"Take your time," I said. She left and didn't come back Sunday night. Monday evening, I got a call from her sister Nicole. "Chase, what is going on with you and Victoria?"
"Hey, Nicole. She didn't tell you?" Nicole said, "She said you kicked her out of your bedroom and are holding her stuff hostage." I explained, "I moved her belongings to the guest room because I'm tired of her coming home at 2:00 a.m. with her coworker Derek and gaslighting me about it."
Silence. Then Nicole said, "Derek?" I asked, "Yeah, you know about Derek?" She said, "She mentioned a coworker, but 2:00 a.m. three times in three weeks?" I said, "Always with him, always working late. But when I bring it up, I'm controlling and jealous."
More silence. "That does seem odd." I said, "Right? So I gave her space. The guest room has everything she needs." Nicole replied, "Chase, that's pretty extreme."
"Is it? I own the place, Nicole. She's not on the lease, not on the deed. She can have the guest room or she can leave."
"Those are the options." Nicole said, "She says you're trying to control her by giving her her own room." I said, "That's not control. That's independence."
Nicole sighed. "Look, I don't know all the details, but maybe you two need to talk." I told her, "I tried talking. She called me jealous, so talking's off the table. She knows where she stands."
Tuesday, Victoria came back, didn't acknowledge me, and went straight to the guest room. Fine by me. Wednesday, I came home from work to find Derek's car in my driveway. I walked in and found Victoria and Derek in my living room, on my couch, with papers spread across my coffee table.
"Chase." Victoria jumped up. "We're just working on the Hendricks account. The presentation is Friday." I looked at Derek. "Get out."
He looked startled. "Excuse me?" I said, "You heard me. Get your papers, get off my couch, and get out of my house." He said, "Dude, we're working."
"I don't care if you're curing cancer. This is my home. You're not welcome here. Leave."
Victoria stepped between us. "Chase, don't be ridiculous." I said, "Victoria, move. Derek, I'm giving you 60 seconds to gather your stuff and walk out that door. After that, I'm calling the cops."
"You're insane," Victoria said. I replied, "Maybe. Doesn't change the fact that this is my property and he's trespassing if I ask him to leave." Derek stood up, trying to look tough. "You're being real childish about this, man."
"Thirty seconds." He looked at Victoria. She looked helpless. He gathered the papers, shoved them into a messenger bag, and muttered, "This is messed up," as he walked past me.
I followed him to the door and locked it behind him. Victoria was furious. "What is wrong with you?" I said, "You brought him to my house to work when you've got an office. That's what's wrong."
"We needed quiet space." I said, "The office has conference rooms." She replied, "They were all booked." I said, "Victoria, stop. Just stop. You're not this stupid."
"Excuse me?" I said, "You're not dumb enough to think I'm buying any of this. The late nights, the rides home, the defensiveness, now bringing him to my house. You think I can't see what's happening?" She said, "Nothing's happening."
"Then prove it. Show me your phone." Her face went pale. "What?"
I said, "Your phone. Show me your texts with Derek. If it's all work stuff, no problem. I'll apologize right now."
"That's a violation of privacy." I said, "You're in my house. You've been getting rides from him at 2:00 a.m. You just brought him into my living room. I think I've earned the right to see what's so important between you two."
She clutched her phone. "No." I said, "Then we're done." She stared at me. "Done? Over not showing you my phone?"
"Over lying to me. Over disrespecting me in my own home. Over choosing Derek instead of addressing my concerns. Yeah, Victoria."
"Done." Her eyes filled with tears. "You can't do this."
"Watch me. You've got until Sunday to get all your stuff out. After that, I'm changing the locks." She said, "You can't kick me out."
I replied, "I can, actually. You're not on the lease. You've been living here rent-free as my girlfriend, but you're clearly not my girlfriend anymore. So why would you stay?"
"This is illegal." I said, "It's not. I'll call a lawyer if you want. I'm sure they'll confirm what my options are."
She stood there, phone clutched in both hands, tears streaming. I said, "Sunday, Victoria. Figure out where you're going."
Update two. One week later, Victoria didn't leave Sunday or Monday. Tuesday morning, I woke up to find her still in the guest room. I texted her, "You're still here."
She replied, "I have nowhere to go." I wrote back, "That's not my problem. You have until tonight." She came out of the guest room around 8:00 a.m. as I was leaving for work. "Chase, please. Can we just talk about this?"
"Nothing to talk about." She said, "I made a mistake. Derek and I, we got too close. But nothing happened." I replied, "Something happened. Maybe not physically, but emotionally."
"Yeah. And I'll cut him off. I'll transfer departments." I said, "Don't care."
She said, "Chase..." I answered, "Victoria, you called me jealous and controlling for noticing my girlfriend was spending all her time with another guy. You gaslit me, made me feel crazy, brought him to my house, and refused to show me your phone."
"Even if nothing physical happened, you disrespected me and our relationship. That's enough." She whispered, "So that's it? Four years gone?"
I said, "You ended it when you prioritized Derek. I'm just making it official. Tonight, Victoria. Figure it out."
I left for work. Around noon, I got a call from an unknown number and answered because I thought it might be work-related. "Chase, this is Derek." I almost hung up.
"What do you want?" He said, "Look, man, Victoria is a mess. You're being really harsh." I asked, "Did she ask you to call me?"
He said, "She's upset. Okay? She made a mistake."
"Derek, let me be clear. You pursued a woman in a relationship. She let you. That's on both of you."
"Now she's dealing with the consequences. So are you." He asked, "What does that mean?"
I said, "It means I'm forwarding some very interesting screenshots to your HR department. Your company has a strict policy about workplace relationships, right?" Silence. "Yeah, thought so. Have a good day, Derek."