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.

“Boris, just let it go. I'm fine, really.”

“I know Kate must be upset about us getting married. If she needs to vent, she can yell at me all she wants.”

Then she suddenly doubled over, hand clamped over her mouth, dry-heaving.

“I feel so sick, Boris……I think I'm going to throw up.”

The room erupted again.

“Wait, is Tania pregnant? Married and pregnant already? That's a lot to unpack. Our boy Boris sure moves fast.”

“Don't just make stuff up. Maybe Boris and Kate broke up ages ago and he's been with Tania this whole time. They just hadn't gone public. What, people aren't allowed to be with the person they love?”

Whispers flew in every direction. Boris pulled Tania into his arms, face tight with worry.

I didn't bother watching their little performance. I just said it flat out：

“Boris, be a man and pay me back.”

“We're done, so let's settle up. The down payment was forty thousand. Monthly mortgage payments add up to another thirty. Plus the seventy thousand in our joint account. That's a hundred and forty thousand dollars. Transfer it and we're finished. After that, I don't care who you're with.”

Boris panicked.

“Kate, do you have to be so petty about everything? We were practically family. Do we really need to split yours and mine?”

“Yes. I'm going to split every last cent. And after this, I never want anything to do with you again.”

“If you won't pay up, don't blame me for taking it to court. I've got every receipt, every record. All of it.”

Tania, still wrapped in his arms, glanced at me and cried harder.

The circus was over. I turned and walked to the break room to make coffee.

At some point, Tania followed me in.

She held out a piece of paper, hands trembling.

“Kate, don't listen to what those people were saying. I'm not actually pregnant.”

I glanced at the ultrasound printout in her hand. The result line read：Not pregnant.

I didn't take it.

I just kept stirring my coffee, letting her talk.

She sniffled, small and pitiful.

“Kate, I didn't mean to steal Boris from you.”

“We're from the same hometown. We grew up next door to each other. That night at the bar, he mistook me for you and took me straight back to your place.”

“I'd just been through a breakup and wanted to forget, so I didn't stop him. You were working late that night. He slept with me, and I couldn't push him away because I realized I'd been in love with him for a long time. And……it was my first time.”

“He treasured me, felt sorry for me. He told me I was kind, sweet, innocent, just like you were when you were younger. He said he'd take responsibility. Give me a real family.”

“My parents died when I was little. Boris is the only person who's ever been truly good to me. So you'll let me stay with him, right?”

I stared at her coldly and said nothing.

Only now could I see I'd trusted the wrong person.

But none of that mattered anymore.

All I wanted was my money back so I could pay for my father's treatment.

Then Tania screamed.

She crumpled to the floor, clutching her stomach, wailing.

Blood was running down her legs, and it wouldn't stop.

“Help me! Kate, why would you do this to me!”

Boris was the first one through the door, a pack of coworkers crowding in behind him.

Before I could even process what was happening, he swung his hand at my face. I jerked back just in time.

His teeth were clenched, shaking with rage. “Kate, how can you be this vicious! She's pregnant and you pushed her!”

The break room exploded into chaos.

Someone shouted to call an ambulance.

Someone else grabbed my arm, dragging me along to the hospital to make me explain myself to Tania.