The next morning, Natalya called, asking me to pick her up by car.

I ignored her and hung up the phone directly.

Three days later, my mother called, saying that Natalya was crying at her place and asking me to go there quickly to apologize to Natalya.

I answered briefly, "Got it."

...

Without much explanation, I hung up the phone.

In the past, whenever we had a conflict, Natalya would complain to my mom, saying that I bullied her. My mom would help her.

Back then, no matter how unhappy I was, as long as she did so, coupled with my mom scolding me, I would give in and take the initiative to apologize to her.

But when I apologized, she would look smug, saying, "Do you know you're wrong? Will you dare to do it again next time?"

Afterward, she would give me some petty gifts to dissipate my dissatisfaction.

By doing so, she ended any previous conflicts with me taking the initiative to admit my mistakes.

But this time, I didn't go to my mom's place to bring Natalya back.

In the evening...

Natalya went home by herself. Seeing me watching TV and ignoring her, Natalya took the initiative to apologize for the first time.

She came to me, sat on my lap, and hugged my neck with both hands. Acting like a spoiled child, she said, "Alright, don't be angry. I admit that I was wrong this time, okay? I'll make it up to you tonight!"

I didn't say anything.

Seeing this, she kept teasing me.

If it were in the past, with her being so proactive, I would surrender without hesitation.

But this time, the situation was different.

She went out in the middle of the night in heavy rain to comfort Spencer, her ex, who just gotten divorced.

Whether it were men or women, it was unacceptable for their partners to do such a thing!

Moreover, it was during a period when we were about to get married!

I must make my attitude and position clear to her.

This time, I wouldn't back down!

"By the way, Kendall, do you know what day tomorrow is?" Seeing that I ignored her, Natalya changed the topic and said with a smile, "You wouldn't forget it, right? Tomorrow is our fifth anniversary of dating!"

Of course, I knew what day it was tomorrow.

Whenever came our anniversary, I would prepare everything carefully and celebrate it with her.

But many times, she would complain that I wasn't romantic enough and that I wasn't as romantic as her ex.

At that time, feeling a sense of loss, I thought that she shouldn't compare me to her ex.

But I would reflect on myself. Given that I only did some stereotypical things, I indeed wasn't romantic enough.

Every time, I tried my best to change myself, learn from the lessons, and aspire to do my best.

But in the end, what I got was her going to comfort her divorced ex-boyfriend late at night in heavy rain. It was right before we got married.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Why are you being such a killjoy?"

"I told you, Spencer got divorced. He's in pain. I had to go to comfort him!"

"We're about to get married. I am yours. Now it's just a petty matter. Do you have to be like this?"

"Given so, I'm starting to doubt whether I should marry you at all!"

Natalya's continuous complaints made me more clear-headed.

"Yes!"

"We're about to get married, and she has such close contact with her ex."

"She even makes light of these behaviors as if everything she did was my fault."

"Should we or should we not get married?"

I pushed Natalya off my lap and said seriously, "You're right. Maybe we should both calm down and think about whether we should get married or not."

Natalya looked stunned.

Maybe she didn't expect me to say such things.

But I ignored her as I went to my room to fall asleep.

I had been thinking about this matter all day.

I was lost in so much thought that I was a little distracted at work the next day.

I was thinking about the bits and pieces of the years I had spent with Natalya.

I recalled the year when I had been sick. Natalya gave up her good job to take care of me.

After that, she moved into my house for the convenience of taking care of me. The fact that she was gentle and considerate touched me so much.

It was during that time that I firmly believed that she was the one I wanted to be with.

I wanted to marry her and be with her until we grew old.

After work, I returned home.

I prepared a candlelight dinner carefully.

Tonight, on the fifth anniversary of our relationship, I planned to get drunk with her and make it clear that if she chose to be with me, she should not have such close contact with her ex anymore.

But I waited until eight p.m. She was nowhere to be seen.

I turned on my cell phone and planned to call her to ask what she was doing.

But when I was about to dial, I hesitated.

I shouldn't be as humble as before.

I turned on my cell phone and casually scrolled through it. Then I found that she had posted on Facebook at 7 p.m. [Cheers to our tenth anniversary of knowing each other.]

The picture shows a photo of her and Spencer dining together, with both of them wearing a string of beads on their wrists, one black and one white.

Spencer in the photo was smiling happily, and I couldn't tell that he was heartbroken because of his divorce.

Looking at the photo, I was so heartbroken.

Only those who had truly loved me could understand my feelings.

But soon, I looked at the photo again. I suddenly felt less pain.

I silently logged out of my Facebook account.

I thought I had got the answer I wanted.

Natalya's Facebook post told me everything.

Even if she married me, she wouldn't leave her ex in the dust!

Realizing this, I felt relieved instead. I was no longer worried about it!

I even felt lucky in my heart that I hadn't called her.

Despite feeling that I no longer cared about this relationship, I couldn't fall asleep when I was in bed.

In a daze, I began to recall the bits and pieces I had with Natalya.

After one a.m., I heard the sound of the door opening.

I closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep.

Natalya came to my side and saw me sleeping. She kissed me on the forehead and said, "My good boy."

I found it ridiculous in my heart. A woman who had been with her ex until after one a.m. had the nerve to say so to me.

She stood in front of me and observed me for a moment. Then she walked away, seemingly to take a shower.

"Ring, ring, ring."

Natalya's cell phone was placed on the bedside table. It kept ringing, annoying me and making my mind restless.

I couldn't resist. Then I picked up her cell phone. A message from Spencer popped up.

[Natalya, I can't sleep.]

[Why don't you stay here and keep me company instead of going back?]

[Shall we keep drinking and chatting until dawn? How about that?]

[Natalya?]

[Are you there?]

[Don't ignore me!]

[After careful consideration for many days, I finally realized the reason why I had divorced her. It is because I don't love her.]

[To be frank, I have never let go of you in my heart.]

I couldn't stand his disgusting way of teasing Natalya, so I threw Natalya's cell phone aside.

Feeling annoyed, I got up, walked to the balcony, and lit a cigarette.

Looking at the lights outside, I had an urge to cry.

Soon, Natalya finished taking a shower. Seeing me standing on the balcony and smoking, she asked, "Why are you still up so late? Didn't I tell you not to smoke at home? Here you are again!"

I turned around and asked Natalya, "My smoking is better than your affair, right?"

"What did you say? Affair? You are talking nonsense!"

Natalya glanced at me and walked back to the bedroom in her pajamas.

I didn't know if she understood my meaning.

But I believed that she, who had often been with her ex late at night, must have done something inappropriate.

If she didn't, it must be Spencer wasn't sexually potent.

Especially given the seductive methods Spencer had used by texting her on her cell phone, I knew what kind of person he was.

Natalya was constantly being seduced by such a man, which she immersed herself in. She alleged that she had never done anything inappropriate. Only a fool would believe her.

Before I could finish smoking the cigarette in my hands, there was a cry from Natalya's bedroom.

Then, Natalya came out angrily with her cell phone in her hands and asked me, "Did you touch my cell phone?"

I asked, "So what if I do?"

Natalya yelled at me hysterically, "You're so despicable. You pretended to be asleep and secretly spied on my cell phone while I was taking a shower. You invaded my privacy! How shameless you are!"

She was having an affair outside.

But she came back and scolded me loudly for being despicable and shameless!

I finally knew how self-righteous she was.

Our relationship should end.

I extinguished the cigarette and looked at Natalya, who was questioning me, and said, "Let's break up!"