Right after Father's Day dinner at my parents' place, Boris Stephens and I were driving home. I was scrolling through my phone in the passenger seat when a post from a stranger's account stopped me cold.

【Got my marriage license with the man I love, but he still has a girlfriend of seven years. How do I break it to her?】

In the photo, Boris and Tania stood at the counter in City Hall, grinning like they'd never been happier.

My stomach dropped. I held the phone out to him.

Boris rubbed his brow, exhaling hard. “Kate, I was actually going to tell you. I got a marriage license. Tania's a good girl—I can't do that to her.”

“She's a good girl? Then what am I, after seven years with you?”

He sighed. “You're still my girlfriend. That's not changing—not ever. You're the person closest to me in the world.”

“We keep things the way they are. What's wrong with that?”

……

A high-pitched ringing filled my ears. The whole world tilted.

Just tonight, my parents, who had never approved of Boris, had finally given us their blessing.

I'd been planning to tell him the good news the moment we got home.

My dad had even circled next week on the calendar—picked the perfect day for us to go to City Hall.

But before I could say a word, I'd already learned that Boris was married.

My eyes burned. I couldn't blink fast enough to keep them clear. Boris reached over the way he always did, gentle, familiar, patting the top of my head.

“Kate, I actually overheard your parents tonight, agreeing to the wedding. They want their daughter to be happy. I get it.”

“But a marriage license is just a piece of paper. Real love is what survives the test of time.”

“You want a wedding? I'll give you one. You want kids? I'll have them with you. But the license can only go to Tania.”

He said it like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like he was deciding what to pick up for dinner.

If his tone hadn't been so sure, I would've thought I'd misheard.

By the time we got back to the apartment I was shaking with rage, tears streaming down my face, and I went straight to the bedroom and started yanking his things off the shelves. I wanted him out.

But the moment I opened the closet, I froze.

A full row of new clothes hung inside. None of them mine.

Bunny-print pajamas. A slinky camisole dress. A white babydoll dress with a Peter Pan collar.

Outfits for every season, summer through winter.

I turned around. The bedding had been swapped out too, everything pink now.

On the nightstand sat a red velvet box, already open. Inside, a two-carat diamond ring glared under the light.

On my own hand was the silver ring Boris had given me three years ago, bought from a street vendor. Dull. Tarnished.

He came running in, out of breath, already explaining：

“Kate, don't get the wrong idea. I had Tania bring her stuff over today. Her lease is up and she has nowhere to go. She's staying with us for now, just until she finds a new place.”

Nausea rolled through me.

“No. Absolutely not. Neither you nor your mistress is setting foot in here.”

I'd put $15,000 down on this apartment. I was the one making the monthly payments. But when we'd signed the papers, it went under Boris's name alone.

He'd told me his parents lived out in the country, that their lifelong dream was for their son to bring honor to the family by owning a home in the city.

He'd told me we'd been together long enough that there was no point keeping score. We were getting married anyway.

That night, he took me to see a fireworks show. The sky lit up in a thousand colors.

Somehow, I'd agreed.

And now here he was, arms wrapped around me, shameless as ever.

“Kate, quit being unreasonable. The deed's in my name. Since when does the owner get kicked out of his own house?”

The doorbell rang.

Boris smiled and said：“Tania Finch's here. She's shy, so don't scare her.”

I'd assumed he at least wouldn't dare open the door for her in front of me.

But he turned around and did exactly that.

Tania saw me and shrank behind Boris, all wide-eyed timidity.

“Boris, if I'm staying here, will Kate be upset?”

“If she is, I could just… go stay at a hotel for a while.”

She looked so pitiful when she spoke, so delicate, the kind of helpless that made people want to protect her.

Boris reached for a pair of slippers and crouched down to put them on her feet.

Those slippers were our matching couple's pair.

Apparently not mine anymore.

Boris's phone sat on the living room coffee table.

In his messages, there was one my father had just sent him.

My father had been diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer last month. He didn't have much time left.

Before he died, his greatest wish was to see me married, to know I was happy with Boris.

He'd entrusted me to Boris, asked him to take good care of me.

Boris hadn't seen the message yet. But when Tania walked over, she picked up his phone and glanced at the screen.

I rushed forward to stop her.

Boris grabbed me first.

“Kate, what are you doing! I told you not to scare Tania!”

Tania's eyes turned red, and she let out a soft, wounded little sob.

“I'm sorry, Kate—I didn't know that was from your father to Boris. I really wasn't trying to look.”

“I just wanted to use the phone to order some food. I was hungry.”

Boris didn't even glance at the message. He just deleted the entire conversation with my father.

It felt like a knife dragged straight through my chest.

I held my hand out to him. “Boris, when we first got together, we put both our salaries into a joint account every month. You remember that, right?”

