On my birthday, my boyfriend of five years broke up with me. I agreed. The next day, he posted a photo collage on his Ins. In the photo, he and the other woman sat in a brand-new BMW, holding a marriage certificate, smiling sweetly at the camera. The caption: “Starting a new life from now on!” I sneered, opened my mobile banking app, and counted the zeros from right to left – millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions… On my twenty-ninth birthday, I had just received some absolutely incredible news and was thrilled. I was about to share it with my boyfriend, Liam, when I saw his grim face. “Cassidy, let’s break up.” My smile slowly vanished. I stared at him, saying nothing. “The rent’s due at the end of the month. All the furniture and appliances we bought, I’ll leave them to you. I’m just taking my laptop and a few changes of clothes.” Liam pretended to be generous. I almost laughed out loud. Furniture and appliances? Was he talking about the secondhand desk he used for gaming, or the broken fan that no longer oscillated? Perhaps my sarcasm was too obvious, because Liam fidgeted uncomfortably. “And our joint card, it was in your name. All the money in it, I’m leaving that to you too.” I rolled my eyes. We had agreed to put half of our monthly salaries into a shared account for joint expenses. But he was in sales, with a pathetically low base salary, and his monthly income was always inconsistent. Especially in the first few years, he struggled to schmooze with clients and always landed at the bottom of the sales charts. Even when he put his entire salary in, it wasn’t enough; I was constantly subsidizing it from my own pocket. Later, with his good looks and cool, detached vibe, he finally attracted a few clients, and his performance started to improve. Even though his income increased, his demands for a higher quality of life only grew. Sure enough, before the end of this month, he’d already squandered all the money in the card. The current balance wasn’t even enough for groceries tomorrow. How dare he say he was *leaving* all this for me?! My face darkened, and I forcibly suppressed the surging anger in my heart, saying pointedly: “Don’t you have anything to say to me?” Liam froze, his gaze darting away. Then he tried to soften the blow with a patronizing tone: “Don’t be like this. I know you’re upset, and I didn’t want to do this to you. But, matters of the heart can’t be forced, right? Breaking up now is for our future, I don’t want you to keep struggling with me…” Forget it. Maybe he was just under too much pressure. That’s why he had to give up on us. I sighed in relief, feeling a bit soft-hearted, and was about to tell him the good news when my phone rang. It was an unknown number. Liam glanced at it, and his face instantly tensed up. “It’s probably a spam call, Cassidy! Don’t just answer unknown numbers!” Seeing him like that, my stomach dropped. A woman’s intuition told me this call wasn’t so simple. I raised my hand and pressed the answer button, putting it on speaker. “Hello, is this Cassidy?” It was a female voice. Liam couldn’t sit still any longer. He stood up and tried to grab my phone, but I, having anticipated it, dodged him. “This is she.” I had a feeling about something, and my fingers trembled slightly. “I’m Liam’s girlfriend. Is he still there with you? Please tell him to come home early; I’m waiting for him for dinner.” After saying that, without waiting for my reply, she hung up. I looked up at the ceiling, took several deep breaths, and tried hard to hold back the tears welling up. After a long moment, I turned my head to look at Liam, who was utterly lost and flustered by his secret being exposed, and questioned him: “She’s your girlfriend, so what am I?” “Cassidy, I’m sorry. I didn’t want this. But… I can’t control matters of the heart…” Liam lowered his head and covered his face, looking utterly dejected. He was always like this; when faced with a tricky situation, he’d bury his head like an ostrich, as if that would make everything disappear. In the past, I would patiently comfort him, counsel him, and find ways to help him resolve things. But this time, I wasn’t going to waste any more time on him.
“You…” Just as I opened my mouth, the phone rang again. This time, it was Liam’s. He pulled out his phone, looking flustered, his gaze wavered between his phone and me for a few seconds, then he gritted his teeth and chose to hang up. I glimpsed the caller ID – ‘Baby.’ Ha! How ironic! I never checked his phone. Perhaps it was precisely because of my trust in him that he was so reckless. “When did this happen?” I couldn’t help but ask. “About… half a year ago.” Liam hung his head, looking a bit unnatural. No wonder, in the past six months, he contributed little to our joint account, but his expenses were huge. I thought it was due to the tough economy and was afraid of pressuring him, so I didn’t dare ask too many questions, only constantly dipped into my own pocket to satisfy his various demands. Turns out, he was using money to support another woman… I gritted my teeth, clenched my fists, and secretly warned myself: *Don’t get angry, don’t get angry! Cassidy, your best life is yet to come!* My phone rang again. It was the same number. She was getting impatient. I sneered, and answered. Instantly, Chloe’s enraged voice echoed through the entire room. “Cassidy! Have you no shame?! Liam has already broken up with you, and you’re still clinging to him! Let me tell you clearly! There’s no way for you two anymore! We’re both women, I advise you to let go soon, don’t make yourself so pathetic!” Liam couldn’t listen anymore; he snatched my phone and hung up. I couldn’t help but cry. Liam’s face was flustered, and he dared not look at me. “I’m leaving. From now on, take care of yourself.” After saying that, he picked up his already packed suitcase and walked away without looking back.
That night, I lay alone in my small apartment, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Five years, how many five-year periods does one have in a lifetime? Liam and I were both from modest backgrounds, working hard in the same city after graduating from college. We met at a friend’s gathering. At that time, we had both just graduated, experienced some of life’s harsh realities, but still held a sliver of hope, unwilling to give up on our dreams. The day we got together was my birthday. It rained heavily that day, and he didn’t bring an umbrella. In the rain, he huddled over, carefully protecting a small cake in his arms, and ran to me, smiling as he said: “Cassidy, Happy Birthday!” I looked at Liam, soaked to the bone, and was deeply moved. After adulthood, besides my parents, no one paid attention to my birthday. Liam was the only one. From then on, in this cold concrete jungle, two lonely souls clung together, warming each other. “Cassidy, I’ll celebrate your birthday every year from now on!” “Cassidy, when I make money later, I’ll buy you a car! And pick you up and drop you off from work every day!” “No! By then, you won’t need to work! I’ll take care of you! I’ll drive you around! We’ll go eat delicious food, see beautiful sights, and travel the world!” He liked to dream, and I accompanied him. Because his dreams included me. Back then, I firmly believed that as long as there was love, no hardship was truly hardship. I worked hard to make money, pinched pennies, just to save more, and buy our own house sooner. The trendy coffee shop next to the office launched new flavors. An $8 cup, and every colleague had one. I couldn’t help but want to try it, but he advised me,
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