He Touched Her, I Walked Away

On the day I was supposed to officially introduce Sean Olson to my family, he showed up two hours late. The food on the table had already gone cold, and the look in my mom's eyes shifted from playful teasing to deep worry. Just as I was pulling out my phone to call him, a TikTok notification popped up on my screen. It was a video posted by Madison Grant, a student in his dance company. In the clip, Sean was dancing a passionate duet with her. He held her tightly by the waist as they spun together, and as the spin ended, he leaned in so close that his lips almost brushed her forehead, his eyes full of lingering affection. The caption read: [Thanks to my coach for choreographing this routine for me. We're like soulmates on the dance floor!] I locked my phone and told my family he had an emergency. After that, the entire dinner tasted completely bland. Late that night, Sean finally came home covered in the smell of sweat. He cautiously wrapped his arms around me from behind, murmuring sleepily, “Babe, I'm so sorry. The new girl’s basics are just too weak, so I had to stay late to give her extra training. “The Latin dance competition is next month, and she's the dancer I'm coaching. I can't afford to ruin my reputation. “Once the competition is over, I'll bring a nice bottle of wine over to apologize to your mom, okay?” I didn't say a single word. Because from now on, whoever he chooses to dance with has absolutely nothing to do with me anymore. Chapter 1 “Why are you being so quiet? Are you not feeling well? Do you have a fever?” Seeing my silence, Sean Olson reached his hand out, trying to feel my forehead. However, that was the same hand he had just used to hold another woman. I quietly tilted my head away and slipped out of his embrace. The air in the room froze for a second. His hand was left hanging awkwardly in mid-air, looking completely lost, and a flash of panic crossed his eyes. “Ellie, are you… actually mad at me? “Look, I know I shouldn't have stood you and your parents up. You can hit me, yell at me, anything. Just please don't give me the silent treatment, okay?” Honestly, even just listening to him speak felt exhausting. I just wanted to end this whole circus as quickly as possible. So, I looked up and cut him off. “Go take a shower. “You're covered in sweat, and you know how much I hate a mess.” Sean let out a sigh of relief. His tense shoulders instantly dropped, and that familiar, helpless smile returned to his face. “Man, you scared me to death. I thought you were actually furious with me for being late. “My bad, totally my bad. I wasn’t thinking and brought all that stink right to you.” Clearly, he only understood the literal meaning of my words. He started humming a song as he walked into the bathroom, and soon, the sound of rushing water filled the room. I pulled out a tissue and, without a single shred of emotion on my face, wiped down the exact spots where he had just touched me. Then, I tossed it into the trash can. Sure, water could wash away the smell of sweat from his body. But it could never wash away the lingering looks he had given someone else. Once something is ruined, it's ruined. The next morning, I was woken up by his call. “Babe, I left in such a rush this morning that I forgot my knee pads at home. Can you bring them over to me?” The background noise on his end was incredibly loud, pulsing with the upbeat rhythm of Latin dance music. If this had been the old me, I wouldn't have hesitated for a single second. I would have taken a cab immediately and rushed right over. On top of that, I would have thoughtfully packed him some pre-cut fruit and a Gatorade to help him keep his energy up. But now? I just stared blankly at the ceiling and gave a flat reply. “Just DoorDash a courier to pick them up.” “That's way too slow! Plus, they always get lost, and I have to go all the way outside to meet them. It's going to ruin my practice rhythm. “Come on, babe, just make a quick trip. Oh, and while you're at it, can you make a couple of turkey sandwiches? Madison and I haven't had lunch yet.” He didn't even try to hide mentioning Madison Grant's name. I was just about to hang up on him when, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a dusty shoebox sitting in the study. Inside was a pair of custom ballroom dance shoes that I had specially ordered through a friend all the way from Sampa. After I gave them to him, he took them to the studio and never wore them even once. He claimed they were too flashy and not practical enough for daily use. Well, thinking about it now, this was actually the perfect time to grab them, sell them off, and get some of my money back. “Fine,” I said. After hanging up, I took my sweet time washing up and getting ready. Then, I grabbed his knee pads and drove over to the dance studio. I walked down the familiar hallways toward Studio One. The door was slightly cracked open. However, just as I was about to push it open and walk in, the suggestive sounds coming from inside made me freeze right in my tracks. “Ah… it hurts, Sean… Please go a little easier on me…” Chapter 2 Her voice was whiny, tinged with a crying tone. “Bear with it. This muscle is way too stiff. If I don't rub it out, how are you going to practice later?” I pushed the door open. In the huge rehearsal studio, Madison was wearing an extra-short practice skirt. Her long legs were propped up on Sean without any reservation. His hands were tightly pinching the soft flesh of her inner thigh, pressing down again and again. He pressed until Madison's face was flushed, and she was leaning