My girlfriend, Elara proposed to her assistant. I confronted her, but overheard her conversation with a friend: “If I don’t marry him, his family will force him to marry someone he doesn’t love.” “What about Asher? He’s your boyfriend. Aren’t you afraid he’ll get mad?” “What’s getting mad going to do? Asher and I have been together for seven years. He can’t live without me.” Later, I got married on the same day. As my wedding cars passed each other, Elara completely broke down when she saw me in the other car. “Mom, I’ve agreed to the family arrangement.” In the dim living room, my soft voice sounded hollow and numb. Mom was shocked when she heard me agree. “You weren’t willing before, were you? Why the sudden change of heart? Asher, marriage isn’t something to rush into. Whether it’s an arranged marriage or not, all I care about is your happiness. You need to think this through, don’t be impulsive.” Listening to Mom, my eyes welled up. “Mom, I’ve thought it through. You can start preparing for the wedding.” Mom knew I was hurting. After a moment of silence, she comforted me: “You and Elara have been together for so long, yet she never wanted to make your relationship public, and she always put off meeting your family. Your dad and I knew this relationship wouldn’t last.” Mom’s words were like a thorn piercing my heart. Turns out, everyone else saw it clearly. I was the only one who was blind. “Chloe from the Sterling family is someone your dad and I picked out for you as a suitable partner for an alliance early on. Your parents carefully vetted her. Putting everything else aside, her character and family background are undoubtedly excellent. My son deserves the best.” I took a deep breath. “Thank you, Mom. I trust your judgment and Dad’s.” Mom continued, “Shall we arrange for you two to meet in the next couple of days?” “No need. Just go straight to preparing the wedding.” After hanging up, Elara appeared behind me, I don’t know when, holding a small cake. She asked, confused: “What wedding? Who’s getting married?” Mine. I’m getting married. I answered silently in my head, but the words never left my lips. I calmly shook my head. “Nothing, just a friend.” As the words left my mouth, I noticed her expression visibly relax. A bitter pang hit me again. She was so tense just now. Was she worried I was going to pressure her into marriage? Or perhaps, was she getting married to her beloved assistant, Milo Jensen, and thought I had found out? “I brought you your favorite cake from that bakery. Do you want to eat it now?” Elara used to always bring me treats when she came home from work. Even if many weren’t to my taste, I still felt as sweet as if I were floating in a honey-sweet dream. Just because I felt the love of being constantly remembered and fed by the person I adored far outweighed the taste of the food itself. But now, looking at this box of cake, I felt nothing but irony. Just moments ago, I saw Milo change his previously private SnapChat stories to public. I only scrolled through a few before I couldn’t bear to look anymore. Now, I realized how ridiculous I was. This cake, it turned out, was Milo’s favorite. Not just this cake, but all the other nuts and snacks were Milo’s favorites too. Even more tragically, I discovered that Elara’s habit of bringing me food after work had only started after Milo joined the company. So, Elara, when you were feeding me, who were you pretending I was? Asher, or Milo? I swallowed the bitterness and spoke softly: “I don’t like sweets. They’re too cloying. Don’t buy them anymore.” Elara was surprised by my reaction. Her eyes showed a hint of bewilderment: “What? You never seemed to mind them before.” After all these years together, if she truly cared about me, how could she not have noticed my food preferences? Some things, when repeated too many times, become exhausting, eventually turning into a compromise. I didn’t argue further, just casually offered, “My tastes have changed recently.”
