I rushed to the hospital with homemade chicken noodle soup after my boyfriend fell ill, only to overhear his conversation with a friend: “Now that the one that got away is back, it’s time for the stand-in of three years to exit the stage, right?” “After you break up with her, let me have a go. I’ve never been with a girl like that before.” There was no expected rebuttal. Arlo’s tone was indifferent. “Sure, she’s pretty easy anyway. Just sweet talk her a bit and you can get her into bed.” That night, I discovered his secret Instagram account. It documented years of pining for his first love. Without confrontation or entanglement, I calmly booked a flight to Paris. On our third anniversary, Arlo slipped and fell at work, spraining his ankle. I rushed to the hospital after getting his call. He explained he was hurrying to the restaurant, afraid I’d wait too long, and accidentally fell. I took a few days off work to stay by his bedside and take care of him. On the day he was discharged, some friends came to visit. I went home to make chicken noodle soup, feeling reassured. The thermos in my arms held freshly made soup as I hurried back to the hospital, timing it perfectly. The door to the room was ajar. As I approached, I overheard voices inside. Arlo’s good friend Milo was patting his shoulder, his expression amused. “You didn’t have to be so excited just because Sage’s back. Rushing to pick her up from the airport and falling down the stairs?” Hearing the name “Sage”, my heart skipped a beat. She was part of Arlo’s close-knit group of friends from college – three guys and one girl. Sage was Arlo’s college girlfriend. They dated for two years before breaking up when she went abroad. Even so, everyone in their group still considered them a perfect match. I’d occasionally hear the other two guys tease Arlo about it. In their eyes, if Sage hadn’t left, there’s no way I would have ended up with Arlo. He used to always refute those comments. But this time, perhaps because I wasn’t around, Arlo remained silent. Milo was still grinning: “Now that the one that got away is back, when are you going to dump the stand-in?” “After you break up, can I go after her? I’ve never been with a girl like that.” Arlo finally looked up at this, frowning as he smacked Milo’s arm. “Sage hasn’t said anything yet. What’s the rush?” “Besides, I’m not fully recovered. I still need her to take care of me at home.” My ears were ringing. After the initial shock came a numb daze. Milo didn’t seem to care much. He casually peeled an orange I had bought. “She looks so innocent, but you always tell me how wild she is in bed.” “I’m really curious about that contrast.” I stood there clutching the warm thermos, in the warm hospital room, yet felt like I’d been plunged into ice water. I never imagined my boyfriend of three years would disparage me like this behind my back. Arlo’s voice came through the door, cold and devoid of any warmth: “If you want to pursue her, go ahead. She’s desperate for love anyway, easy to get.” “I just had to sweet talk her a bit back then, and I got her into bed.” My breath caught, a knife twisting in my chest. I heard the two of them chuckling softly in the room, and suddenly felt nauseous. I covered my mouth and ran to the bathroom, retching a few times as tears streamed down my face. So the man I’d loved deeply for three years only saw me as a replacement for the one that got away. I thought he just didn’t love me as much, but I never imagined he despised me to this extent behind my back. He not only didn’t love me, but didn’t even see me as a person. To him, I seemed no different than trash on the street. As the illusion shattered, I could hardly believe the man I wanted to spend my life with could be so despicable at his core. Looking back, Arlo’s friends always felt free to joke about him and other women right in front of me. Who knows how they talked about me behind my back. When his friends came over, they always treated me like a maid. And his friends disrespecting me was essentially done with his permission and encouragement. He only put on an act of being upright in front of me. I wiped away my tears and threw the chicken noodle soup I’d spent two hours making into the trash. The thought of breaking up had never been so clear as in this moment. When I walked into the hospital room, I had mostly steadied my emotions. Arlo frowned when he saw me return empty-handed, clearly displeased: “Didn’t you say you were going home to make soup for me? Why did you come back empty-handed?” Milo chimed in. “Yeah Zinnia, Arlo was just telling me how thoughtful you are.” Milo had a look of anticipation as he added meaningfully: “Zinnia, you might not have many chances left to make soup for Arlo.” I instinctively looked at Arlo, but saw he had no intention of stopping Milo. I guess now that Sage was