I slammed my apartment door hard enough to make the frame shudder.
Let the neighbors complain. I didn't care.
Anything was better than hearing his voice follow me inside.
My back hit the door, my chest heaved like I've sprinted five miles.
God, my hands were still shaking.
He had been waiting outside my apartment door again like a stray dog that didn't understand the word "no." The same pathetic smile. Same honeyed words dripping with empty promises I had heard a thousand times before.
A year ago… No, even six months ago… hell, I might have wavered. I might let the guilt gnaw at me enough to crack the door open, though just a sliver.
But not anymore.
Tonight, I did snap at him, right there in the hallway. My voice was rising until Mrs. Mo across the hall poked her wrinkled face out to gawk at the show.
Humiliating? Absolutely.
Worth it? Also Yes.
Now, after finally alone, I could breathe.
I pressed my palms against my face and let out a strangled laugh. "Why won't he just leave me alone?"
My heel caught the wall as I kicked my shoes off. The grocery bag hit the floor with a wet thud, and I could hear the milk carton tipped over inside.
'Whatever. Will deal later.'
I stumbled to the couch and collapsed face first into the cushions. They smelled like cheap fabric softener and detergent.
It was clean. A simple clean. My own cleaniness.
This tiny apartment wasn't much. It only had one bedroom, a kitchen the size of a closet, a bathroom where you could brush your teeth while sitting on the toilet.
But every inch of it belonged to me.
I've worked my ass off for this place, and I wasn't sharing it with anyone, especially not another man who thought my purpose in life was only to serve him.
There were no dirty laundry mountains, no cigarette stink, no empty beer cans scattered all over the place.
The divorce last year had gutted me. It drained my savings, shredded my pride, and crushed whatever naive part of me which still believed in "happily ever after."
But when the process was over, I felt lighter.
No more tears for that man. Not even a single one.
My friends said I was glowing now. That my smile finally reached my eyes again.
I had a decent job, complete freedom, and a fridge full of food no one else touched.
Life wasn't perfect. But it was ALL MINE.
So why did he keep trying to crawl back in?
I rolled onto my back, staring at the ceiling. The light fixture had a crack in it I kept meaning to fix. Okay, added it to the list.
A hot shower. I needed it. Maybe I could ease my lingering adrenaline after yelled at him few minutes ago.
*******
The steam from the purposely set up a little higher than just a lukewarm water fogged over the mirror completely.
I scrubbed my skin pink, tried to erase every trace of his hand brushing mine in the hallway.
By the time I stumbled out and wrapped myself in a towel, I felt almost human again.
I pulled on my favorite oversized T-shirt—the one with the faded cartoon cat that was more holes than fabric—and flopped onto my bed.
It was perfect. A blissful quiet.
But then my phone buzzed.
Looking at the notification, I saw my mom's message.
Mom: Lulu, have you eaten?
I smiled. My sweet, relentlessly nosy mother.
Then the second message loaded.
Mom: I met a very nice man at the community center today! His son is 33, never married, stable job, good family background. You should meet him. I can arrange lunch this weekend?
My smile faltered.
Not again.
I typed a reply, but deleted it. Typed another, deleted that too.
What was I supposed to say? That I was happy alone? That I didn't need a man to feel complete? That marriage wasn't some achievement I had to unlock again?
She wouldn't listen anyway.
My chest tightened, exhaling.
I loved my mom. I really did. But why couldn't see understand?
"Nah. Won't reply tonight."
I powered the phone off completely and tossed it beside my pillow. The silence wrapped around me once again.
I closed my eyes.
Tomorrow, work would distract me. Life would move forward, and everything would be fine.
Then my eyes snapped open.
"Oh, crap."
My game. The mobile RPG I'd been grinding for weeks. I left my party mid dungeon, and if I didn't log back in soon, they would kick me out. Worse, I would lose all the rare loot I had been farming.
Cursing, I fumbled for the phone and jabbed the power button.
The screen lit up my dark room.
I tapped into the game app, watching the loading bar crawl across the screen.
Then a notification banner dropped down.
It was from an unknown number with a generic profile picture. Some stock photo of a beach.
But it had a name on the messaging application. Daniel Tan.
Daniel Tan: Hai, I heard you r looking for a job? There is a maid vacancy in our place.
I read it three times, and the heat of my anger crawled up my neck. My grip tightened around the phone until my knuckles went white.
"What the hell?!"
A maid? Was this guy serious?
I had a bachelor's degree. I have a career, savings, and a life I had fought for.
And some random stranger thought I was desperate enough to scrub toilets?
My thumbs hovered over the keyboard, trying to find the most sarcastic reply for this stranger.
But I calmed down when finishing my dungeon run eventhough with shaking hands.
What would be the point of engaging with that creep?
I locked the phone and hurled it onto the pillow.
"Unbelievable."
I pulled the blanket over my head.
"First my ex. Then Mom's matchmaking crusade. Now some random pervert offering me maid work? Is the universe actively trying to break me?"
My heart still pounded with fury, but exhaustion was winning.
The last thing I remembered before sleep dragged me under was that stupid beach photo burned into my vision.