I broke up with my boyfriend of three years. Everyone thought I’d be the first to apologize this time. That is, until I posted my brand new marriage certificate on Instagram. He showed up at my door, crying and begging me to come back. “Lily, haven’t you had enough of this drama?” Jack, my boyfriend – or rather, ex-boyfriend – sat on the couch, his face a mask of impatience. I looked at his irritated expression, a cold smirk playing on my lips. I had caught him red-handed, dancing intimately with his childhood sweetheart at a bar. Yet he had the audacity to accuse me of making a fuss over nothing. Fine, I thought. If he wanted drama, I’d give him a show. He was nothing but a philandering dog, and I was sick of him! “I’ve told you, Rose and I are just friends. You’ve already embarrassed me in front of my friends. What more do you want?” he said. “Whatever. Think what you like,” I replied. His phone screen lit up, interrupting his tirade of accusations and complaints. I watched him get up and head to the bathroom. I followed quietly, and sure enough, Rose’s coy voice drifted out, “Jack, she’s not giving you a hard time, is she?” “Of course not,” Jack replied, his voice unusually gentle and patient – a tone he never used with me. I listened to Rose’s giggles floating out of the bathroom as I started packing my things. Damn it, what a pair of cheaters. As if I’d ever want him back! I sent Jack a breakup text and blocked him. The conversation in the bathroom paused for a couple of seconds before resuming as if nothing had happened. Huh, he always acted so confident around me. I couldn’t blame him entirely. After all, I had been madly in love with him since freshman year, willingly playing the role of his doormat. All those years of washing his sports gear, buying him drinks and gifts – it was like pouring water into the Pacific Ocean. Now, even when I suggested breaking up, he seemed completely indifferent. The laughter continued in the bathroom as I quietly left the apartment with my suitcase, finally escaping this prison. As soon as I got in my car, my phone exploded with notifications from the group chat. Jack’s buddies were tagging me relentlessly. “Lily, playing the runaway game again?” “How many times has this been now?” “If you ask me, you should grow a backbone. If you’re leaving, don’t come crawling back to Jack. Save yourself from another dramatic exit.” “Ha! As if she could ever let go of Jack.” Their mocking laughter hit me like a slap in the face. I stared at the screen coldly, quickly typing out a reply, “As you and Jack wish, we’re done for good. Goodbye.” I left the group immediately after sending the message. Jack’s friends had created this group chat specifically to mock me, though they had their own separate group for real communication. Even though I knew their intentions, I had pathetically joined the group just to catch a glimpse of Jack’s occasional messages. Later, they added Rose to the group, and Jack’s messages became more frequent. I found myself consumed by jealousy, desperately searching for any hint that he might love me in his messages. Sadly, there were none. Instead, his chats with Rose grew increasingly flirtatious, with no regard for my feelings whatsoever. As my best friend would say, I had become obsessed, poisoned by my feelings for Jack. Looking back now, I realize how ridiculous I had been. Jack didn’t love me. He was never gentle or caring towards me. He certainly never showed any concern or looked after me. He only called me when he needed something, and when he didn’t, he couldn’t even be bothered to say my name. What did I ever see in such a horrible guy? Did I admire his ability to eat, poop, and cause trouble?
I had a small, rundown apartment in the suburbs that my parents had left me. I hadn’t lived there for years, but now it was my only refuge. I spent three hours cleaning every nook and cranny until I was nearly exhausted. After a shower, I noticed a missed call on my phone. My heart skipped a beat. Could it be Jack? But when I unlocked the screen, I saw it was from my best friend, Samantha. I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at myself. Old habits die hard, I guess. I was still foolishly hoping for his call, while he was probably having a great time with Rose. I was about to call Samantha back when her call came through again. “Lily, did you have another fight with Jack? Why bother? You’ll end up crawling back to him anyway, crying your eyes out.” Samantha’s words cut deep. Standing by the window, I shivered in the cold breeze. “It’s really over this time. We won’t be getting back together.” Samantha hesitated for a moment. “Really? What if he gets down on his knees and begs you to take him back?” I let out a cold laugh. “I’m not a glutton for punishment. It’s been five years. I’ve finally woken up.” “I don’t believe you!” Samantha exclaimed, then quickly changed the subject. “Unless… you come to our high school reunion tomorrow.” I was puzzled. “…” What did that have to do with anything? Samantha scoffed. “I knew you weren’t serious about breaking up.” I sighed. “…Fine, I’ll be there tomorrow, dressed to the nines. Happy now?” Samantha seemed satisfied. “There’s a surprise waiting for you!” What kind of surprise could there be? I was too tired to guess. “If you keep being mysterious, I’m going to bed.” Samantha quickly spilled the beans. “Your high school crush, Mr. Gu, will be there too.” Those three words jolted me wide awake, my hand tightening around the phone. Mr. Gu was our nickname for him. His real name was Ethan Gray. He was the unattainable dream guy from our innocent high school days, the crush of most of the girls in our school. Smart, handsome, great at basketball, gentle and dignified. Samantha teased, “The whole point of this reunion is to welcome him back to the country. I heard he’s still single, and now you’re single too. Isn’t this the perfect opportunity?” I went to the bathroom and looked at my haggard reflection in the mirror, laughing bitterly. “That’s all in the past.” I hung up and silently applied a face mask.