entirely against his shoulder, trembling slightly. It couldn't have looked any more suggestive. Hearing the sound of the door opening, Sean reacted as if he had been burned, quickly letting go and standing up. “Babe, you… you're here? “Um, Madison… she just had a leg cramp. It hurt really badly, so I was helping her relieve it.” A flash of awkwardness crossed Sean’s face, and he rubbed his hands together helplessly. Behind him, Madison adjusted the hem of her skirt and looked at me provocatively. “Yeah, Ellie, high-intensity training makes it easy to cramp up. If you don't handle it right away, you're done for. You understand, right?” In the past, when other students in their dance company got cramps, Sean would always keep a cold face and tell them to massage it out for each other. Back then, he always said that his wife was particular about cleanliness and that men and women should maintain proper boundaries. So, it turned out that boundaries depended on the person. However, it didn't matter because I didn't care anymore. I casually tossed the knee pads onto a nearby chair. “I understand,” I nodded. “He’s the coach. For the sake of the competition results, it’s only right for him to help his students relax their muscles.” Sean froze. He had prepared a whole speech to coax me and had even braced himself for me to make a huge scene. But he never expected me to be this calm. This abnormality made him feel uneasy, but Madison looped her arm through mine, smiling innocently. “Thanks for understanding, Ellie! I've always said you are the most generous and wouldn't get blindly jealous.” I quietly pulled my arm back. “No need to thank me. It's what he's supposed to do.” Seeing the tension ease, Sean let out a sigh of relief. However, as his gaze fell on my empty hands, he froze again. “You… only brought the knee pads? What about the sandwiches?” “I didn't have time to make them, since you wanted the knee pads quick.” He blanked for a moment. In the past, whenever I came to the studio, my hands would always be full of bags. Sometimes it was a homemade lunch box, and sometimes it was a big bag of fruit, enough to share with all the students. However, he would always take just one bite of the food I prepared and set it down. Frowning, he'd say homemade food lacked precise calorie calculations and would ruin his muscle definition. He said a dancer's body was their career, before throwing my food straight into the trash can. Gradually, I stopped embarrassing myself. “The competition is coming up, and you wouldn't want to affect your physique by eating, right? “If you ate my food and gained even half a pound, affecting the competition results, I wouldn't be able to take the blame.” Sean let out a couple of dry laughs, cornered by my words. “Then wait for me a bit? Once I finish this class, how about we grab a bite to eat? The sushi place downstairs is pretty good.” It was a rare moment for him to swallow his pride to make peace. “No, thanks. “I have some things to take care of, so I'll leave first.” After saying that, I didn't look back at his stunned expression. I walked straight to the locker room, took out that exquisite pair of dance shoes, turned around, and left. Not long after I walked out, my phone kept vibrating nonstop. I picked it up and found it full of texts from Sean. [Babe, there's really nothing going on between Madison and me. Don't misunderstand. [I'm sending you my training schedule, and you can check on me anytime. Don't be mad, okay?] Attached below was a tightly packed schedule. There was a time when I tried everything to find out his schedule just to see him more. But he always found me annoying, saying I was controlling him too much and not giving him any personal space. Now, he was voluntarily handing me the leash. Unfortunately, I no longer wanted to be the person holding the leash. I put my phone on silent and went home to take a nap. After an unknown amount of time, the door pushed open. Sean stood at the doorway, his eyes watery as he looked at me, looking just like a dog drenched in heavy rain. “Ellie, why didn't you reply to my messages?” Chapter 3 “Do you have any idea how worried I was? I was so scared that something had happened to you. “Before this, you always used to reply to me within seconds…" “I didn't sleep well last night, so after I came back and ate, I fell right asleep,” I replied, my tone flat. He clearly hadn't expected this kind of reaction from me. After a few seconds, his voice softened, carrying a hint of grievance. “Because you didn't reply, I was completely distracted. I ended up twisting my ankle during practice… It hurts a bit.” For a moment, my mind flashed back. Last winter, it was raining, and the roads were slick. I had taken a nasty fall while rushing to deliver his dance shoes to him. My ankle had swollen up to the size of a baseball in an instant. When I called him, he said twisting an ankle was no big deal and told me to go to the hospital by myself. I checked myself in, got the X-rays done, and waited for three agonizing hours before he finally showed up. And when he did, he carried the scent of another girl's perfume. He claimed he had accidentally caught it while demonstrating a lift for a new dancer. Now, he had twisted his ankle too, and he wanted me to feel sorry for him. “Oh, I see. “Twisting an ankle is no big deal. Remember to ask the team physio for some ice and spray, and get some early rest tonight.” “Ellie!” He practically shouted my name, his voice thick with disbelief and shock. “That's all you have to say?” “Otherwise?” I looked at him, feigning confusion. “Did you