“My father has late-stage lung cancer now. His treatment costs a fortune. Transfer me half of what's in that account, and then pay me back the down payment and mortgage I put into this apartment. We break up right now. After that, neither of us owes the other a thing.”

Boris's face darkened.

“Neither of us owes the other a thing? Seven years, Kate. You poured seven years into me—seven years of your life—and you're going to stand there and say we're even?”

“Oh, I see. You're using your dad being sick as an excuse to get the money back so you can leave me for good. That's what this is, isn't it?”

“Kate Henson, let me make this clear. I am not letting you go. I love you. I will never let you go.”

I'd never met a single person this shameless in my entire life.

If he wouldn't leave, then I would.

I packed my things and realized how little in this apartment actually belonged to me.

Most of what was left were toys and gifts Boris had given me over the years. I didn't want any of them.

On the living room wall hung photos of us traveling together all over the country.

We were so young in those pictures, grinning like we owned the world, promising each other we'd travel the globe when we were old.

As if any of that ever meant what we thought it did.

Tania walked over and touched the face of the girl smiling brightly in the photos. She sighed.

“Kate really is beautiful. No wonder you love her so much, Boris. It's all my fault you two are fighting.”

I grabbed my suitcase and walked toward the door. Boris didn't come after me. He just stood there, fists clenched.

“Kate, I already told you. There's room for both you and Tania in my life. Why won't you just listen?”

“Do you really want to break your parents' hearts before you're satisfied?”

He was the one who'd done everything wrong—so why did he make it sound like I was the one who should feel guilty?

When I got home, both my parents looked startled.

But the moment they saw my red, swollen eyes, they didn't ask a single question.

As if by unspoken agreement, from that day on, neither of them ever mentioned Boris again.

Boris and I had been college classmates.

After graduation, he confessed his feelings.

I didn't say yes at first.

Six feet tall, good-looking in that sunny, effortless way, with girls constantly circling him. Exactly the type that made me feel the least secure.

Besides, we weren't close. I barely knew him.

My rejection didn't stop him.

He went through the interview process and landed a job at the same company where I worked.

He'd cook his specialty sweet-and-sour ribs and braised pork, pack them into a lunch box, and bring it to me every day.

He found out I liked Wang's Desserts and mango cake, and every evening after work he'd go out of his way to pick them up and bring them to my place. Never once complained about the extra trip.

No matter how busy he was, he'd always show up early to drive me to and from the office so I'd never get caught in the rain or the wind.

Whenever we walked together, he kept me on the inside of the sidewalk, shielding me, like he was terrified I'd bump into something or trip.

He turned down work dinners and nights out with friends on a regular basis. Any free moment he had, he spent walking with me, shopping with me, talking with me.

My feelings were always what he put first, ahead of everything.

He was meticulous like that, always looking after me.

He'd reach for my bag and anything heavy before I could, brush branches out of my way when we walked.

Even during my period, he'd remind me what not to eat, and quietly have heating pads and brown-sugar tea ready.

Three full years of this, and I'll admit it: he got to me.

I finally said yes.

That day, he was grinning like a kid. He lifted me off the ground and spun me around and around, then pressed a kiss to my cheek.

I thought we'd be together for the rest of our lives.

I never thought he didn't just want to spend that life with me. He wanted to spend it with another woman, too.

I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. The next morning I walked into the office like nothing had happened.

Boris passed by my desk with Tania trailing shyly behind him.

“Everyone, a quick introduction. Tania Finch, new to the company, and also my wife.”

A few nosy coworkers immediately started whooping.

“Boris, you kept that quiet! When did you two get your marriage license? How come none of us knew?”

Tania gave his chest a coy little punch.

“Stop it! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone. Now I'm all embarrassed.”

She smiled, all sweet satisfaction, her gaze sliding to me first before drifting across the room.

“Everyone, don't be shy—Boris says you should all come over to our place for dinner tonight. Here, let me hand out the wedding favors first.”

Boris was beaming. He held Tania's hand and passed candy to every person at every desk.

That was when the coworker sitting next to me suddenly spoke up：

“Kate, didn't you and Boris date for seven years? How did he end up with Tania out of nowhere? And already married? That's so sudden.”

The moment the words left her mouth, the entire floor went silent.

The smile froze on Tania's face, and she started whimpering, tears already spilling.

Boris looked like his eyes were about to fall out of his head from the heartache.

Without a word to anyone else, he stormed over to my desk and slammed the box of candy down in front of me.

“Kate Henson, this is a workplace, not your home. Can you rein it in a little? Stop being so childish.”

“Stirring people up to freeze Tania out—is that fun for you?”

I almost laughed. I stood up and shoved him back a step.

“I haven't said a single word this entire time. You're the one with a guilty conscience, so you're the one afraid of questions.”

Tania's tears spilled down her cheeks as she gently clutched the edge of his sleeve.