My girlfriend, Stella Wilson, had been a college student who was sponsored by me.

Stella got a chance to go to college because of my help.

Later, Stella shot to fame and became a talented businesswoman that the business circles exclaimed.

In the seventh year of our relationship, Stella's first boyfriend returned home.

She said she had to go on a business trip, but when she came back, she brought home her first boyfriend.

"Let's break up, Stella."

I disappeared completely as she wished while she got drunk and cried for me to hold her on a snowy night.

"Hello? Baby, where are you?"

Stella paused on the other side of the phone and smiled, "Honey, I'm on a business trip. Did you miss me? I'll be back tomorrow."

I looked down at the picture my friend had sent me and remained silent for a moment. "Alright."

I hung up the phone and stared intently at the picture.

Stella had returned home, but she told me she hadn't. She was carried into a hotel by a man.

Late at night, if a man and a woman went to a hotel and flirted with each other, the implications were obvious.

I thought I could manage my feelings for her calmly, but now I realized that I had gotten used to loving her, and I would be heartbroken if I didn't love her.

The hotel Stella took the man to happened to belong to my friend who owned a hotel chain, and I had taken him to meet Stella.

Larry called me. "How's it going? Man, is she your wife?"

I smiled mockingly with tears in my eyes, "Yes."

"Oops, she's a bitch. I'll go upstairs and help you catch the adulterer!"

"No, I know the man. Thank you."

"Don't you need my help? Never mind, it's an honor for me to help a scientist like you, ha-ha!"

I wasn't exactly a scientist, and I just got good grades since I was a little boy. I found liberal arts too boring, so I thought it would be more fun to conduct experiments.

I was just an ordinary researcher.

I took my glasses off, grabbed some bottles of wine from the liquor cabinet, and slowly sipped them.

As I almost finished one bottle of wine, I couldn't help but laugh again.

I was already a thirty-five year old man, but I still chose to get drunk like a silly young man when I broke up.

Even though I was older, the good thing was that I was younger in appearance and looked like twenty-five at the most.

I disciplined myself all year round, both in terms of sleep and diet, and it helped. My girlfriend was eight years younger than me, so how could I age so fast?

But now, I thought that getting old wasn't such a big deal.

People who would appreciate flowers had stopped caring about how delicate they were.

Stella brought Charlie Scott home, and she was surprised to see me passed out on a liquor cabinet.

That was right. She got a room with Charlie behind my back, thinking I didn't know about it yet, and I would have been on my way to work at the research center at a normal hour.

I smiled with tears in my eyes, "It's been a long time, Charlie."

Charlie looked flustered. "Long time no see, Mr. Harrington."

It was great. These two people of the same age stood together like a perfect match.

Charlie and Stella were high school classmates, and they were in love for two years, but Charlie went abroad, so they broke up naturally.

At that time, as a college professor, I went to their school to give a lecture, and that was where I met Stella.

Her experience was much like mine, with high academic achievement but poverty, and her family couldn't provide the funds for her to go to college.

I thought we were the same kind of people.

It seemed that I was overthinking it.

Stella's expression was complicated with a hint of guilt in her eyes. "Honey, Charlie has just returned home and has no place to sleep."

How ridiculous! Charlie had no place to sleep, so Stella brought him home to sleep.

They coaxed me as if I were a fool, and I couldn't help but sneer.

"You can chat here, and I'm going to work." I propped myself up dizzily and nearly fell over as Stella rushed over to help me.

I glanced at her and withdrew my hand as Stella froze in place.

"Honey, did you misunderstand me? Nothing happened between Charlie and me. We've been together for so long, but don't you trust me?"

I turned my back on her with sadness filled my mind.

Trust? The person who betrayed me first told me to trust her, and it was surely the biggest joke in the world.

"I have to go to work. Stella, let's have a talk this afternoon."

Stella grabbed my hand again. I frowned at her, feeling that she was being extremely hypocritical.

"Stella, Charlie is a guest, and you should take good care of our guest. Don't keep him waiting, okay?"

Looking at the woman I had loved for seven years, there was no real affection on her face, and I might be a suitable tool for her.

I shook off Stella's hand and walked out as if I were fleeing.

In truth, I had long since stopped caring if I would be late for work. I had maintained a steady state of emotion for a long time, but at this moment, I was nearly devastated for her sake.

I really wanted to cry.

I would like to tell everyone that she was a hypocritical woman, and she was emboldened by my love.

I forgot my briefcase, but I was shocked when I walked over to the sofa.

"Charlie, come on..."

"Why? Do you really have a crush on Ian? Didn't you say you wanted to be with me forever? Are you afraid he'll find out? Yesterday, we've already..."

The sound of their flirtatious giggles came from the crack of the ajar door, while my eyes burst into tears completely.

How could they dare to do such a thing in my home?

I finally put down my fists that had been clenched for so long, even though Stella was a college student I had sponsored, and she wouldn't be where she was today without me.

However, everything here belonged to Stella. She was capable, and she had achieved all the dreams she had wished.

Stella was the president of the Wilson Group, and everyone would compliment her on how young and talented she was.

The house belonged to her, and so did the car, so who would I be to identify myself in her house?

I thought the position I had occupied for so many years originally belonged to Charlie.

It made sense that I should leave when he came back.

If I arrived at the research center, I wouldn't be distracted anymore because it was what I loved to do and what I would spend my whole life dedicated to.

Once I got into research, all I could think about was the chemicals, leaving Stella behind for a while.

However, when I got off work, my easy journey home was now so challenging.

Charlie was no longer there, and it seemed the two had finished sleeping together.

I went to the bedroom and looked around, and Stella followed me with her arms wrapped around her, her head down, not daring to look at me.

It was in our bedroom that they slept together in the morning.

"Honey, what did you want to talk about?"

I took my glasses off and frowned, rubbing my eyebrows.

"Let's break up, Stella."

The bedroom was quiet for a while, and we were both silent.

I glanced up at her, and her eyes were full of shock. "Break up? Ian, do you want to break up with me?"

I didn't have any more patience to answer her and grabbed my suitcase to pack my clothes. "Yes, I'm breaking up with you."

"Honey, why do you want to break up with me? Is it because of what happened with Charlie? Charlie and I..."

My patience was limited, and I withdrew my hand. "Stella, we should leave each other with dignity. Besides, I don't really have anything worth keeping for you, so let's just break up peacefully."

"Ian, are you sure you want to break up with me? Charlie has just returned home, and we are just friends. I can't help it if you insist on thinking that way."

"You're just good friends, so Charlie has stayed at our house for a night, and by the way, you slept together," I sneered.

"What are you talking about, Ian? Do you have any evidence to accuse me so wrongly? Fine, if you want to break up, let's do it. We don't have to get married, and I have too much to do to care about you!"

In our seventh year together, we had agreed to get married, but things didn't work out.