15 Days Before I Left Him Chapter 17
Anthony forcefully arranged the surgery that very day, using Dorothy’s cancer diagnosis and her unsuitability for pregnancy as the reason to terminate the child she was carrying.
After dealing with Dorothy’s situation, he was unwilling to lose track of Genevieve just like that, so he went to Adrianna’s house to question her about Genevieve’s whereabouts. When Adrianna refused to answer, Anthony waited outside her house every day. After several days, Adrianna became truly annoyed and finally said that Genevieve had gone to a laboratory and had already left Chicago, but she refused to reveal which laboratory it was.
Anthony and Genevieve had attended the same university, and he thought of Colton. So he asked around among university alumni and eventually learned that Colton had established a new laboratory in New York.
Although there was no concrete evidence proving that Genevieve was in that laboratory, Anthony’s intuition told him she was in New York. Anthony bought a plane ticket and immediately flew to New York.
Following the address given by his alumni, Anthony successfully found the laboratory. At that time, the first experiment had not yet begun, so the laboratory was not in a closed state. Therefore, Anthony directly approached someone who had just returned from outside and asked him to help find Genevieve.
Genevieve was very surprised when she heard from Kourtney that someone was looking for her. She had only told a few people the laboratory’s address, and she had just left Chicago—who could have come to find her?
With confusion in her heart, Genevieve walked out, only to discover that the person looking for her was actually Anthony.
When Anthony saw her figure, his eyes grew hot, and the anxiety that had been weighing on his heart seemed to settle instantly. He could not help but step forward and grab Genevieve’s wrist.
“Why did you break up with me? Why did you leave without saying a word? Do you know how much effort it took for me to find you!”
Genevieve had not yet recovered from the shock of seeing Anthony when his barrage of questions left her stunned, and for a moment she did not pull her hand away. Seeing that she did not resist his touch, Anthony could not help but feel a surge of joy in his heart. Perhaps she was just still angry with him, and if he explained things properly, she would surely forgive him.
Unfortunately, in the next second, Anthony’s beautiful fantasy was shattered. Genevieve immediately pulled her hand away as she came to her senses, her expression showing some impatience.
“Why are you here?”
Seeing her act as if she could not get away from him fast enough, Anthony began to panic. “Evie, I came to apologize to you, I…”
“I don’t want to hear it.” Before Anthony could finish, Genevieve interrupted him. “My attitude has always been the same: we are breaking up. I don’t know how you got my address, but please don’t come looking for me again. The experiment starts tomorrow, and I just want to focus on my work. You should go back. Dorothy is still waiting for you.”
Anthony knew that his previous attitude had deeply hurt Genevieve, which was why she was now treating him so mercilessly. But he was willing to use time and everything he had to make it up to her.
“Evie, I have no feelings for Dorothy at all. The one I like is you.”
After five years together, this was the first time Genevieve had ever heard Anthony say the words like to her. But the five years of a relationship devoid of happiness had already made her clear-headed; she would not believe in those empty words anymore.
Genevieve only glanced at him, her eyes filled with sarcasm. “Don’t you find it ridiculous to say those words?”
After saying this, Genevieve no longer wished to be entangled with him and turned to return to the laboratory. Tomorrow was the first day of the experiment, and she still had a lot of preparation to do. Anthony’s persistent shouts came from behind her, but she did not look back even once.
Anthony found a hotel near the laboratory to stay in. He originally thought that Genevieve could not possibly stay in the laboratory forever, and that he would eventually see her again. But unexpectedly, one day passed, then two days… until a week had gone by, and there was still no sign of Genevieve. Anthony finally could not sit still any longer. He asked the security guard and learned that the first experiment had already begun. Unless he waited until the experiment ended, no one inside would come out.
Anthony hurriedly asked, “How long will the experiment last?” The guard said it was expected to last a year and a half.
Anthony returned to Chicago in a daze. Back home, he lay on the large bed, feeling that the house he had lived in for five years now brought him endless coldness. No one would bring him water and medicine when he was sick anymore, no one would call his name, and no one would leave a light on for him when he came home late.
Anthony curled his body up, as if that could bring him a little warmth. Unconsciously, he fell asleep.
In his dreams, it was as if nothing that had happened in the past week had ever occurred. He and Genevieve smoothly held their wedding, and the day after the ceremony, they registered their marriage and became a legally married couple. Afterward, they went on their honeymoon, traveling all over Europe and taking photos together at every scenic spot.
When Anthony woke up, he could no longer tell whether it had been a dream or reality. He subconsciously called out Genevieve’s name, but there was no familiar response—only the sparrows outside the window chirping noisily. When Anthony touched his pillow, he found it was already soaked.
Genevieve’s resolute attitude about breaking up that day, as well as the incident of mistaking his savior from years ago, kept alternating in his mind. It almost made him unable to think, leaving him in a state of confusion. But when his gaze fell on the calendar, where the word “breakup” was marked in bright red, Anthony’s mind gradually cleared. He was unwilling to break up with Genevieve. Even if she had to stay in the laboratory for a whole year and a half, he was willing to wait.
For the past twenty years, it had always been Genevieve chasing after him. Now that their roles were reversed, he was willing to chase after Genevieve. This time, he would prove his feelings to Genevieve. Anthony’s gaze gradually became resolute.
He would wait for Genevieve to come back.