I was woken up by the glaring sunlight – I had forgotten to close the curtains last night. Looking at my phone, I saw it was already past 10 AM. I stretched my sleep-softened limbs, realizing it had been ages since I’d slept so well. Jack liked to stay up late, often going out drinking with his friends. I would often wake up in the middle of the night to pick him up when he was drunk, take care of him, and then go to work exhausted the next day, missing out on several promotions. “From today on, everything stays in the past. It’s time for a fresh start,” I muttered to myself, my lips curving into a smile. I made myself a simple breakfast of egg noodles in my tiny kitchen. The aroma was inviting, and paired with a glass of milk, I thought I might even regain some of my complexion. Life without Jack wasn’t as bad as I had imagined. To keep myself from overthinking, I went to the nearby supermarket to stock up my fridge. From now on, I’d pack my own lunch for work and wouldn’t have to envy my colleagues anymore. As I passed by a cosmetics store, a sales assistant approached me. “Miss, we have a special offer today. You get a free face mask with every $20 purchase.” I found myself staring at the bold red lipstick on the assistant’s lips. I used to be that vibrant and lively too, but Jack said he preferred me with light makeup, so I stopped buying dark lipsticks. “Miss, this color would look great on your fair skin,” the assistant said enthusiastically. Looking at my reflection in the mirror, I couldn’t help but smile. Seeing that I had bought quite a lot, the assistant offered to do my makeup. I nodded. Since I was already looking good, why not go all out? Instead of rushing to the supermarket, I decided to do some shopping. I bought a white suit, a silk dress to wear underneath, and some knee-high boots. Then I got my long hair cut short and dyed it a light brown with soft waves. It looked pretty good. Today’s shopping spree cost me three months’ salary. They say retail therapy is the best cure for a broken heart. … When Samantha saw me at the hotel entrance, she was shocked and circled around me several times. “Wow, Lily! I expected to see a dejected divorcee, not this! If I had known breaking up would make you look this good, I would have told you to dump that jerk ages ago!” I felt a bit smug. “Not bad, right?” Samantha happily linked her arm with mine and we walked into the private room, grinning. This hotel was one of the top luxury hotels in the city. Jack and I had dined here before. The food was incredibly expensive and required advance reservations. I felt a bit nervous. “Samantha, if we need to split the bill tonight, could you cover for me first? I’ll pay you back when I get my paycheck.” If I had known we were eating here, I would have bought one less outfit. Samantha chuckled. “You don’t know? This hotel belongs to the Gu family. How else do you think our class monitor could book a private room here?” Ethan Gray entered the room surrounded by classmates. He was wearing a light-colored suit with a black knit sweater underneath, and gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose. Well, now I knew what “gentle and refined” looked like in the flesh. Five years had matured him, his features more chiseled and defined. Just as I looked away, our class monitor joked, “Lily, you’ve become even prettier after all these years. Ethan was just asking if you were coming tonight.” I was startled and looked at Ethan in surprise. Although we had been desk mates in high school, we rarely spoke. He was the golden boy, and I was just an ordinary classmate. Ethan greeted me with a gentle smile. “It’s been a long time, Lily.” His voice was pleasant, deep with a hint of warmth. My heart fluttered a bit, and I politely nodded with a smile. Samantha excitedly squeezed my hand and whispered, “Hey, I think you two have a chance.” Yeah, right. I knew my place. It was okay to have a crush, but showing it would be impolite. I chose a seat near the door, keeping my distance from the group of successful people. Just then, Ethan took a seat too, just two seats away from me.
It had been several years since our last high school reunion, and today was particularly lively. The last to arrive was the class hottie. Despite the cold weather, she wore a sequined gown with a white fur coat and dramatic earrings, looking like she had just stepped off a runway. She had the looks to pull it off, now being a minor internet celebrity. “Wow, our class beauty actually found time to join our reunion!” Several classmates exclaimed excitedly. Quite a few guys had crushed on her back in the day. Her face, now with some “enhancements”, looked even more delicate than before. Her curvaceous figure made even the women’s hearts race. Almost all the guys at the table stood up to greet her, except for Ethan, who remained seated quietly. After greeting everyone, the class hottie walked straight to the seat next to Ethan and said with a smile, “Let’s switch seats, shall we?” The classmate sitting next to Ethan happily gave up his seat. Everyone laughed and teased, but it was nothing new. Everyone knew the class hottie had a thing for Ethan. Ethan just nodded slightly in greeting. the class hottie asked, “Ethan, are you planning to develop your career back home now?” Ethan smiled lightly. “Yes, I’ll be relying on everyone’s help from now on.” Everyone quickly said they wouldn’t dare, knowing that the combined net worth of everyone else in the room probably wouldn’t match even a fraction of his. As the waiters started serving the food, the class hottie downed a glass of red wine and asked with a flushed face, “Ethan, I heard you’re still single. Do you think I have a chance?” Her directness shocked everyone! I was curious too, and looked up just in time to meet his gaze. Ethan took a sip of his wine and said, “I’m sorry, but I already have someone I like.”
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