A week before my wedding to Heather, my company sent me on a business trip out of town. The very next day, her ex-boyfriend posted a series of photos of himself in a tuxedo with the caption: “After ten years of love, I finally get to put a ring on your finger.” I was shocked as I stared at the hand adjusting his tie in the picture. There was a long scar on the wrist – the same scar Heather got five years ago when she saved me from an attacker. I called her over a dozen times, but she rejected every call. Finally, unable to contain myself, I commented “Congratulations on your marriage!” under Xavier’s post. Heather immediately replied: “Adam, can’t you be more gracious? Xavier was just helping me rehearse our wedding ceremony since you’re away on your trip. Why are you upset with him? If it weren’t for your business trip, would he have to wear someone else’s tuxedo?” I calmly hung up her call, took off my engagement ring, and decided I was done with this wedding, whoever wanted to get married could go right ahead.
I signed the contract with the client early and flew back to Sunnyville that night. The lights were on in my apartment, accompanied by bursts of laughter. Xavier was lying shirtless on my couch wearing only boxers, his head resting on Heather’s lap as he fed her grapes. Seeing me enter, he scrambled to get up. “Ah!” He turned and buried his face in Heather’s chest, frantically grabbing for clothes. I watched his performance with amusement. We’re both men, what’s there to hide? Heather helped him put on a shirt, then looked up at me in annoyance. “You came back without making a sound. Were you trying to scare Xavier to death?” I laughed mockingly, “What, do I need to announce myself to your lover when I come back to my own home?” Heather’s face darkened instantly. Xavier struggled out of Heather’s arms, “I’m so sorry, Adam. Don’t misunderstand, Heather and I are just friends. We were just chatting and didn’t hear you come in.” “Today was supposed to be your wedding rehearsal, but since you were away, I couldn’t bear to see Heather standing alone at the altar, so I stepped in as her groom. You’re not mad, are you?” I didn’t answer him, momentarily lost in thought as I looked at their matching pajamas, remembering the sweet times Heather and I once shared. I never imagined Xavier’s appearance would make me the third wheel. Heather frowned, thinking I was angry at her ex. “Where are your manners? Didn’t you hear Xavier talking to you?” She threw a paper at me, “This is the schedule for the wedding day. Don’t look at us with such a dirty mind. We were just finishing up the rehearsal.” They certainly seemed to have rehearsed thoroughly, stopping just short of getting naked. I nodded, “You’re right about everything. The wedding night is also part of the ceremony. I suppose you rehearsed that too!” They both froze at my words. Then Xavier’s eyes welled up with tears, as if my words had scared him to tears. “It’s all my fault. Please don’t misunderstand, Adam. I’ll leave right now!” He covered his face and ran out the door. Heather quickly grabbed her coat, glaring at me, “Look what you’ve done. You better apologize to Xavier tomorrow!” She stormed out after him, kicking over my suitcase by the door on her way out. An hour after they left, Xavier updated his SnapChat story. “Thank you for remembering my favorites after ten years. One mention that I was craving it, and you bought me my favorite strawberry roll! I love you so much!” The photo showed a strawberry dessert held up, with half of Heather’s face visible. I suddenly remembered a time when I had a stomachache and wanted a scone from Flag Bakery. I called Heather and asked her to bring me one after work. She ended up carelessly buying me a random bread roll, tossing it to me while muttering, “What’s the difference? Food is food!” Apparently, she did know how to be thoughtful. She just didn’t want to be thoughtful towards me.
