well. However, it's been three years now. She hasn't even officially introduced you to her family or her friends. That proves she doesn't care about you all that much.

"Since you've decided to come home, I'll set the wedding date for next month. What do you say?"

After hearing what Dad said, I froze a little.

In the past, whenever I heard such comments from him, I always felt uncomfortable. I assumed he looked down on Isabel because our family was wealthy. I would stand my ground and argue with him, telling him how in love Isabel and I were.

But this time, I couldn't say anything.

"Alright," I replied. "I'll head back after Professor Carter's birthday celebration. You guys can handle the wedding arrangements."

As soon as the call ended, I heard the sound of footsteps outside the room.

Isabel opened the door and came in with a box of cut mango slices. After setting it down on the table, she came up to me with a frown and asked suspiciously, "I heard you mention the word wedding just now. How many times have I told you that since we've delayed the wedding, there's no rush?"

Seeing how flustered she was, I coolly responded, "I wasn't talking about us. A relative of mine asked me to help plan his wedding."

That calmed Isabel right down. She picked up the box of mangoes again and said, "Cam was afraid you'd be unhappy, so he has moved to a hotel. He even got me to deliver these mangoes to you as a token of his apology."

Just mentioning Cameron was enough to make her smile. When I failed to respond, her eyes flashed with displeasure.

"Don't push it, Jeremy. You should stop kicking up a fuss now. If you keep this up, no one wins."

Snorting, I asked, "We've been together for so many years now. Did you not know I'm allergic to mangoes?"

Once I finished speaking, I turned around and grabbed a hairdryer to start drying my hair.

Isabel trailed behind me. I noticed her opening her mouth to speak several times, but in the end, she said nothing.

In the past, she remembered all of my allergies, my dislikes, and every single one of our anniversaries.

Once, I got an allergic reaction after eating a dessert that had mangoes in it. She stayed up all night with me at the hospital, worrying about me.

It wasn't that she had forgotten about my mango allergy. She simply didn't care about me anymore.

Ignoring her, I took out the medical supplies I got from the doctor and started redressing my wounds. When she saw my injuries, her eyes filled with guilt. She picked up a cotton bud to help me disinfect my wounds.

I was just about to decline her help when her phone rang.

"I think I ate something I shouldn't have, Izzy," Cameron said weakly. "My stomach is killing me. I'm even sweating from the pain. Could you bring me some medication?"

Upon hearing that, Isabel leaped to her feet.

"Calm down. I'll be right there. Go lie down and get some rest. Don't go anywhere!" she cried out.

Once the call ended, she explained to me earnestly, "Cam's sick, Jeremy. I need to check on him. I swear there's nothing going on between us. If we were going to get involved with each other, we wouldn't have waited this long to do it. You'd better not throw a tantrum because of this."

She was out the door before I could even respond. She even knocked over all of my medical supplies when she hurried off.

Looking at the quiet, empty house and the tightly shut front door, I couldn't resist letting out a self-deprecating chuckle.

Whenever something happened to Cameron, Isabel would always get unusually worried, and I would feel insecure about it. She always said I didn't trust her enough.

Well, she needn't worry about that anymore. I was never going to be suspicious of her again.