want me to rub it out for you?” The air in the room fell into a dead silence. It took a long time before he managed to squeeze a sentence out from between his teeth. “Babe, you're still mad at me, aren't you? “Helping Madison rub her leg out was wrong of me. I just got carried away in the heat of the moment…” He paused, his voice turning tentative. “The competition is starting soon. I’m leaving for Kaldor with the dance company tomorrow for a few days of final intensive training to make the final push.” He was testing the waters, clearly hoping I would ask him how long he would be gone or when he would be back. If I did, it would prove that I still cared about him. “Okay, got it.” Every reply consisted of just a few simple words. It was so brief that his breath caught. A look of sheer urgency slowly crept onto his face. “Babe, you… don't have anything else to say? “Don't you always love the pastries from Kaldor? How about I bring a few boxes back for you this time?” So he wanted me to act like my old self, to act spoiled and beg him to bring me back a souvenir. “That's thoughtful of you,” I said slowly. “But isn't this competition really important? You should focus all your energy on training instead. “We can talk about the rest later.” It was as if something had completely taken the light out of his eyes. Those eyes, which were usually so proud and bright, now held a desperate plea. “Will you come watch me? Even if it's just catching a glimpse from the audience? “This competition is truly important to me.” I didn't say a word. A long, heavy sigh escaped his lips. “Whether you come or not, I'm going to save a seat for you. Ellie, when I get back from the competition, let's have a real talk, okay?” After saying his piece, he left. On the TV screen, a couple was dancing in the rain, but I suddenly found it completely uninteresting. What was there left to talk about? As I stared blankly at the ceiling, my phone rang. It was my mom, and her voice was filled with deep worry. “Ellie, tell me the truth. Are you and Sean having issues?” Chapter 4 “He didn't even show up to dinner last time, and it's been almost two weeks now without a single apology. What kind of attitude is that?” “Mom, we're fine,” I comforted her softly. “He's just been really busy with the competition lately. Don't overthink it.” “No matter how busy he is, does he not even have time to make a phone call to his elders?” Mom's voice grew louder. “I’ve already talked it over with your dad. This guy is unreliable. If it’s not working out, just break up with him and come back home! You're not desperate, so why should you put up with it?” “Mom…” “Don't say another word. I see right through him now. He just doesn't care about you!” After hanging up the phone, I sat on the couch and stared into space for a very long time. Even my mom could see it clearly, yet it took me three whole years to realize. Over these past years, I cooked and cleaned for him, managed his social relationships, and pushed him step by step into the position of a gold-medal coach. How ridiculous. The house key was still lying on the coffee table, one he had personally handed to me back when he begged me to move in with him. Now, he could have it back. … Inside the auditorium, the lights were dazzling. Sean and Madison’s partnership was absolutely perfect. Every single movement was precise and full of intensity. The applause from the audience was deafening. As Sean bowed at the end of the performance, he instinctively looked out toward the audience. In every past competition, no matter how far away it was, Ellie would always be sitting right there, cheering for him. But today, there was only an empty seat, standing completely alone in the crowd. Sean's heart began to race with a panic tighter than he had ever felt before. “Sean! We did it! We’re the champions!” Madison and the rest of the team hugged him excitedly, screaming and shouting with joy. However, Sean couldn't hear a single thing anymore. Only one thought echoed in his mind. She really didn't come. “Sean, what's wrong? Why do you look so pale?” Madison asked worriedly. “Are you not feeling well? What about the after-party tonight…” “I'm not going.” Roughly pushing Madison away, Sean ignored the stunned looks of everyone around him, grabbed his jacket, and rushed out. “Sean! Where are you going? The award ceremony hasn't even started yet!” the teammates shouted behind him. “I have an emergency! You guys bring the trophy back. I have to go home right now!” Yelling back without even turning his head, Sean ran out of the auditorium like crazy and hailed a cab. “Sir, take me to Meadowbrook Apartments! Step on it! It's an emergency!” The entire way there, he kept calling Ellie. An automated female voice repeated over and over again, notifying him that the phone was turned off. Sean's hands were shaking so badly that he could barely hold his phone. No way. Ellie was definitely just throwing a tantrum, waiting at home for him to go back and coax her. As long as he apologized properly and swore never to get that close to Madison again, she would definitely forgive him. “She loves me so much. How could she ever actually leave me?” Before the car could even come to a complete stop, Sean threw down a handful of hundred-dollar bills and rushed out into the pouring rain. He stumbled his way into the elevator, frantically smashing the button for his floor. Finally, he arrived at the sixteenth floor. Trembling, he pulled out his keys and shoved them into the lock. With a click, the door swung open. The apartment was pitch-black and terrifyingly quiet. “Ellie?”