I laughed bitterly at myself. I called my mom: “Mom, I’ve decided to come back to Capital City. My flight is in three days.” My mom was clearly surprised, and asked tentatively, “Son, isn’t your wedding in three days? Did that Heather girl bully you?” Five years ago, fresh out of college, I wanted to challenge myself and took an assistant job at a small company. One night after working late, I was cornered in an empty alley by a coworker I was competing with for a client. He took my phone and beat me up, threatening me to keep quiet about it. That day, Heather had just been dumped and came to the city to clear her head. She happened to save me, and my angry coworker pulled out a knife, determined to silence us both. Heather fought back fiercely. With her friend’s help, they subdued my coworker, but Heather’s wrist was badly cut in the process. I took her to the hospital afterwards. The injury to her right hand made it difficult for her to eat. So I brought her meals and fed her every day, falling hard for her warm, sunny smile. Knowing she was heartbroken, I tried extra hard to be good to her. She probably needed someone to distract her, so she gave me a chance. I traveled frequently between Capital City and Sunnyville during that time. It took a year before she truly accepted me. Later, my mom caught us on a date. She said Heather’s family was too humble, not a good match for us. Even if we got married, we wouldn’t be happy. My dad and brother sided with my mom, strongly opposing our relationship. I accused them of being snobs who only cared about money. Then I left Capital City with Heather and never went back. Since then, I only sent perfunctory greetings on holidays. I thought they must hate me for choosing an outsider over family. But hearing the urgency in my mom’s voice, I knew she didn’t blame me at all. She was just worried about me. I couldn’t hold back anymore and started sobbing. Hearing me cry, my mom panicked: “That wretched Heather! Hold on son, I’m coming over there to teach her a lesson!” I quickly stopped crying and stopped her: “Mom, don’t do anything rash! I’m not really hurt, I just finally saw Heather’s true colors and don’t want to marry her anymore!” My mom audibly sighed in relief, then gently comforted me: “I always thought she didn’t seem like the faithful type. Don’t worry, there are plenty of fish in the sea!” “Don’t worry son, I’ll start looking for some nice girls for you right away!” Seeing that my mom was no longer threatening to come over guns blazing, I hung up with a mixture of laughter and tears.
The next day, I called some movers to throw out the couch Heather had been lying on. I replaced all the bedding and even the slippers by the door. Who knows what unspeakable things they did in my apartment while I was gone. It was disgusting. Looks like I need to install security cameras and change the locks too. Then I started clearing out everything related to Heather. This apartment that I bought myself isn’t big, but it’s in a great location, very close to Heather’s office. The house we bought for after the wedding was still being renovated, so we naturally started living together here. The place was full of little mementos from when Heather and I were in love. A wooden carving from Cangshan, a scented sachet from Erhai, a postcard from Yading… I had souvenirs displayed all over the apartment from every place we’d traveled together. I arranged them carefully, labeling each with the date, constantly showcasing every happy journey we’d taken. She would always frown when she saw them, saying they were useless junk. I teased her for having no sense of romance. But after Xavier became her secretary, I clearly saw her desk at work covered in Pop Mart figurines – the exact same ones Xavier had posted about on his SnapChat. Her preference was so obvious, yet I seemed to have been blind to it until now. I took out the suitcase she had bought me and packed up all the mementos, then threw them in the dumpster downstairs. Heather had a lot of clothes, taking up most of my closet. I had only packed up part of it when she came back that night. She frowned at the clothes packed in boxes: “Why are you packing up my clothes?” I casually made an excuse: “We’re moving into the new house after the wedding anyway. Might as well start packing now.” Heather tossed a bag in front of me: “Here, eat this. Xavier bought it specially for you, went to several stores to find it.” “Not only does he not need your apology, he even bought you a treat. You should really learn from him.” I took out the half-eaten strawberry roll and held it up to Heather, laughing sarcastically: “I didn’t know Flag Bakery sold cakes that were already half-eaten.” She clearly hadn’t paid attention to what Xavier put in the bag, or maybe she just didn’t care. Seeing the half-eaten cake, she quickly tried to cover: “You upset Xavier so much he cried. It’s understandable if he accidentally packed the wrong thing in his distress. Don’t be so petty, be more generous.” I nodded and tossed the cake in the trash. Heather’s face darkened: “What are you being so picky for? You think just anyone deserves to eat food from Xavier’s mouth?” I waved my hand in disgust, kicking the trash can a meter away: “I’m not his lapdog. Why would I eat his leftovers? That’s just gross.” Heather was furious. She grabbed the cake from the trash and tried to force it into my mouth. I struggled to push her away, but lost my balance and fell backwards, my head hitting the floor with a loud thud. I immediately saw stars, curling up and holding the back of my head. Heather was startled by the sound of me falling. She hurriedly helped me up: “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to. I’ll take you to the hospital!” My head was spinning as I let her lead me towards the door. Just then, Heather’s phone rang with Xavier’s special ringtone. “Xavier, what’s wrong?” Xavier was crying on the other end. “Heather, the power went out where I’m staying. My phone only has 10% battery left. It’s so dark everywhere, I’m really scared. Can you come keep me company?” “Stay in your room and don’t move. I’ll be right there! Don’t be afraid, I’ll be there in 10 minutes!” Heather hung up in a rush, eager to leave. She hung up and pushed me aside: “You seem fine. No bleeding or bumps. Just sleep it off if you’re not feeling well.” I grabbed her sleeve, looking at her pleadingly: “No, Heather. I’m dizzy. Take me to the hospital first, it’ll only take a few minutes!” She shook me off irritably: “Adam, can’t you be more understanding? Xavier has been afraid of the dark since he was little. Can you take responsibility if something happens to him?” “Xavier only knows me in Sunnyville. I have to go. If something really happened to him, I’d never forgive myself!” My vision was going dark in patches. I gritted my teeth and asked: “What about me? Aren’t you worried I might…” “What could possibly happen to you? Faking illness out of jealousy is a weak woman’s trick. Don’t try it, it doesn’t suit you!” She impatiently cut me off, then opened the door and left.
