The next morning, when I woke up, Austen had already left for work.

We had been sleeping in separate rooms for the past six months.

Austen said his work kept him busy, often making him work late into the night, and he didn't want to disturb my rest, so he chose to sleep in the guest room.

But in the early hours, I would still be woken up by him.

Even with a wall between us, I could hear him talking to Jaelyn.

When Jaelyn couldn't sleep, she would call him.

When Jaelyn was upset, she would reach out to him.

They played games together and chatted together.

Austen and I had originally planned to get married within two years, but it kept getting postponed because of him.

My parents urged us many times, but Austen always pushed it off, saying he was too busy with work.

I glanced at the ring on my finger and quietly slipped it off, putting it away in the drawer.

Then, I started preparing for my move to Elarion.

I understood now that this ring no longer belonged to me, and neither did this home.

Halfway through packing, I received a call from Austen.

"Caitlyn, Jaelyn's having cramps and isn't feeling well. Could you bring her some painkillers?

"You're both women, you should understand each other. You don't mind, right?"

Hearing his voice, I replied calmly.

"Sure, I'll be right there."

Austen seemed pleased with my response.

"Good. Try to hurry. Today's Thanksgiving Day, so I'll get off work early and come home for dinner."

Austen's parents had passed away when he was young. When we first got together, he told me he wanted to spend every holiday with me so he could feel a sense of family.

Every Thanksgiving since, I'd always made a special, elaborate dinner just to give him that feeling of home.

This year was no different. I had prepared a delicious feast in advance and stored it in the fridge.

But now, there was no one left to look forward to it.

I grabbed the painkillers and headed to Austen's office.

The receptionist seemed surprised when she heard I was his girlfriend.

There was a hint of pity in her eyes as she looked at me.

But she didn't say much; she just pointed me in the right direction and went back to her desk.

In the hallway, two women were chatting.

"Do you think Mr. Barton and Jaelyn are having an affair? I see them having meals together all the time."

"You just figured that out? Last time, Jaelyn got harassed by a client at a business dinner, and Mr. Barton actually got into a fight with the guy, costing the company millions in contracts."

I knocked on the wall, interrupting their conversation.

"Hi there, I'm Austen's girlfriend. I'm just dropping something off for him."

I lifted the bag in my hand and smiled at them.

They froze.

With flustered expressions, they quickly escorted me to Austen's office and then hurried off.

I set the painkillers on his desk and wandered around his office.

He had been at this new job for over six months, but this was my first time visiting.

I'd thought of bringing him lunch, just like I used to, but he'd always turned me down.

Austen said it wouldn't look good if I kept showing up.

But I knew that wasn't the real reason.

I picked up a framed photo on Austen's desk and studied it closely.

I had to admit, he and Jaelyn did make a picture-perfect couple.

"What are you doing here? Why weren't you waiting for me at the front?"

I turned around at the sound of his voice.

Austen stood at the door, frowning.

When he noticed me holding the photo of him and Jaelyn, his expression shifted slightly.

"Caitlyn, can you stop being so paranoid all the time? Jaelyn and I..."

"It's okay."

I cut him off with a smile before he could get angry.

"It's just a picture. I'm not that petty. I brought the painkillers. They're still warm, so you can take them to Jaelyn."

Austen seemed surprised at how understanding I was, and his tense expression relaxed a bit.

"No need. Jaelyn wasn't feeling well, so she went home to rest."

"You should head home, and I'll bring them over to her later."

I nodded and quickly turned to leave.

"Caitlyn."

Austen suddenly called out to me.

"Why do I feel like you've changed? You're being so... gentle."

I looked back at him, a faint smile tugging at the corners of my lips.

"Am I? Don't be ridiculous."

It was late at night when Austen finally came home.

Once again, he hadn't kept his promise.

As I listened to the sounds outside, I opened Jaelyn's Twitter.

Just as I expected, there was a photo of her celebrating Thanksgiving with Austen.

