On the night of my birthday, I waited for Zachary at the restaurant until 10:30 PM. He stood me up again. When I saw Chloe’s post on SnapChat, I was surprised to find that I felt nothing. At that moment, I realized I had finally let go. Zachary had made the reservation for this restaurant in advance. Last month, on Chloe’s birthday, Zachary took her to watch the sunrise by the sea. When I angrily confronted Zachary about it, he accused me of being paranoid, saying it was just a group of friends, not just the two of them. We gave each other the silent treatment for half a month because of that. Yesterday, Zachary sent me a screenshot of the restaurant reservation. I knew this was his way of extending an olive branch. Every time we argued or stopped talking, I was always the one to break the ice, the first to speak to him again. After we made up, he would give me a gift or show some affection, coaxing me a little. I would be over the moon, forgetting all the unpleasantness and fully rekindling my passion for him. This is how we’ve been getting by these past few years. He’d hurt me, then give me a little sweetness, and I’d forget everything. The temperature of our relationship was entirely in his control. I was like a kite in his hands, the string firmly in his grasp. Depending on his mood, he manipulated my emotions. Shame on me for being so weak, always quick to forgive and forget. My love was too humble. But yesterday, when I saw the screenshot of the reservation he sent, I didn’t feel the usual joy. In the past, just the fact that he remembered my birthday would have been enough to make me feel cherished. After all, every year on my birthday, I had to remind him several times a day for days in advance before he would remember to buy me a gift. This year, I had forgotten my own birthday and hadn’t reminded him, yet he remembered on his own. Yesterday at work, when I received his message, I was surprised to realize it was my birthday. I replied, “Okay, see you at the restaurant tomorrow night.” I turned off my phone and continued working, instead of basking in the sweetness of his gesture for hours like I used to. Tonight after work, I received a message from Zachary: “See you at the restaurant later.” After work, I arrived at the restaurant first. The reservation was for 7 PM, and I got there at 6:30. By 8 PM, Zachary still hadn’t shown up. I called him, but there was no answer. I sent messages, but got no reply. At 9:30, the waiter asked if I wanted to order, saying they would be closing at 10:30. I nodded. I slowly ate my steak alone and had some red wine. At 10:30, I walked out of the restaurant. While waiting for a cab by the roadside, I scrolled through SnapChat and saw Chloe’s post. The text read: “You are my sense of security.” The accompanying photo showed Zachary’s profile as he sat on a sofa. The moment I saw the picture, I felt no anger, no hurt, no sadness. My mind was completely calm. Instead, I felt a sense of achievement, as if I had long ago guessed the answer to a riddle. See? I knew it. Every time he stood me up, it was because of Chloe. Strangely, this time, I didn’t feel sad at all.
After getting home, I washed up and went straight to bed. In the middle of the night, while I was sound asleep, I heard the sound of the door opening. I knew it was Zachary coming back. Annoyed at being woken up, I kept my eyes closed and pretended to be asleep, not wanting to deal with him. The soft footsteps stopped at the bedside, and there was silence for a long time. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel his intense gaze on me. Is Zachary crazy? Why doesn’t he just wash up and go to sleep instead of staring at me when he gets back? It’s really annoying to disturb someone’s sleep like this. Could it be because I didn’t turn on all the lights in the apartment and sit angrily in the living room waiting for him to come back, then question and argue with him like I used to? He should be happy, shouldn’t he? After all, in the past, whenever I went crazy or even became hysterical, he would just stand by coldly, his eyes full of impatience and disgust. His condescending gaze made me feel like a ridiculous clown. In the past, when I argued with him about his relationship with Chloe, he would at least explain a little, saying they were just friends and had never crossed any lines, that I was overthinking things. Later, he couldn’t even be bothered to explain anymore. He would let me explode with emotion like a volcano, then slowly burn out on my own. Now, I’ve finally come to terms with it and let it go. Thinking back to how I used to be, I really was quite crazy. I must have looked so ugly when I had those emotional breakdowns. No wonder Zachary was disgusted. At this moment, I had no desire to question him at all. I just wanted to sleep. Zachary stared for a while, and seeing no reaction from me, he called out, “Olivia?” I pretended to be in a deep sleep, not moving at all. After a moment, he finally left. I heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. He was washing up. The faint sound actually had a hypnotic effect, and I fell asleep listening to it. I didn’t even know when Zachary came to bed. The next morning, I got up and went straight to work. All day, I was immersed in my work, and time passed quickly. After work, I ate dinner out before going home. As soon as I walked in, Zachary was sitting on the sofa. “Why are you home so early today?” I asked while changing my shoes. “No overtime,” he said. “Oh.” I nodded, hung up my bag, and was about to go to the study. “Olivia.” Zachary called out to me, “I bought your birthday gift a long time ago. Yesterday—” “Thank you!” I took the small, beautifully wrapped box from his hand. Opening it, I saw a pretty bracelet. “It’s beautiful, I like it,” I smiled at him. “I’ll wear it tomorrow.” As I was about to leave, Zachary grabbed my arm. “I’m sorry about yesterday. I stood you up,” he explained. “I was almost at the restaurant when I got a call from Chloe. She said her ex-boyfriend was stalking her again, and she was scared. It’s not safe for a girl living alone—” “I believe you,” I interrupted him. “It’s true that we can’t let a girl face danger alone. You’ve mentioned before that her ex-boyfriend has an unstable personality. Alright, I still have some work to finish, so I’m going to do some overtime.” “Olivia!” He still didn’t let go of my arm. “Hmm?” I looked back at him, confused. “I haven’t eaten dinner yet.” “Oh, I’ve already eaten. Why don’t you order some takeout?” Saying this, I pulled my arm free and went straight to the study. Just as I sat down, I heard the front door slam shut. When I came out to look, Zachary was no longer in the apartment. He had given me a gift and taken the initiative to smooth things over, but I didn’t take the bait. He was angry.