back, he wanted to dump me right away. Arlo wasn’t even bothering to pretend anymore, or maybe he wanted to “punish” me a bit for my “disobedience”. I remained silent, my eyes fixed on Arlo. This was the man I had loved deeply for three years. I used to think that even if Arlo didn’t love me enough, my love for him would be sufficient. Or maybe one day he would be moved by my devotion? But everything was mocking how naive I had been. “It didn’t turn out well today. I drank it all myself.” I smiled, picking up the lightest bag as I hurried out of the room. “Let’s pack up and go home.” I no longer wanted to lug all the luggage like a servant, as I had always done before. The atmosphere was cold on the way home. Arlo was still angry with me. But I had no intention of appeasing him. I needed time to soothe my own emotions too. As soon as we got home, Arlo’s other friend Ryan showed up. He was carrying a cat in his arms, grinning as he barged in. I’ve had severe cat allergies since childhood. Startled, I covered my nose and backed away. “Arlo, didn’t you tell them I’m allergic to cats?!” I frowned, staring intently at the ragdoll cat in Ryan’s arms, not daring to let my guard down for a moment. When I was little, I accidentally hugged a neighbor’s cat and ended up in the hospital for a whole week. “Zinnia, why are you so delicate?” Before Arlo could speak, Ryan rolled his eyes at me. “This is Sage’s ragdoll cat. It’s super expensive, imported from abroad. I begged her for days to let me bring it over to play with.” “Zinnia Wilson, don’t be so inconsiderate.” Arlo had been unhappy with my attitude, feeling he’d lost face in front of his friend. Now he finally found an outlet for his frustration. His expression was icy. “It’s just a cat, it’s not going to kill you, is it?” He no longer hid his disdain for me, even trying to shove the cat Ryan was holding into my arms. “I’m going to break you of this habit. What’s the big deal about a cat?” Arlo knew full well how severe my allergic reactions could be, but at this moment he didn’t care about me at all. I kept dodging as Arlo kept advancing. The ragdoll cat, its neck pinched painfully by Arlo, let out a sharp cry and lunged at me out of control. Even though I reacted immediately, the cat’s claws still left a mark on my neck, and I inhaled a mouthful of cat fur. Half a minute later, I started having difficulty breathing, my heart racing, and breaking out in a cold sweat. “Quick… call an ambulance.” Arlo scoffed: “Zinnia Wilson, stop pretending.” It was Ryan who noticed my face growing increasingly pale and spoke up. “Arlo, Zinnia doesn’t look like she’s faking. We should call 911 quickly!” In the moment of hesitation, I collapsed heavily to the ground. Before losing consciousness, I saw Arlo’s panicked expression as he, Ryan and Milo scrambled to call an ambulance. When I woke up, I was alone in a dark hospital room. Because of their so-called prank, I had nearly gone into shock and been rushed to the hospital. And now there wasn’t a single person by my side. A nurse came in and turned on the lights, helping me change my IV drip. “Your cat allergy symptoms are extremely severe. You absolutely must avoid contact with cats in the future.” I smiled bitterly and asked: “Nurse, may I ask when the people who brought me in left?” “You mean those three men?” The nurse frowned. “They left once they knew your life wasn’t in danger.” Her expression was one of disbelief: “Weren’t they just strangers who happened to help?” I forced a smile: “One of them is my boyfriend.” “Though not for much longer.” I opened my phone to see a message from Arlo. “We went out for dinner. If you’re fine, just go home on your own.” Milo had posted on Instagram 20 minutes ago. “So happy to reunite with old friends!” The photo showed the four of them, with Arlo gazing lovingly at the girl beside him. He and Sage seemed to be looking at each other adoringly, their eyes full of undisguised affection. Looking at this photo, I finally couldn’t hold back my tears, my chest aching to the point of suffocation. At this point, I had no reason left to deceive myself. The person Arlo truly liked was Sage. To him, if Sage was willing to come back to him, I would lose all value. I suddenly remembered that Arlo would often type on Instagram, but I had never seen him post anything. A possibility arose in my mind, and I searched for clues in his social media accounts. Arlo’s Instagram was empty, but I found an account called “Remembering Her” in his following list. With trembling hands, I clicked on it and found that the IP matched. This user had been updating continuously for six years, with hundreds of dense posts. It was like I had accidentally opened Pandora’s box. The contents inside left me speechless. It was all about Sage, every word and line filled with suppressed love and