I saved the screenshot.

When Austen came in, I was just about to go to sleep.

He noticed me putting down my phone and frowned slightly.

"Are you going to bed?" he asked.

"I was about to," I replied calmly.

The bed dipped as he lay down beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. He spoke in a low voice, trying to explain.

"Jaelyn wasn't feeling well, so I stayed with her for a while. But don't worry, I'm off tomorrow. I'll take you to see that movie you wanted.

"Tonight was my fault."

He had done much worse than that.

But I knew Austen.

I understood that this was the best he could do to make things right, at least for now.

Ever since Jaelyn reappeared in his life, we could never seem to escape her presence.

"She's new here, and I have to look out for her.

"If I really had something going on with Jaelyn, would I still be here with you?

"Just be patient. Once Jaelyn settles in, I'll spend more time with you. You're my girlfriend, after all."

Deep down, I knew Jaelyn would always come first.

I shook my head and said, "It's fine. I already went to see the movie by myself."

Austen froze, his hand pausing mid-air as he was about to make a reservation.

There was no point in watching the same film twice.

When it first came out, I bought tickets and asked him to go with me, but he said he didn't have the time. Then he turned around and went with Jaelyn instead.

Her Twitter even had a photo of the two of them, with the caption: [This handsome guy insisted on taking me to see a movie.]

For a moment, there was nothing but silence between us.

I sat up, turned on the bedside lamp, and took out a document from the drawer, handing it to Austen.

"Don't worry, I'm not mad.

"But there's something I need to discuss with you. Jaelyn's family owes money, right? You could sell the house to help her pay off the debt. I did the math, and there would still be some left over.

"All I want back is the one hundred thousand dollars I originally put in when we bought it."

I spoke earnestly.

A while ago, Jaelyn's father, a compulsive gambler, had shown up and demanded over a million dollars to settle his debts.

To protect the girl he liked, Austen had promised to cover the debt, saying if his savings weren't enough, he would sell the house.

We had a huge argument about it.

The house we lived in now was one we bought together six years ago. Back then, I put down one hundred thousand dollars for the down payment, and both our names were on the deed.

Over the years, he had been the one paying off the mortgage. Now, the property had appreciated to a value of around two to three million dollars.

Selling it would still leave a decent amount of money.

But for some reason, when he heard what I said, Austen's expression changed drastically.

He flipped through the agreement to sell the house, his brow furrowing.

With clenched teeth, he asked, "Caitlyn, this is the house we bought to start our life together. Do you really want to sell it?"

When I nodded, his face darkened.

He glared at me with annoyance.

"You're really doing this just because I asked you to bring Jaelyn some medicine? Is this how far you'll go to throw a tantrum?"

I looked at him, confused.

I thought to myself, "Wasn't it him who wanted to use this house to pay off the debt in the first place? Why is he angry now?"

Before I could say anything, Austen let out a derisive laugh.

"Can't you just say what's bothering you? Do you know how much I hate it when you're so manipulative?"

He stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Eight years had changed our relationship completely.

Because I loved him, I had been by his side since he had nothing.

Because I loved him, I had humbled myself, willing to compromise just to stay close to him.

But I was tired. In the end, no one could bear this much hurt.

The next morning, out of habit, I prepared breakfast for two.

Austen sat across from me, his expression tense as he silently ate.

For a while, neither of us said a word.

He suddenly noticed the suitcase in the corner of the living room, a peculiar smile creeping onto his face.

"Caitlyn, so this is your real intention, huh?"

I looked at him, puzzled.

Austen leaned back in his chair, his face turned mocking.

"You must have known about the company's trip plans and that we could bring a guest. So, you threw a fit just to get me to take you along, right?

Why couldn't you just ask me directly?"

I understood what he was thinking.

Remembering Jaelyn's excited tweet about an upcoming trip, I realized she had been referring to this.

I kept eating my breakfast in silence, not bothering to respond.

