It had been three years since our breakup. My childhood sweetheart, Liam, and I were back together again. He treated me just as he always had, maybe even more thoughtfully than before. I truly believed this time, we were finally on the right track, headed for a happy ending. Until I happened to pass by the private booth next door. I heard Liam’s friends teasing him. “Didn’t you say you were done with Chloe? How is this fair to Cassie?” Inside the booth, Liam’s eyes were slightly glazed over, but his words were crystal clear. I watched him gently squeeze the slender neck of the girl beside him. He chuckled, playfully chiding, “Cut the crap. Be there on time for the wedding next month.” The private booth was loud and boisterous. But Liam’s voice cut through the noise, clear as day. My body went cold. I had to brace myself against the wall to keep from collapsing. The conversation inside continued. “I’m telling you, just be straight with her. You finally managed to win Cassie back and sweet-talked her into agreeing to marry you. Don’t mess this up now.” It was another voice. Jake, Liam’s best friend. He was also a witness to our on-again, off-again relationship for years. Liam waved a hand, shrugging it off. “What’s the point of just nagging me? Why don’t you tell her to keep her distance from that boss of hers?” Jake gave Liam a fed-up kick. “Cassie already said she wasn’t dating him during those three years you guys were broken up…” “And you believed her? The rumors about her and her boss have been going wild at the office! I was the only idiot kept in the dark…” His voice grew more bitter as he continued. “Always working late, always out entertaining clients—who knows if she was actually in the office or in someone’s bed!” Those words were truly disgusting. Everyone in the room was too stunned to speak. And I, standing outside the door, felt my blood run cold. A shiver that I couldn’t control ran through me. It’s already tough enough for women in the workplace. Arthur had only taken me under his wing because I was a former student of his. I honestly believe I worked myself to the bone to earn this position today. I’ve been fair to everyone. But to avoid Liam misunderstanding, I clearly told him the situation on the very first day we got back together. Liam had also told me more than once that he trusted me and supported my work. But I never imagined he was actually thinking this about me behind my back. And slandering me with such disgusting words in front of all his friends. If I hadn’t happened to pass by this booth, was he planning to just trick me into marrying him? That would be absolutely terrifying. In that instant, my brain made the decision faster than my heart. I pulled open the door, walked straight up to Liam. Before he could even react. *Smack!* The sound echoed through the entire room. I slapped Liam. It landed with a lot of force. Two seconds later, the girl beside him shrieked, crying as she reached out to touch his face. But Liam abruptly pushed her away. He stood up, flustered, and started to explain to me. “Listen, I can explain…” “Liam, we’re done.”
Tonight, I’d successfully closed a huge deal. I’d put on a brave face and drank myself silly. I had planned to use this bonus as our honeymoon fund, for Liam and me. But by a cruel twist of fate, I ended up hearing his true thoughts instead. Destiny truly loves to play jokes on me. I flexed my numb hand, stumbling towards the restroom. Looking up, I saw my eyes looked terrifyingly hollow. I splashed cold water on my face, hoping to calm down. But somehow, I couldn’t seem to wipe the water from my face. My eyes just kept getting redder. A wave of delayed grief hit me like a ton of bricks. I just crouched there and cried until I had no tears left, setting a five-minute alarm. When the alarm rang, I slowly calmed down. The dinner wasn’t over, and the clients hadn’t left yet. This wasn’t the time to lose myself in emotion. So, while no one was looking, I slipped back into the private booth. “What took you so long?” Arthur, my boss, sitting beside me, turned his head to look. His eyes burned into mine, as if he could see straight into my soul. I nervously avoided his gaze, casually made up a lie. “Ran into someone I knew. Just said a quick hello.” Arthur nodded, saying nothing more. Ten minutes later, the dinner ended. A sigh of relief escaped me. I’d expected to stay until midnight tonight, but it ended so early. Good. I’d have a little more time to sort out my messed-up feelings. And it wouldn’t affect my work performance the next day. After seeing the clients off, Arthur and I stood at the entrance, waiting for the company driver. Suddenly, he pointed at the dark circles under my eyes and spoke calmly: “Go home and get some rest. Your eyes are all red from staying up.” I froze. Just as I was about to say something, I was interrupted by an angry shout. “Cassie!” Not far away, Liam was glaring at us, furious. “Was I wrong about anything I said just now? If there’s nothing going on between you two, then why did you lie to me tonight and say he wouldn’t be here?” Before I left for the client dinner, Liam had asked me if my boss would be there tonight. I’d said no because I truly hadn’t received any notification. Who knew the client was difficult and insisted Arthur oversee the signing before they’d agree to the contract? My colleagues had no choice but to ask Arthur to come. But I couldn’t bring myself to say any of this to someone who clearly didn’t trust me. I slapped his hand away from where he was pointing at Arthur, warning him coldly: “Liam, this is between *us*. Be respectful to other people.” Liam probably hadn’t expected me to disrespect him so openly in front of others. He gritted his teeth, repeating “Fine, fine” through them. “This is all because of him, isn’t it? That’s why you want to break up with me? “Well, guess what, I don’t agree!” With that, Liam stormed off in a huff. Fuming, I wanted to chase after him and argue. But suddenly, my wrist was grabbed. I turned my head. A strange emotion flickered in Arthur’s usually stoic eyes. “That childish, ridiculous man—is he really worth you going back to him again and again? Cassie, did he save your life or something?”
