Woke Up Naked Next to a Stranger - Chapter 8: Chapter 8
You are reading Woke Up Naked Next to a Stranger, Chapter 8: Chapter 8. Read more chapters of Woke Up Naked Next to a Stranger.
No matter how hard I defended myself, they wouldn't listen. Their voices only grew sharper, their accusations more biting.
"It wasn't her..."
"Dad, Mom, she didn't do anything wrong. She's good—she helped me!"
Daniel Winston kept speaking up for me, his voice firm, desperate to stop his parents from pinning the blame on me.
Just as tensions reached a breaking point, two officers arrived. They had reviewed the security footage from the night Daniel disappeared—it showed a man taking him. With Daniel insisting over and over that I had nothing to do with it, his parents finally backed down.
The police questioned me briefly, then asked for my ID. But without my passport, I had no way to prove who I was. They took me to the station.
At the precinct, I called the embassy. Thankfully, they stepped in, issuing me an emergency passport. Once they confirmed there was no legal reason to hold me, I was released on bail.
The moment I was free, I tried Ethan again. Still nothing—his phone was off. I begged the embassy staff to help track him down, only to learn the crushing truth: his passport had an exit stamp. He was already gone.
With no other choice, I booked the next flight home, leaving that same night.
The plane ride was agony. My chest ached like it was filled with stones. Tears burned my eyes the entire way.
Why? Why would he leave me like this?
Had he seen me talking to Ryan Lowell, the intern at work? Did he think something was going on between us?
Memories of us—before the wedding, before everything—flooded my mind, blurring my vision with fresh tears.
By the time I landed and made it to our apartment, it was past 11 PM.
I stood outside the door, rehearsing what I'd say. I'd scream, I'd sob, I'd demand answers the second I saw him.
But the apartment was dark. Silent.
Then I noticed—the deadbolt was new.
My key didn't fit.
I had locked this door myself before our trip. He had come back just to change it.
The dam broke. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor, sobbing so hard my ribs hurt.
Why? Why shut me out like this?
Did he want to erase me from his life completely?
A neighbor, hearing my cries, rushed over. She told me Ethan had hired someone to change the lock that afternoon.
With her help, I called building security. They knew me—they tried reaching Ethan, but his phone was still dead. Since they had no legal reason to keep me out, they picked the lock.
The moment I stepped inside, the emptiness hit me like a punch.
Ethan's closet was open. His clothes, his laptop, his razor—everything was gone.
The neighbor and security stayed, trying to calm me down, but rest was impossible. I needed answers.
Security let me check the surveillance footage.
And there he was.
Ethan. Two suitcases in hand. Walking away without a single glance back.
He wasn't coming back.
Alone in that hollow apartment, I cried until my eyes swelled shut. Every breath felt like shards of glass in my chest.
"It wasn't her..."
"Dad, Mom, she didn't do anything wrong. She's good—she helped me!"
Daniel Winston kept speaking up for me, his voice firm, desperate to stop his parents from pinning the blame on me.
Just as tensions reached a breaking point, two officers arrived. They had reviewed the security footage from the night Daniel disappeared—it showed a man taking him. With Daniel insisting over and over that I had nothing to do with it, his parents finally backed down.
The police questioned me briefly, then asked for my ID. But without my passport, I had no way to prove who I was. They took me to the station.
At the precinct, I called the embassy. Thankfully, they stepped in, issuing me an emergency passport. Once they confirmed there was no legal reason to hold me, I was released on bail.
The moment I was free, I tried Ethan again. Still nothing—his phone was off. I begged the embassy staff to help track him down, only to learn the crushing truth: his passport had an exit stamp. He was already gone.
With no other choice, I booked the next flight home, leaving that same night.
The plane ride was agony. My chest ached like it was filled with stones. Tears burned my eyes the entire way.
Why? Why would he leave me like this?
Had he seen me talking to Ryan Lowell, the intern at work? Did he think something was going on between us?
Memories of us—before the wedding, before everything—flooded my mind, blurring my vision with fresh tears.
By the time I landed and made it to our apartment, it was past 11 PM.
I stood outside the door, rehearsing what I'd say. I'd scream, I'd sob, I'd demand answers the second I saw him.
But the apartment was dark. Silent.
Then I noticed—the deadbolt was new.
My key didn't fit.
I had locked this door myself before our trip. He had come back just to change it.
The dam broke. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to the floor, sobbing so hard my ribs hurt.
Why? Why shut me out like this?
Did he want to erase me from his life completely?
A neighbor, hearing my cries, rushed over. She told me Ethan had hired someone to change the lock that afternoon.
With her help, I called building security. They knew me—they tried reaching Ethan, but his phone was still dead. Since they had no legal reason to keep me out, they picked the lock.
The moment I stepped inside, the emptiness hit me like a punch.
Ethan's closet was open. His clothes, his laptop, his razor—everything was gone.
The neighbor and security stayed, trying to calm me down, but rest was impossible. I needed answers.
Security let me check the surveillance footage.
And there he was.
Ethan. Two suitcases in hand. Walking away without a single glance back.
He wasn't coming back.
Alone in that hollow apartment, I cried until my eyes swelled shut. Every breath felt like shards of glass in my chest.
End of Woke Up Naked Next to a Stranger Chapter 8. Continue reading Chapter 9 or return to Woke Up Naked Next to a Stranger book page.