I went to a little bar. After waiting for her all night without eating, I was starving.

After a hearty meal, I took out my phone and saw Jim's Instagram feed.

It was a picture of Megan on tiptoes, struggling to change a light bulb in Jim's rented apartment.

The caption read: [This woman can do it all! What would I do without her?]

Seeing Megan's serious expression in the picture, I felt unusually calm.

I knew it—she always put Jim ahead of me.

I was already used to it, wasn't I?

When I got home, I took a shower and went straight to bed. Surprisingly, I slept like a log.

In the middle of the night, I heard some rustling sounds. Megan had finally decided to come back.

But I didn't want to deal with her. With my eyes closed, I could feel her standing by the bed, staring at me in silence, as if waiting for something.

Was she expecting me to leap out of bed, question her in the middle of the night, and start a fight like before?

After all, she used to love seeing me lose my mind over her, watching me break down and get hysterical.

She would coldly observe me falling apart because of her, relishing the feeling of controlling my every emotion.

I had lost my temper more than once over her close relationship with Jim. At first, she would still offer some explanations, saying she only saw Jim as a close friend.

But later, she grew tired of it and let me go from rage to calm, suffering all the way through.

Looking back now, I realized how undignified my craziness was.

The next morning, as soon as I woke up, I saw Meghan beside me, cupping her face in her hands and smiling at me.

The moment she saw my eyes open, she eagerly leaned in for a morning kiss. I instinctively dodged, and her lips brushed against my hair.

Her eyes showed a bit of hurt and surprise as she reached out to grab my arm.

"Julian, I'm sorry about last night.

"On the way to the cinema, Jim called, saying the power went out in his place. He has night blindness, and if he tripped or fell, it would've been a big problem. He doesn't have any other friends here, so I had to go help him out.

"I didn't expect it to be so tricky. It took me forever to fix it, and that's why…"

I chuckled coldly to myself. Megan, who had always relied on me to do everything for her, didn't even know where the fuse box was in our house, let alone how to change a light bulb.

Jim must really be something to get her to willingly do all this heavy lifting.

I cut her off. "I believe you. Jim's new here and doesn't know anyone else. You're too kind to stand by and do nothing. Anyway, I'd better get going, or I'll be late for work."

I pulled my arm away and got up quickly.

She looked a bit disappointed, standing there in a daze.

It wasn't until I was about to leave that she snapped out of it.

"Julian, I made you breakfast…"

"You have it. I'll just grab something from the convenience store."

With that, I walked out without looking back, slamming the door behind me.

When I got home from work, Megan wasn't there.

I noticed the items she usually kept on the dresser were gone, too.

She must've been mad and left.

Thinking about it, it made sense. She had gone out of her way to make breakfast for me, which had never happened before, and instead of being grateful, I didn't even acknowledge it, which had never happened before either.

...

No wonder she reacted so strongly.

I could picture her leaving in anger, probably swearing that she wouldn't forgive me unless I got down on my knees and begged.

But this time, she could stay away as long as she wanted.

With her gone, I finally had time to myself.

In the past, I would rush home after work to do laundry, cook, and handle all the chores. I also had to play the role of her emotional dumpster, listening to her complain about all the petty things at the office.

Because of this, even younger colleagues ended up becoming my supervisors, while I was sidelined by my superior for refusing to work overtime or go on business trips.

Megan often complained that I was useless, but whenever I got busy with work, she'd throw a fit about me not spending enough time with her.

Back then, I found her little tantrums cute, thinking they were just her way of showing she cared.

Now, I was starting to realize that a man should focus on his career.

Women may betray you, but the effort you put into your career never will.

In the evening, I joined the company's video conference of my own accord. My colleagues couldn't resist teasing me when they saw me join in.

"It's a rare sight to see our romantic Julian working overtime voluntarily."

"Not spending time with your princess at home?"

I could only shake my head and smile wryly. I'm a graduate of a prestigious university, and when I first joined the company, I was the youngest certified accountant.

Originally, the partners appreciated my meticulous and professional work and had plans to groom me for greater responsibilities.

But in our line of work, overtime, business trips, and client meetings are the norm. When I first started dating Megan, she was often unhappy about it, even threatening to break up with me.

Every time, it would end in chaos. Once, she even stormed into my office just because she was hungry and wanted me to go home and cook for her.

In the end, not wanting to see her always sad and in tears, I practically gave up trying at work, which led me to stay in my current position for several years.

...

I was ready to reclaim my professionalism and dive back into my career.

During the meeting, I confidently shared my views, guided my colleagues on the next steps, and even spotted some minor issues in our current work.

My superior was pleased to see my changes.

"This is the financial prodigy I once knew. If you had taken your work this seriously earlier, I wouldn't even have a place here."

Indeed, my world once revolved entirely around Megan. Now that I thought about it, it just wasn't worth it.

...

"Julian Edwards! Are you still a man? How could you treat our Megan so cruelly, leaving her to wander the streets alone? How could you be so heartless?"

It was Jim, furiously chastising me over the phone.

He just happened to interrupt my train of thought, stoking the flames of my anger.

"If you care about her so much, why don't you just take her in yourself?

"You're her best friend. I'll be at ease with her in your hands!"

Then I hung up and returned to my work with renewed focus.