Zachary and I started giving each other the silent treatment again. In the past, during these cold wars, I would always be in low spirits, wracking my brain to think of ways to make up with him quickly. But now, after a few days of not speaking, I actually felt a sense of relief. At night, Zachary slept in the guest room, and I had the big bed all to myself. I even slept better than usual. In the morning, I no longer got up early to make breakfast for Zachary. I could sleep an extra half hour every day. At work, Zachary’s face no longer popped into my mind at random moments. I stopped sending him messages frequently, and my work efficiency even improved. Tasks that I used to drag out until the end of the workday were now completed ahead of time. After work, I didn’t bother to go home and cook anymore. To ensure Zachary ate healthily, I had honed my cooking skills and made dinner every day after work. However, he had so many social gatherings that he’d be lucky to eat at home twice a week. Not revolving my life around Zachary anymore, I found myself with a lot of free time. I finished watching a TV series in just three evenings. At the office, I heard a newly hired young girl talking about studying for a qualification related to our work. I felt ashamed. This fresh graduate knew to make use of her time to improve herself, while I, having worked for so many years, was still aimlessly drifting through life, taking each day as it came. I could only blame myself for being too focused on love before. After graduation, my life goal was to marry Zachary. Until now, that wish hasn’t been fulfilled. For the old me, the focus of life was revolving around Zachary. I even thought that if Zachary wanted me to quit my job and be a housewife after marriage, I would agree without hesitation. Marrying Zachary, having children, and taking care of our little family was happiness to me, the life I longed for. Now, having suddenly awakened, I realized how much of a failure I was. In terms of love, I gave endlessly but didn’t receive an equal response. He wasn’t even willing to give me the promise of marriage. In terms of work, I was a mess, making no progress. The newly hired girl’s enthusiasm for self-improvement inspired me. I thought, it’s time to make a change. I humbly asked my colleagues for advice, bought study materials, and started preparing for the certification exam. Every day after work, I would grab a quick dinner outside, then go home and shut myself in the study to learn, studying until bedtime. These past few days, Zachary might still be sulking. He came home very late every day. This was perfect. The house was quiet, making it convenient for me to study.
While scrolling through my phone during lunch break, I was surprised to see that Zachary had updated his SnapChat. It was just a photo, without any caption. The photo showed a dining table with several dishes and two place settings. In the corner of the table, a hand was visible, wearing the watch I had bought. I knew Zachary too well. He deliberately posted this photo of him having dinner with Chloe just to provoke me. But I no longer felt that anger and jealousy. I wouldn’t immediately pick up the phone and angrily question him anymore. I just glanced at it and continued scrolling through other people’s updates. In the evening, I received a call from Zachary. “I’ll pick you up after work,” he said, his voice devoid of any emotion. My first reaction was to refuse. “No need, I’m working overtime today. I’ll be back late,” I instinctively lied. “Until what time?” he continued to ask. “Um, eight o’clock,” I pressed on with the lie. “Okay, I’ll wait for you downstairs at eight,” he said and hung up. To maintain the lie, I didn’t leave after work. Instead, I took out my exam materials and started studying in the office. At eight o’clock, I packed up my things and went downstairs with my bag. As soon as I walked out the main entrance, I saw the familiar car parked not far away. I walked over and opened the car door to find Chloe sitting in the passenger seat, flashing me a smile. “Olivia, I just had dinner with Zachary, and he’s giving me a ride home on the way,” Chloe said. “Mm-hmm,” I nodded, opened the back door, and got in. Whenever Chloe was in this car, I never sat in the front passenger seat. I had argued about this more than once, but Zachary clearly favored Chloe, and I couldn’t do anything about it. He said Chloe got carsick, so she was just sitting in the front. He asked why I had to be so petty about such a small thing. I said the front passenger seat was reserved for girlfriends, but he just sneered at me for being fussy. I had never won against Chloe on this issue. But every time it happened, I would be upset. However, now, I didn’t have the mind to care about it at all. After a full day of work and two hours of studying, I felt drowsy as soon as I sat in the car. “Zachary, the crayfish we had today was so delicious. Let’s go to that place again next time,” Chloe said excitedly. Zachary: “Mm, if you like it, we’ll go again next