I collapsed on the floor, my head getting fuzzier. I mustered all my strength to pull out my phone and called 911 for myself. An hour later, I found myself lying in a hospital bed. A nurse immediately asked me some basic information. Seeing that I could answer coherently, she finally relaxed. “Luckily, you only have a mild concussion. Rest up, watch your diet, and avoid stimulation for the next few days. You’ll be fine soon.” I nodded eagerly, feeling a dull pain in my head. The young nurse quickly steadied me, telling me to rest well. The next day I felt a bit better, so I went for a walk in the hallway. Just as I reached the corner, I saw Heather helping Xavier out of the elevator. The two were chatting and laughing like a loving couple. She could see me out of the corner of her eye, but deliberately looked away. The nurse on duty hurried over to greet them: “Ms. Heather, your partner’s test results are back. It’s just a minor sprain, no bone damage. Just take it easy walking for a few days and he’ll recover soon.” Partner. I was frozen in place by those two words. Five years ago, I defied my family to return to Sunnyville with her. I supported Heather as we built her small family business into Sunnyville’s leading company. She said she would never betray me in this life, that I would be her only love. But the person who once made such firm promises now casually allowed another man to be called her partner. Heather pulled Xavier closer, gently bumping his chin. “See, I told you it was nothing serious. Feel better now?” Xavier in her arms looked blissful, reaching up to tap her nose. When they looked up, their eyes met mine. “Oh! It’s Adam.” Xavier struggled out of Heather’s arms, but winced in pain before his foot touched the ground. Heather glared at me coldly, as if I was the one who had sprained her lover’s ankle. “Adam, can’t you be more generous? You’re so jealous you followed us to the hospital? Don’t you have anything better to do?” Xavier tugged at Heather’s hand, looking at her disapprovingly: “Heather, you shouldn’t talk to Adam like that. Boyfriends are meant to be cherished, not yelled at.” He then turned to me with an understanding look: “Adam, the power went out and it was so dark, I accidentally sprained my ankle. That’s why I troubled Heather to bring me to the hospital.” “Heather was just worried about me. She didn’t mean to make you jealous. Please don’t be angry.” Seeing that I didn’t respond, his expression immediately turned pitiful. His voice got softer and softer, on the verge of tears. “I’ll leave now. I’m used to being alone anyway. My fate is to be lonely forever.” He stubbornly lifted one leg and hopped forward, eyes red-rimmed. Heather panicked and quickly steadied him. “Adam, you’re going too far! Why do you have to bully Xavier?” She was like a woman with glass eyes, unable to see the hospital gown I was wearing, the wristband on my arm, or my pale face. She was convinced I had come just to make a scene out of jealousy. I couldn’t hold back anymore and cursed out loud. “Heather, are you blind? I’m standing here without saying a word. How dare you accuse me of bullying him? Are you basing this on your imagination?” “Do you two have a persecution complex or something?” “If you’re sick, get treatment before it’s too late!” She was stunned by my outburst. Her hand slipped and Xavier fell to the ground with a thud. The hallway echoed with his pig-like squeal! Heather frantically helped the pained Xavier up. Once again furious: “Adam, you keep hurting Xavier. Do you not want to get married?” What a joke. She’s the pot calling the kettle black. Only seeing others’ faults, not her own. Her weak grip caused this, yet she blames me? The last shred of hope I had was completely shattered. “Yes, so Heather, the wedding is cancelled. We’re breaking up!” I vented my anger, then checked out of the hospital that afternoon. I hired someone to install security cameras in and outside my apartment, and had the locks changed.
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