Arthur was a year ahead of me in school. He was a campus legend I’d heard about frequently during my college years. Everyone who knew him always praised how gentle and polite he was in how he treated everyone. And in the three years I’d worked under him, he’d lost his temper with me only twice. Once was when I first started. I’d swallowed my pride and put up with a harassing client just to get the company a deal. He chewed me out for not knowing how to protect myself. The second time was just now. He mocked me for being upset over a worthless man. But what Arthur didn’t know was that Liam really *had* saved my life.
Liam and I were next-door neighbors. He was only twelve when he first moved in. I was two years older than him. One time, the kids in our neighborhood were playing together. I walked by and was playfully pushed into the river. The river wasn’t deep, but it was deep enough to be life-threatening for fourteen-year-old me. The other kids either froze in fear or scattered, terrified of getting into trouble. Only Liam. Without a second thought, he jumped right into the water. He struggled to pull me out. CPR, chest compressions—he did everything he could. When I finally opened my eyes to the world again, the first thing I saw was Liam’s clear, innocent eyes. That night, my parents went to Liam’s house with some fruit and milk to thank them. Once inside, we found Liam getting yelled at by both his parents. When we asked why, I found out. Liam, who’d just saved me, had only been taking swimming lessons for three days at that point. One wrong move, and both of us could have drowned in that little river. He was grimacing from the scolding, but still managed to greet us: “Cassie, Uncle, Auntie, please make yourselves comfortable…” Because he saved my life, Liam and I were always close growing up. Once we hit our teenage years, that closeness became even more apparent. I was the first to realize it. Liam really wasn’t good at hiding his feelings. After I called him out, he actually got all shy and awkward before confessing to me. “Cassie,” he’d said, all flustered, “I’ve liked you since we were kids. And I can tell you like me too. We’ve already kissed, so why don’t you just say yes…?” In my panic, I blushed and used my grades as an excuse. “Your grades are terrible! No one’s going to want you!” I never thought Liam would actually buckle down and study harder because of that one sentence. His grades weren’t bad to begin with; he just had a lazy approach to studying. Now that he was actually putting in the effort, the results were incredibly obvious. But when he confessed again, I still turned him down. “Liam, I’m not ready for a serious relationship right now.” He didn’t get angry, just confidently raised an eyebrow at me. “Fine,” he’d said, a confident smirk on his face, “but I’ll stand proudly by your side one day. You’ll see.” His confidence wasn’t misplaced. Because two years later, we really did get together.
When he first went to college, that was the most carefree time of our lives. We did all the things couples in love do. Sweet gestures, thoughtful gifts, exciting surprises. Every day was a new adventure. But the turning point came because of that. He was handsome, and had a charming personality. When he first started college, lots of girls loved chatting with him. He’d smile and chat right back. Boundaries between men and women—he just couldn’t grasp them. I’d walked in on them a few times, and we argued about it countless times. But it always ended with me heartbroken and him feeling misunderstood. Liam didn’t understand why I got so angry over him just talking to someone. And I didn’t understand why he couldn’t keep his distance from other people. Too many petty arguments can really damage a relationship. We started constantly breaking up and making up, and eventually, we were both exhausted from the drama. Liam couldn’t take it anymore and initiated the breakup. He chose to study abroad. I, too, grew rapidly during those years, becoming the professional woman I’d always aspired to be. And it was then that Liam came back. He came back with an engagement ring. … My silence stretched on. Arthur finally let go of my hand, letting out a silent sigh. “I’m giving you three days off. Take some time to think things through.” Snapping out of my reverie, I nodded wearily. “Okay.”