obsession. The account started as a record of their romance, and later became Arlo’s endless pining for Sage. “November 9, 2021: I’m with someone else now. I won’t wait for you anymore.” That was the day I don’t know how many times I had actively confessed to him, and Arlo finally agreed to be with me. It turns out it wasn’t because he was moved by me, but because Sage had left the country that day. “March 10, 2022: I slept with someone else. It’s your fault for dating other people.” I remember Arlo was drunk that night, clinging to me and not letting me leave. In the end, he sweet-talked me into sleeping with him. “May 16, 2023: Are you really not coming back? I hate you. I’ll never forgive you!” That year, Arlo held me tight and took out a diamond ring from his pocket to put on my finger. He looked at me tenderly and promised: “Zinnia, I will marry you.” I took a deep breath, not having the courage to read on. I scrolled directly to the most recent update, which was from not long ago: “I’ve lost to you again. After all these years, I still can’t let go. I will always love only you.” The accompanying photo was of the two of them together. They were holding hands tightly, smiles of happiness on their faces. Tears fell uncontrollably, dripping onto my phone screen and blurring my vision. The deception and betrayal cut me to the core, leaving my heart bleeding. It turns out that throughout our three years together, not a moment of Arlo’s love belonged to me. Young love burns hot and true, persisting for many years. Arlo was willing to overcome all obstacles, just to have Sage again. Even though she had left him for so many years, abandoned him, he still gladly offered up his heart. But what about me? My whole body shook as realization dawned. No wonder Arlo never argued with me – he simply didn’t care. No wonder Arlo never cared about my state – I just wasn’t important to him. No wonder he got so excited he fell down the stairs and broke his leg – it wasn’t because he was rushing to see me, but because Sage’s sudden return had thrown his heart into chaos. I barely steadied my thoughts and took screenshots of everything, preserving the evidence. This is for the best. At least I won’t soften my resolve now. If I hadn’t accidentally overheard him talking about me like that behind my back today, if I hadn’t found his secret Instagram account, I might have been kept in the dark my whole life, mistakenly thinking he had truly given up on the one that got away. I’ve now seen through Arlo’s cultured facade to his filthy inner self, and learned that all those intimate moments of love were just an illusion. Now there’s no reason left to continue this relationship. At that moment, my boss called. I took a deep breath, trying not to let anything show in my voice. “Zinnia, there’s an opportunity to work at our Paris branch office. I wanted to ask if you’d be interested.” “You’d start directly as a director. It’s quite a rare opportunity.” My boss tried to persuade me. Actually, this wasn’t the first time a promotion opportunity had landed on me. Last time, because I wanted to settle down with Arlo, I righteously refused the chance to go to France, even though it had been a dream I once cherished. But now, there was no reason left worth giving up my dreams for. “Thank you for this opportunity. I’d be happy to work in Paris.” The determination to break up had never been so strong. My brain was urgently sending signals of self-preservation. Even if my heart was being cut to pieces, I was willing to endure this pain. After hanging up, I immediately booked a flight to Paris for a few days later. After being discharged, I went straight home to pack all my belongings. During this time, I didn’t run into Arlo. He was probably still busy accompanying Sage. The next day, sitting in the taxi to the airport, I saw Arlo’s secret Instagram account had updated last night: “Meeting again, emotions beyond control.” The photo showed him and Sage holding hands. I calmly scrolled past, but my heart still ached dully. Arlo suddenly texted me, probably having noticed the changes at home. “You were discharged yesterday? Where are you?” I didn’t respond. He called countless times, all of which I hung up on. Until one minute before boarding the plane, an unknown number called. I answered, hearing Arlo’s anxious voice: “Zinnia Wilson, where did you go? When did you come home?” I laughed silently, calmly replying. “Arlo, I know Sage is back.” “She’s the one you truly love, right?” I smirked self-mockingly, mercilessly exposing his scheme. “Now that the one that got away is back, it’s natural for the stand-in to exit the stage.” The boarding announcement came at just the right moment. I heard Arlo gritting his teeth as he demanded: “Zinnia Wilson, where exactly are you?”
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