For several days, Elara seemed incredibly busy, so busy she even forgot my birthday. But I didn’t care anymore. Then she seemed to suddenly remember and, to make it up to me, bought tickets for my favorite musical. It was a popular show, hard to get tickets for. I hadn’t managed to buy any myself, so when Elara said she had tickets and invited me, I agreed. But on the day of the show, she didn’t show up. Instead, I saw Milo Jensen flaunting two tickets on his Ins. Two tickets. [Bored, heading to a concert. It’s so nice to have someone always ready to join you for some fun and relaxation.] Although the faces weren’t visible, the hand with the distinctive scar in the photo—I recognized it as Elara’s in an instant. The scar on her hand was from saving me years ago. Suddenly, I felt like a clown. I was outside, drenched in the rain, worried something might have happened to her, while she and her assistant were in the VIP seats inside, watching a concert. The cold rain pelted my face, and my heart and body grew colder by the minute. Just then, Mom messaged me, saying the wedding was set for two weeks later. She said if I felt it was too rushed, we could postpone it. I shook my head. “No need. This is fine.” The heavy rain had brought the city’s traffic to a standstill. I waited for a long time but couldn’t get a ride. Elara’s call came very late. “Why aren’t you home?” My voice was calm, devoid of any emotion. “I’m at the theater.” She seemed to remember something, falling silent for a moment. “I’m sorry, something came up this afternoon. Wait there, I’ll pick you up.” I didn’t refuse, but I also knew she wouldn’t come. Sure enough, the next second, Milo updated his status again: [My honey cooked ginger tea for me, worried I’d get soaked and catch a cold. A woman in the kitchen is the most beautiful. Want to marry her!] The accompanying picture was Elara’s back as she busied herself at the stove. I glanced at it once, then calmly closed the app. The heavy rain still inevitably led to me catching a cold and fever. Using the excuse that I didn’t want to infect Elara, I moved into the guest room. Breaking her routine, Elara put aside her work to stay home and take care of me. But I felt uncomfortable. “It’s just a mild cold. I’m an adult; I can take care of myself. Go back to your work.” She stared at me strangely for a while; “Didn’t you used to wish I’d be with you when you were sick? Why are you acting so unusual today?” I lowered my head, hiding all emotion in my eyes, and forced a smile. “I was immature before. Not anymore.” Elara looked at me with worry. “Asher, are you okay?” “I’m fine. You go.” She felt I was a bit off but couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. Finally, she just stared deeply at me, sighed, and said: “Alright, then get some good rest. Call me if you need anything.” After she left, I let out a long breath and went back to sleep. When I woke up, I saw that Mom had sent me the detailed wedding plan. She also sent me about a dozen suits, asking me to choose. I casually scrolled through them, then clicked to enlarge a picture and started looking closely, so engrossed that I didn’t notice Elara appear suddenly. She snatched my phone from my hand and tossed it aside, her brows furrowed in displeasure: “What are you looking at suits for?” I thought she had discovered I was getting married and was about to just come clean. But her next words made me realize how ridiculous my assumption was. “Asher, are you trying to pressure me into marrying you? I told you I’d marry you. You don’t need to play these games to hint at it. It’s really unbecoming.”
“You misunderstood. I’m not…” But she waved her hand, cutting off my explanation: “I have something to do, so I’m leaving. I advise you to stop with these stunts that just chip away at my feelings for you.” The front door slammed shut, plunging the entire room into a deathly silence. I stood there for a long time, then gave a self-deprecating smile. Elara, how much affection do you have left for me, to even speak of “chipping away”? In the past, her misunderstanding would have left me sleepless and miserable. Now, I quickly composed myself. I continued to review the wedding arrangements Mom had sent. Before exiting SnapChat, I casually clicked on the red dot in her stories and saw that Elara, who rarely posted, had updated her status. [You’re so wonderful, of course, I’d marry you and keep you close, then I can finally relax.] The post included a solo picture of Milo and their wedding invitation. Less than a minute later, a mutual friend commented: [Did the groom really change just like that?] Immediately, Elara’s new post disappeared, but it quickly reappeared on Milo Jensen’s Ins profile. Then Elara’s call came in. In the past, I would have already taken a screenshot and called her immediately to demand answers. There would have been no way to avoid a huge fight. But this time, I let the phone ring until it stopped without answering. It was strange. Seeing that post, I wasn’t even very upset. Perhaps I was numb. My first thought was, how ironic, their wedding date is the same as mine. When Elara arrived home, I was already asleep. She quietly opened the door and walked to my bedside. “Asher, are you asleep? Why didn’t you answer my calls?” I lay with my back to her and mumbled, “I fell asleep accidentally. Didn’t hear it.” Elara sighed with relief, leaned closer, and reached out to check my forehead for fever. “Still have a fever?” As she got close, the scent of men’s cologne on her made me feel a wave of nausea, almost making me gag. I instinctively shifted away, avoiding her touch. Her hand hung in mid-air, filled with shock. She tentatively asked, “Asher, did you see something?” I buried myself completely under the covers, my voice muffled. “No, I just feel sick from the cold. I want to sleep.” I slept until the next day, finally feeling a bit lighter. I gathered my energy and started packing, slowly erasing every trace of myself from this house. It was then I realized I had bought many matching couple’s items. At first, Elara used them with me. But at some point, she had thrown them all into a corner. I packed all these useless things and tossed them into the trash. There was also an album filled with photos of Elara and me traveling, postcards we collected together, old train tickets from when we were long-distance, and letters she wrote to me. This album was brimming with all the memories Elara and I had made over the years. But ever since Milo appeared, no new photos had been added to the album. When Elara returned, I was throwing this album into the fire. She rushed over like a madwoman, snatching the damaged album from the flames. Ignoring the pain of her burned hands, she demanded angrily, “Are you crazy?! Don’t you know how important this album is to us? Why would you burn it?!” Elara rarely got angry with me; this was the first time she had ever raised her voice so much. The concern in her eyes didn’t seem fake, but it was also true that she was hiding her impending marriage to someone else from me. Not wanting to argue with her, I casually said, “The album got moldy and buggy. I’ve backed up everything inside; I’ll just make a new one later.” Hearing this, her anger subsided. While I applied burn cream to her hand, Elara stared at me and suddenly spoke. “Asher, you seem a bit off lately. Is work stress getting to you? I booked a custom trip for you. Go out and relax.”