Back home, I tore up the marriage leave request I’d prepared a week ago. I started thinking about how I’d spend these next three days. Maybe I was just too tired today, too drained to think about anything that upset me. The moment my head hit the pillow, I was out cold. But my sleep was restless. Fragments of memories about Liam kept appearing in my dreams. I also dreamed about the girl sitting beside him. Her name was Chloe. She was a hardworking student Liam had sponsored while abroad. After we got back together, we’d confessed our three years apart to each other. I hadn’t dated anyone. And Liam had completely changed from his usual thoughtless self, quietly studying abroad. But Chloe was an exception. Liam said the resilient look in her eyes reminded him of me, and that was why he chose to sponsor her. Over time, they developed feelings for each other. Liam said they had a brief relationship. But ultimately, she wasn’t me. In the end, he chose to break up with her and come back home to try and win me over again. And it was then that I impulsively agreed to his proposal. And he had completely cut ties with Chloe. But then the scene shifted in my dream. I dreamed of his hand gently stroking Chloe’s neck again. Such an intimate and natural gesture—how could that be “cutting ties”? Liam… he hadn’t changed at all, right from the start. The dream turned nightmarish at that moment. I snapped awake, as if I was trapped in a suffocating shroud of black mist. It was four in the morning. I was wide awake. There wasn’t much of Liam’s stuff at my place. Most of his belongings, along with mine, had already been moved to our wedding house. It was a new house we’d both loved, after looking at so many options, that he’d bought a month after returning home. Now, my only comfort was that he’d paid for it in full. We didn’t have any property division issues to sort out yet. Thinking about this, my heart still sank. When Liam first came back, I truly planned on making things work with him. I thought we could both be more tolerant, more compromising. After all, we’d loved each other for so long. And found it so hard to forget each other. But when Chloe reappeared by his side. The moment those ugly words came out of his mouth. I realized how foolish I’d been. Liam was still Liam. He couldn’t be tolerant, couldn’t compromise. He couldn’t even guarantee his love. While I was still lost in thought, my phone rang. It was Jake. I pulled at the corner of my lips, a sarcastic smile playing on them. For so many years, whenever Liam and I argued, he’d come over afterward to play the mediator. But things had been so tense last night, I was curious how he’d even try to convince me now. “Cassie, I’m not getting involved in your business anymore. But I hope you two can really clear the air before you go your separate ways. So you don’t have any regrets later.” “Regret? Why would I regret it? Finding out before the wedding means it’s a blessing in disguise.” I spoke softly. Jake fell silent. After hanging up, I lay on the couch for a while. It was true, I should have a proper talk with Liam. I needed to explain things to my parents, at least. But I couldn’t get through to Liam’s phone. I remembered that when we first got back together, he’d linked a location-sharing app to my phone. I dug it out and opened it. It showed he was at a hospital. I didn’t overthink it. I quickly got ready and hailed a cab. My time off was almost over—only two and a half days left. I needed to get these things sorted out quickly. The location sharing was precise—it even showed the building and floor. I made my way to the hospital room. And that’s how I unexpectedly heard Chloe’s familiar voice. “Liam, it hurts so much.” Inside the room, Liam had his back to me. He gently ruffled Chloe’s hair, his voice filled with remorse. “I’m sorry. I won’t let you get hurt next time.” Chloe’s response was to wrap an arm around his waist. She smiled sweetly. “I never blamed you.” Anyone seeing this scene would assume they were a loving couple. Even I felt a moment of confusion. But I’d grown so much in these three years. It hadn’t even been ten hours since we’d ripped each other apart last night. And I could already suppress the pain in my heart, knocking on the door without batting an eye. “Liam, step outside for a moment.” 8. Liam frantically rushed out, breathlessly explaining to me. “When I pushed Chloe away yesterday, I hurt her, that’s why I brought her to the hospital.” He grabbed my hand, his voice catching slightly.
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