Leonard called Melanie's name several times. His tone had already taken on an impatient edge before Melanie finally responded by reluctantly tearing her gaze away.

I had thought that the encounter at the restaurant would be the last time Melanie and I crossed paths before I left the country.

But on the very night I officially resigned from my job as her assistant, she video-called me. That in itself was such an absurd, unprecedented event that I had to physically stop myself from declining it immediately. Instead, I switched the call to voice only and answered.

Her voice came through, and she sounded peeved. "Why did you switch to voice?"

I replied casually, "I'm not dressed. It's inconvenient to have a video chat."

Melanie laughed when she heard that. My reply somehow put her in a better mood. She teased, "Come on, we've been married long enough. I've seen everything there is to see."

Her flirtatious tone made my skin crawl.

I asked coldly, "What do you want?"

Sensing the chill in my voice, she instantly dropped her languid tone and sat upright. "I heard from HR that you resigned."

"Yeah." I didn't bother explaining anything.

Awkward silence ensued.

Then, with a light tone that sounded forced, like she was just searching for something to say, she added, "Good thing you quit. Honestly, what were you thinking? You could just be the CEO's househusband, but you insisted on working as an assistant. You sure like to suffer, don't you?"

She gave a small laugh before continuing, "And you weren't even that dedicated. I barely saw you in the office, yet I had to pay you every month. In the end, the whole company found out that you were my husband, and they all said I played favorites."

I cut her off, feeling irritated, "Shouldn't you be with Leonard right now?"

Without thinking, Melanie mumbled under her breath, "It's not like he's anyone special to me. Why do I have to be with him all the time?"

But as soon as she said it, she fell silent. It was because she suddenly remembered that I was just her ex-husband now.

She spoke again, but she sounded diffident this time. "The divorce was my fault. I just don't want people talking badly about Lenny…"

I nodded stoically. Right. Leonard shouldn't have to put up with gossip, but I should be the laughingstock and subject of every idle conversation in the circle.

My voice turned even icier as I said, "If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up."

"Wait!" Melanie cried out anxiously. "Our wedding anniversary is on the 12th. Nate Zaleski's concert is on that day. I know you've been wanting to go. We'll attend the concert together, okay?"

For a brief second, I almost told her the truth that I was leaving.

But before I could speak, I heard a familiar male voice in the background through the phone. "Mel, I forgot my towel. Can you bring it to me?"

Melanie didn't respond right away. She stared at the screen that displayed my name in a daze, torn between the two of us.

With a stoic expression, I urged, "Go ahead."

Melanie hesitated for a moment longer before standing up slowly. "Give me a moment, Xavier. I'll be right back."

She started walking toward the bathroom.

As I expected, I soon heard the faint, unmistakable sounds of kissing. Then came Melanie's muffled moan, followed by the sharp slam of the bathroom door closing.

I ended the call with a derisive scoff.

Right at that moment, Kieran called out from the living room excitedly. He asked me to hit a nightclub with him. Without hesitation, I put my phone down and got up.

There were still so many things in this world that could put a smile on my face.

In the past, I was so blind that I was unable to see past one woman. But I was starting afresh now. Why should I waste another second of my life mourning someone who already belonged to the past?

…

Without Melanie around, time passed by quickly. When I came to realize it, there were only a few more days left before my flight overseas.

I hadn't been in contact with Melanie since the last call. Still, I heard bits and pieces about her and Leonard through Kieran.

Apparently, they had a huge fight. In fact, the fight was so bad that Melanie walked out of a banquet. She left Leonard behind without regard for his dignity in public.

Rumors started spreading that their fight had been because of me. When I heard it, I just laughed nonchalantly.

I wasn't that same lovesick fool I used to be. I was no longer the pathetic man who refreshed his social media countless times a day to stalk the feeds of Melanie, Leonard, and everyone who knew them.

I had done that in a desperate attempt to detect the slightest crack in their relationship so that I could rush to her side and tell her that I was the one who truly loved her.

But so what if they fought? They were a couple in love, so they'd reconcile very quickly even if they did have a fight. So what if they had an argument because of me? I had always been nothing more than a prop in their game.

Still, after that argument, Melanie started calling me more and more often. Unfortunately for her, I either declined it immediately or found every possible excuse not to meet her. This went on until the day before I was supposed to leave the country.

That day, she sent me a message inviting me to a concert.

She wrote, "I already bought the tickets. Let's meet tonight, okay? Don't stand me up. Today's our wedding anniversary. You're not going to reject me again, are you?"

She had never, ever, lowered herself to beg me for anything before. Usually, she would just toss out a casual line and take one step toward me. I, who used to be eager to please, would take the remaining 99 steps out of 100 to sprint toward her, desperate to bridge the distance between us.

But in the end, I came to the painful realization that she always withdrew whenever Leonard showed up.

I didn't know how to respond to Melanie's message. Today wasn't our wedding anniversary. It was the anniversary of our fourth remarriage.

After so many divorces and marriages, I was probably the only one who still remembered every single date and every detail of our messy history down to the exact day.

Still, I agreed to go. I did want to watch Nate Zaleski's live performance, after all.

But that night, I stood outside the venue and waited for a long, long time… She never showed up.

Finally, I played the voice message she had sent me a few minutes earlier. Her voice was soft and apologetic, while the background was alive with the noise of the concert. I could even faintly hear the sound of Leonard's laughter.

"I'm sorry, Xavier. Lenny suddenly felt unwell, so I took him to the hospital. We'll have plenty more anniversaries to celebrate together. After he leaves tomorrow, I'll do whatever you want, okay?"

The concert began. Nate's melodious and serene voice floated out from inside.

"Thank you for inviting me to witness your love. I remind myself, at every moment, not to run away."

I closed the message and, for the first time in a month, opened my social media.

Right at the top was a new post from Leonard just a few minutes ago. It was a selfie of him and Melanie at the concert.

"I let go of every memory just to bless your love. But I still can't accept that this is our fate."

The song continued, mocking me for being a fool who had still clung to a sliver of hope when I took up Melanie's invitation and traveled all the way there.

This time, what was left of that small sliver of hope went up in smoke.

This was already our seventh divorce. I should have understood long ago, shouldn't I?

But at least this was truly the end. With no lingering attachment left, I turned and headed straight for the airport. I sat there the entire night, waiting for dawn to break.

At 7:00 am, I checked in for my flight. Melanie sent me a message asking when we would remarry. I didn't reply. I deleted her number.

At 8:00 am, while I was in line to board, she called me. I didn't answer. I blocked her number instead.

At 9:00 am, I was seated on the plane. The flight attendant reminded us to switch our phones to airplane mode.

Just then, my phone buzzed as a call from Kieran came in. But when I answered, it wasn't Kieran's voice I heard. It was Melanie's. Her voice was anxious and trembling as she asked, "Xavier, where are you?"