BAANGG!!
I slammed the door so hard, and the whole frame rattled. Good. Let the neighbours complain again if they want. I didn't care. Anything was better than having his voice following me into my own home.
I leaned my back against the door, my chest rising and falling like I'd just run a marathon. My palms were still sweaty from the confrontation.
He'd been waiting for me outside my door like some pitiful stray dog, again. He had the same fake smile, said the same sweet words that were full of the same empty promises.
A few years ago, I would have melted. I would've dropped my groceries and run right into his arms, blushing like an idiot. Back then, his voice felt like warmth, not lies. I was still naive enough to believe 'forever' meant forever, and not just something they sell you in fairy tales.
But now, hearing his voice felt like he was shoving dirt in my ears. Once I actually snapped, shouting at him right there in the hallway until the old lady across the hall peeked her head out her door to see what was going on. It was humiliating.
Now, alone inside my apartment, I could finally breathe. I pressed my hands to my face and muttered, "God, why won't he just leave me alone?"
Still furious, I kicked my shoes off so hard one of them hit the wall. My bag of groceries hit the floor with a thud, and I heard the milk carton tip over.
Whatever. I'd deal with it later.
I stumbled straight to the living room and just collapsed face first onto my couch. The cushions smelled faintly of detergent and cheap fabric softener, but it was a clean smell.
It was my smell. My own clean state.
This little apartment wasn't much, but it was mine. And I had worked damn hard for it, and all for myself, not to feed a lazy man.
No dirty laundry scattered here and there, no alcohol smell or ashtray full of cigarette butts. Those useless efforts to make him be something useful as a husband. But then I gave up, he was helpless.
The divorce last year had been a nightmare. It drained my savings, shattered my pride, and completely destroyed any faith I had left in romance.
But when it was over, I felt… lighter.
No more walking on eggshells around him. No more pretending to be happy when I felt like my soul was shrivelling up and dying.
My friends all said I glowed now, that my smile finally looked real again. I had a decent job, total freedom, and a fridge full of food no one else touched. Life wasn't perfect, but it was finally mine.
'So why did he keep trying to crawl his way back into my life?'
Groaning, I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling light. I wasn't going to waste another tear on that man.
Maybe a hot shower would help. That was what I needed. Maybe I could scrub the memory of him and the stink of his words right off my skin.
*******
The steam filled the tiny bathroom, fogging up the mirror as I scrubbed my skin until it was pink, as though I could erase the memory of his hand brushing against mine.
By the time I finally got out and wrapped myself in a towel, I did feel cleaner and lighter.
Humming, I pulled on my favourite oversized T-shirt, the one with the faded cartoon cat on it, and flopped onto my bed. Finally, peace and quiet.
Or so I thought.
My phone buzzed right beside my pillow. Groaning, I reached out, and saw the notification message from my mom.
Mom: Lulu, have you eaten dinner?
I sighed. My sweet, nosy mom, always worrying. But then a second message popped up.
Mom: By the way, I met a nice man at the community center today. His son is thirty-three, never married. Stable job and good family. You should meet him. I can set up a lunch this weekend. Just talk, okay?
My stomach sank. 'Not this again'.
I typed out a reply, then deleted it. Typed another one. Deleted that too.
What was I even supposed to say? That I was actually happy being single? That I didn't need a man to feel like a whole person? That marriage wasn't some trophy I had to win again?
My chest felt tight with frustration. I love my mom, I really do, but why couldn't she get it?
"Nope. Not gonna deal with this tonight."
I tossed the phone facedown again beside my pillow after I shut it off completely. The silence was bliss.
Then I pulled the blanket up to my chin and closed my eyes. Tomorrow work would distract me. Life would move forward.
But then…
"Oh, crap," I muttered, bolting upright in bed.
My eyes shot to the powered off phone. The mobile RPG I was obsessed with. I'd been grinding levels for the big weekend event and had left my party right in the middle of a dungeon.
If I stayed logged off for too long, they'd kick me out. Even worse, I'd lose all the rare loot I'd been farming for hours.
Cursing, I fumbled for the phone and turned it back on.
The screen lit up my dark room, and I quickly tapped my finger into my game.
Just as the game's loading screen appeared, the phone buzzed again with a new message notification.
It wasn't from anyone in my contacts, or from anyone I knew. The profile picture was just a generic photo of a beach with blue sky, waves, and sand. The name was just a normal guy's name. Daniel Tan.
Curious, I squinted at the text.
Daniel Tan: Hai, I heard you r looking for a job? There is a maid vacancy in our place.
I read it once. Twice. Three times. My face started to burn with anger.
"What the hell?" I hissed, my grip tightening on the phone.
A maid vacancy? Are you kidding me? Who did this random guy think I was? Some desperate woman with no education begging for work?
I have a bachelor's degree, god damnit, and I have a stable career.
My blood boiled and my thumbs hovered over the keyboard, ready to unleash a storm of insults. But then I stopped. 'What was even the point? I don't even know him.'
Grumbling, I finished my game real quick, then locked the phone with a sharp click and threw it onto the pillow beside me, then pulled the blanket back over me.
"Unbelievable. First my ex. Then my mom trying to marry me off. Now some random creep offering me a job as a maid? Is the universe literally conspiring against me tonight?"
My heart was still pounding with fury, but exhaustion pulled heavier at my eyelids.
The last thing I remember before drifting off was that stupid beach picture glowing in my mind.