The year Gabriel Grant loved me the most. During evening study hall, I was accidentally locked in the pitch-black dormitory building. He stood outside the window, singing all night to comfort me. Later, on the day we were supposed to celebrate our anniversary. He abandoned me and rented out a bar. For a private concert dedicated to his childhood friend. Singing the love song he once wrote only for me. When I opened my eyes again, I was back in that night when I was trapped. A bucket of cold water poured down from the window. “Shut up, you sound terrible.” Today was supposed to be the day Gabriel Grant and I celebrated our anniversary. We had invited only our closest friends and family. I forced a smile on my face, wearing an uncomfortably tight dress and high heels. After bustling about for two hours and downing countless glasses of champagne, I didn’t even have time to drink water. Someone whispered quietly: “Tsk, the party’s almost over and the boyfriend is still nowhere to be seen. I feel so embarrassed for Chloe.” “Well, he is a big star now. It’s normal for her to put up with this.” “But this is too much. Who doesn’t show up to their own anniversary party?” They were right. This was a celebration without the other half of the couple. Because Gabriel Grant never showed up from beginning to end. I tried hard to suppress the churning in my stomach, my palms sweating as I kept calling Gabriel. Usually, even if he had a schedule, his manager would contact me in advance. But not today. There had been no word from him all day. More than anything else, I was worried something had happened to him. When it was over, my parents didn’t look too happy. Our family had always cared about face, so they never approved of my relationship with Gabriel from the start. “I really don’t know what you’re thinking, choosing someone like him. You’ve embarrassed our entire family.” Before leaving, my mom held my hand and said earnestly: “Chloe, you know best about your own feelings. It’s not too late to turn back now.” My eyes were moist, but I forced a smile. “Mom, Dad, Gabriel just had something urgent come up. I’ll bring him home another day, and you can scold him then.” After all the guests had left. I called Gabriel’s manager while stuffing leftover food into my mouth. Until the call was disconnected again due to no answer. I took a deep breath, staring blankly at the dark phone screen, my heart sinking heavily. My best friend Jenny Johnson walked over angrily and handed me her phone. “Look at this.”
It was a recorded livestream. In the dim stage light, Gabriel was singing passionately, while only one person’s silhouette could be seen in the empty VIP seats. And it was someone I knew all too well. Jenny’s tone was harsh, her hair almost crackling with anger: “This livestream has already topped the trending list. Now the whole world knows your boyfriend has a girlfriend.” “Chloe Adams, let’s go right now—” “Jenny.” I suddenly interrupted her, my gaze fixed on the screen that was replaying the loop, and said softly: “You know what?” “I was the first person to hear this song years ago.” That’s why I could overlook Gabriel’s repeated mistakes. Because he said this song was written for me. In those years when he was still unknown, he said I was the only listener he wanted to keep. Jenny fell silent for a moment, then took back the phone I was gripping tightly. “So what are you going to do now? The party’s over. Are you going to walk down the aisle alone next time too?” She shook my shoulders angrily: “Wake up! How long are you going to keep up this one-woman show?” I didn’t answer her, just forced myself to stand up. The anxiety that had been building all day finally subsided, leaving only one thought in my mind: At least nothing bad had happened to him. Wrapped in fatigue and discomfort, there was no room for excess emotions. I closed my eyes to calm myself, then sent Gabriel a final message: “What time are you coming home?”
It was already late by the time I finished dealing with the aftermath. I was packing up my clothes backstage. A hotel staff member caught up with me and handed me a thick envelope, saying it was left by a gentleman, along with a plastic bag containing a box of stomach medicine. I casually flipped through it. The envelope said “Happy Anniversary,” stuffed with thick wads of cash, signed only with the name Hughes. I froze for a few seconds, my throat tightening and my stomach suddenly aching as if in response. Before I could think too much about it, Jenny lowered the car window and called for me to get in. “Are you going to find Gabriel?” I closed the car door and shook my head: “Home.” From booking the hotel to everything else, I had been handling it all alone. At this point, I really didn’t have the energy left to go pick a fight. I swallowed a stomach pill and closed my eyes, feeling dizzy and heavy. It was almost ten when I got home. The whole apartment was dark. Clearly, no one had been back. I poured myself a glass of wine, sat by the window, and waited patiently second by second. I had never been this patient before. We moved in here two years ago. At that time, Gabriel had gained some fame with his new album. He often had obsessive fans secretly showing up at our door, so we were forced to move to this high-end neighborhood with better privacy. Clean, orderly, with a cold distance between people. So different from the cozy little nest we once furnished together. It wasn’t just the house we couldn’t go back to.
At two in the morning. The sound of someone entering the passcode finally came from outside the door. Gabriel was clearly startled to see me sitting by the window. The things in his hand fell to the ground with a thud. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?” He knew that in the past, even if he came home late, I would only wait until midnight. Not like today. I put down my wine glass and walked past him to turn on the living room lights. In an instant, the quiet space was as bright as day. Gabriel loosened his tie and casually tossed his suit jacket on the sofa, taking large strides towards me, wanting to hug me. I had a moment of dizziness. Even this suit he was supposed to wear to our anniversary was chosen by me. Yet he wore it to rush to someone else. “Are you tired?” he asked me coaxingly, bringing up the serious topic lightly. I quietly sniffed the alcohol on him and raised my hand to push him away. Gabriel didn’t let go, explaining with complete nonchalance: “I had something urgent come up today. I didn’t mean to miss it. Besides, our families have already met, so these formalities don’t really matter, right?” “It’s so late, can we not fight about this?” Seeing that I didn’t say anything, he suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to pick up the paper bag he had dropped on the ground earlier. “I brought you a small cake. Last time you said this place was really popular and you wanted to try it. I specially went to queue up for it.” He took my hand affectionately. When the box was opened, the cake had been smashed beyond recognition, with most of the fruit filling spilled out. It was only at this moment that I let out a small laugh. Gabriel saw my expression soften and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s okay, I’ll buy you another one another day.” But I suddenly asked him: “Does she like this place too?” Gabriel froze for a few seconds. “Who?” I looked up and stared into his eyes: “Zoe Quinn.” “You… know?” Gabriel’s voice instantly lowered, then became irritated: “Her mom passed away recently. She was really emotional today, and I was afraid something might happen to her, so I went to keep her company. You know she doesn’t have many relatives. We grew up—” I calmly finished his sentence: “Together, almost like siblings.” Gabriel choked, then continued after a while: “I’ve already had someone take down the trending topic. We’ll release a statement tomorrow.” I said “Oh,” and slowly started cleaning up the cake on the table. “Why don’t you just release a statement saying you’re single?” He frowned in confusion: “What do you mean?” “Gabriel.” The long-delayed sense of bitterness finally began to occupy my eyes. I blinked, trying to prevent myself from losing composure, but my voice still trembled uncontrollably. “I’m allergic to mangoes.”
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