time.” “But every time we eat crayfish, I have to trouble you to peel the shells for me. You don’t find it annoying, do you?” Chloe’s tone was playful. “I don’t. I’m used to it.” “Olivia, Zachary is so good at peeling crayfish. I trained him when we were in college,” Chloe suddenly turned to look at me. “How about that? Shouldn’t you thank me?” Thank her? Thank her for what? For training Zachary to peel crayfish? But he had never peeled crayfish for me. I remember watching a TV show once where a female celebrity said she loved eating crayfish, but if no one helped her peel them, she’d rather not eat them because she didn’t want to peel them herself. The first time I went to eat crayfish with Zachary after we got together, I also acted coy, asking him to peel the shells for me. He paused, looked at me with a half-smile, and said, “Don’t you have hands?” The one who loves more is always the humble one. I immediately fell silent. After that, I never mentioned peeling crayfish in front of him again. I looked up at Chloe. The light in the car was dim, but I could still see the smugness and provocation in her eyes. She was always like this, subtly provoking me to get angry, then waiting for Zachary to scold me and protect her. Time and time again, she never tired of it. However, at this moment, I wasn’t stirred by any emotions, nor did I have any interest in confronting her. “Oh, well, thank you then,” I said perfunctorily.
Not achieving her goal, Chloe bit her lip and turned to chat with Zachary again, smiling. Zachary always spoke to her in a gentle tone. Listening to them chatting animatedly, I felt my eyelids getting heavier, and the surrounding sounds gradually faded away. When I woke up, I found the car parked outside our apartment building, with Zachary sitting quietly in the front seat. Chloe was no longer in the passenger seat. “Why didn’t you wake me up when we got home?” I sat up straight and opened the car door. Zachary followed behind me, not saying a word. As we walked out of the elevator and into our apartment, he finally spoke: “Tired?” “Huh?” “Chloe and I were still talking, but you fell asleep in the car.” “Yeah, a bit tired.” I wasn’t interested in chatting with him, just wanting to shower and go to bed quickly. “Today was Henry’s gathering, just the old college dorm mates. He invited Chloe too. You know, they’re all close to her and like to invite her every time we have dinner. Since it was on the way, I gave her a ride back,” he suddenly started explaining. It was quite rare. In the past, when I argued and asked him why he always hung out with Chloe, he never bothered to explain. Now that I wasn’t asking, he took the initiative to explain. “Mm,” I nodded, walking towards the bathroom. “I originally wanted to bring you along, but you said you had to work overtime, so I only came to pick you up after dinner,” he continued to explain. “Okay, I got it. I’m going to take a shower now,” I said, quickly walking away. After showering, I went straight to bed. The next evening after work, I was surprised to see Zachary downstairs again. This time, there was no Chloe in the car. I still sat in the back seat. Zachary turned to look at me, seeming like he wanted to say something but held back. I have to say, sitting in the back gives me a feeling of treating him like a chauffeur, which is quite nice. I shouldn’t have cared about this before. “Mike is moving house today and invited us over for hotpot,” Zachary said as he started the car. Mike was also his college roommate. Coincidentally, all four of Zachary’s college dormmates ended up staying in this city after graduation. They were close and often organized gatherings or dinners. Zachary had pursued Chloe in college, and his roommates all acted as wingmen, offering advice and strategies. Although he didn’t succeed in winning her over, it didn’t stop Chloe from becoming close with all of them. Over the years, Chloe had dated several boyfriends, but she said, “Boyfriends are boyfriends, friends are friends.” She said Zachary would always be her good friend. Recently, Chloe broke up with her previous boyfriend and started hanging out with them frequently again. Every time I saw Zachary taking care of her, my blood pressure would rise. I had argued and made a fuss about it, but it was useless. Eventually, I simply stopped going to their gatherings. Out of sight, out of mind. “You guys go ahead. Just drop me off at home first,” I said. I really had no interest in their dinner gatherings. Zachary: “We’ll come back right after dinner. It won’t be too late. Mike specifically asked me to bring you along, saying he hasn’t seen you in a long time.” “Alright then,” I didn’t insist anymore. We stood at the door of Mike’s new home, and after the doorbell rang, the door opened. Suddenly, someone burst out from inside, jumping onto Zachary’s back like a monkey, arms tightly wrapped around his neck.
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “297162”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #浪漫Romance #现实主义Realistic
Leave a Reply