My hand paused as I applied the cream. I looked up at her. “Just me? Aren’t you coming?” Elara sighed, sounding regretful. “I’m too busy with work; I can’t get away. Next time, okay?” But Elara, there won’t be a next time for us. I lowered my head and continued what I was doing. “It might be hard to get time off from the company.” “Don’t worry about it; I’ll handle it for you.” I insisted, “But I don’t want to go.” Her tone left no room for refusal. “I’ve already booked it; it’s non-refundable.” I didn’t say anything, but my heart grew cold. I remembered waking up in the middle of the night last night, hearing Elara on the phone with someone: “I’m not planning to tell him. I’ll keep it a secret for as long as I can.” “To be safe, during the wedding, I’ll book him on a trip to get him out of town.” The person on the other end sighed. “And then what? Are you going to make him the third party?” Elara didn’t speak for a long time. It felt like an eternity before she slowly said, “As for what happens later, we’ll have to take it one step at a time.” My heart twisted in pain. Lying in bed, my emotions gradually numbed. I felt like a joke after seven years. Elara, I think I never truly knew you. If you no longer loved me, why couldn’t you just say so instead of choosing to deceive me? Were you afraid I’d cling to you? Is that why you planned to send me away like this during your wedding? You didn’t need to go through all this trouble. Elara, I will grant your wish and completely disappear from your world. I asked her, “When’s the flight?” “Two days from now.” I smiled. “Okay, I’ll go.” Elara visibly relaxed at my words, instinctively reaching out to touch my head. I subtly dodged her hand. She froze for a moment, then smiled. “Let’s have dinner before you leave.” I thought about it, and finally nodded. Tomorrow would be our seven-year anniversary. Then let’s say a proper goodbye, clarify everything, and let this relationship begin and end on that day. The next day, I arrived early at the restaurant Elara and I had agreed upon. She showed up as promised, but with Milo by her side. “Asher, Elara and I were just doing some errands nearby, so we came together. Hope we’re not interrupting your dinner?” Milo said with a fake smile. I shook my head, though I felt a pang of regret. It seemed even this final farewell meal wouldn’t be complete. Elara ordered a table full of bland dishes. Seeing this, Milo couldn’t help but laugh. “Elara, the food you ordered is too bland. It probably won’t suit Asher’s taste, right?” Elara dismissed it casually. “You don’t like spicy food.” Milo chuckled. “It’s not that dramatic; you just care about me too much.” The two of them acted intimately, as if I wasn’t even there. I watched them coldly, my heart so calm that not a single ripple was stirred. We were in the middle of eating when someone suddenly shouted, “Fire!” The crowd immediately stirred, people scattering and rushing out. As I stood up, I saw a figure flash past me. Then, I saw Elara tightly shielding Milo Jensen, turning her back on me and rushing out with him. In a daze, it was as if I traveled through a time tunnel and saw that 18-year-old girl. It was the same scene, but back then, the person she protected with all her might was me. It wasn’t until they reached a safe place that Elara snapped back to reality. She turned to look at me, standing not far away, her eyes wide with shock: “I was too rushed just now. I didn’t mean to…” I smiled and cut her off. “It’s okay. I understand.” Soon, the day Elara had arranged for my trip arrived. I packed my luggage early. After double-checking that there were no traces of me left in the apartment. I picked up my suitcase and left without looking back. Of course, I didn’t go on the trip. Instead, I returned to my parents’ home. After all, my wedding day was also fast approaching. Meanwhile, Elara was busy trying on wedding dresses with Milo, completely oblivious to me. The wedding day arrived in a flash, and I met my arranged marriage partner, Chloe, for the first time. I had to admit, my parents’ taste was truly impeccable. She was even more beautiful in person than in her photos, flawless in both figure and appearance. The wedding procession was grand. I got into the car, and we drove majestically forward. As we passed another wedding car coming from the opposite direction, both sides instinctively stopped for the brides to exchange bouquets. The car window slowly lowered. In the car across from me, Elara and I locked eyes. A huge storm instantly raged in her eyes, and she stammered in disbelief, “Asher, how… how can it be you?”
🌟 Continue the story here 👉🏻 📲 Download the “NovelMaster” app 🔍 search for “308342”, and watch the full series ✨! #NovelMaster #现实主义Realistic #浪漫Romance #后宫Harem #重生Reborn
Leave a Reply