Thinking he had figured it out, Austen let out a sarcastic laugh, then spoke coldly.

"I can bring you along tomorrow. We're going to Aeloria."

With that, he left.

I froze, my spoon still in hand.

I hadn't expected they were going to Aeloria.

That was where Austen and I had gone to college, and it was also my hometown.

Six years ago, I had left Aeloria and followed Austen to Nivara despite my parents' objections.

Nivara was thousands of miles away from Austen's home.

In those six years, I had barely visited my parents.

Thinking about it, I decided to treat this trip as a vacation for myself, a chance to see them again.

The next day, Austen, as the company representative, led a group of dozens of employees and their families on the trip.

When I arrived at the airport, I saw him gently wiping Jaelyn's mouth.

He was so tender, his movements so careful.

When Jaelyn saw me, she giggled and ran over.

"Caitlyn, don't misunderstand. I was holding an ice cream, and that's why Austen was wiping my mouth."

She seemed anxious, but her eyes sparkled with a challenge.

I knew it was just a petty attempt to provoke me.

I shook my head, showing I didn't care.

While waiting for the flight, I got a call from Lyanna.

She asked if I was sure about going to Elarion next Monday.

I said, "I've already booked my ticket. I'll spend a couple of days with my parents first, then head straight there."

As soon as I finished speaking, I heard Austen's voice, laced with confusion, behind me:

"Where are you going?"

I hung up and answered casually, "I'm planning to visit my parents tomorrow. It's been years since I last saw them."

Austen was taken aback.

Maybe he was remembering how, back in college, my parents had treated him like their own son.

He nodded and sat down beside me. Then he pulled out his phone and transferred $100,000 to me.

"Use this to buy something nice for your parents."

I accepted the money without hesitation.

After a moment of silence, Austen suddenly asked why I hadn't been going to work lately.

"I'm a little tired. I want to take a break."

In the past, my life had revolved around two things: Austen and work.

I used to think this kind of busy life was fulfilling and happy.

I could leave work at seven and still have dinner ready by eight, cooking all of Austen's favorite dishes.

I could also take care of a drunk Austen even when work was overwhelming.

But when he no longer needed me, I found myself feeling lost whenever I wasn't working.

I didn't want to see that version of myself anymore.

Maybe separating from him would help me find a new meaning in life.

When we landed, it was already evening. I hadn't expected Austen to leave Jaelyn behind to accompany me to my parents' house.

He stopped by the store and bought a ton of things, then walked in and chatted with my parents as if it were old times.

The next day, my parents went out of their way to buy a lot of ingredients to make a special dinner.

Austen chatted with them, making them laugh until they were in tears.

I used to long for him to interact with my parents this way, and now that it was happening, I realized I didn't want it as much as I thought I would.

Noticing how unusually quiet I was, Austen came over to me. "We've finally come back. If you keep looking unhappy, how can your parents be happy?"

He was so considerate now.

I didn't respond, just nodded absently.

Seeing my lack of enthusiasm, Austen frowned. He seemed like he wanted to say more, but his phone suddenly rang.

His expression grew more anxious with each passing moment.

Then, without another word, he dashed outside.

Even after my parents had finished cooking dinner, Austen hadn't returned.

They wanted to wait for him, but I convinced them not to.

I told them Austen had left because he was too busy with work.

But I knew the real reason. I knew it was because of Jaelyn.

The next day, Austen finally called me.

"Jaelyn sprained her ankle. I'm at the hospital with her now.

"The doctor said she needs rest. She's craving chicken soup. The takeout isn't good, so can you make some and bring it over?"

He said it like it was a given, his tone full of entitlement.

I calmly agreed.

But as soon as I hung up, I grabbed my suitcase and hailed a cab to the airport.

The time had finally come; I could leave at last.

Right before boarding, I received a message from Austen.

He asked: [Where are you? Why haven't you brought it over yet?]

[Caitlyn, what trick are you playing this time?]

I replied with just one sentence: [We're done.]