I helped Alex into the house and settled him on the sofa. As soon as he was comfortable, Emily sent a message confirming she had made it home safely.

I instinctively tried to unlock the phone with my fingerprint but failed three times in a row.

It finally dawned on me that he had deleted my fingerprint information.

While Alex was still unconscious, I used his finger to unlock the screen.

My gaze fell on the screen full of chat bubbles from Alex and my fingers froze.

The screen was filled with endless text and cute emojis he had never sent me.

The intense emotions hidden behind his icy facade were indeed real.

Scrolling up, I saw a message from three days ago.

["Won't you regret it if I get married? Are you really going to watch me spend my life with someone I don’t love?"]

["Why are you silent? Fine, I’ll get married in five days. Don’t say you didn’t know."]

An hour later, Emily had replied, ["Then I'll take a week off." ]

My finger froze on the screen and I abruptly shut off the phone.

My breath quickened uncontrollably, as if no matter how much I gasped, the air couldn’t fill my lungs.

Tears streamed down my face, pouring out with increasing force.

No wonder he had suddenly proposed to me three days ago.

There was no ring, no wedding venue, no dowry.

Just a simple request: Don’t tell anyone in the family.

I thought he had intentionally set the wedding date for the day the new project launched out of guilt for making me wait six years. I believed that even though his career wasn’t successful yet, he had chosen to propose to me.

But I never imagined that the wedding I had been dreaming of for ten years was merely a pawn to make Emily yield.

That single word, "unlove," shattered the last shred of reluctance I had about this relationship.

At that moment, Alex woke up, stumbling into the bathroom to freshen up.

I sat alone on the sofa, lost in thought.

When he emerged, I received a text confirming my flight.

He glanced at it casually and asked, “Is something up?”

“Yeah, I have a project in another city. I need to check it out.”

He didn’t bother to ask any further questions or give any safety advice.

Instead, he turned and went back to the bedroom, grumbling, “Even when drunk, he couldn’t bother to change clothes for me. It’s so unpleasant…”

In the past, when he came home drunk from socializing, he never had to deal with these little things.

But now, I couldn’t be bothered.

And I certainly wouldn’t do it again in the future.

I spent the whole night wide awake.

The next day was supposed to be our wedding dress photo shoot.

When Alex woke up, it was as if nothing had happened. His attitude toward me remained as cold and indifferent as ever.

He didn’t even notice that I was sleeping on the sofa.

But after seeing his phone records, I no longer believed it was just his natural disposition.

He didn’t see the bloodshot eyes beneath my gaze. He walked over to me and said, “Forget about the photography studio. Let’s go to the beach instead; we can take a look around while we're there.”

I froze, my finger hovering over the screen.

On my phone was a post from Emily, showing her at the beach today.

“Sure, whatever you say,” I replied, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside.

I didn’t confront him about his lies or ask any questions.

On our final day together, I wanted to maintain some dignity for both of us.

Anticipating what might happen, I didn’t even bring my wedding dress.

As the photographer guided us to the beach, Alex’s eyes never stopped scanning the area.

After a few moments of searching, he finally spotted a familiar, striking figure.

Without a word, he abandoned me and the photographer and hurried over to Emily.

I turned to the confused photographer and offered an apologetic smile.

“Sorry for the trouble,” I said. “We won’t be taking the wedding photos after all. We’ll still cover the costs.”

Struggling to walk on the sand in my shoes, I finally took them off and carried them in my hand.

Barefoot, I made my way to where Alex was standing, his face twisted in frustration as he tried to explain something to Emily.

He looked as humble and defeated as I once did.

When he saw me approaching, his words trailed off and his brows furrowed in irritation.

Annoyed, he said, “What are you doing here? I’m just discussing our upcoming plans with Emily.”

He seemed to think I was unaware of Emily’s time off, speaking with an air of justification.

I didn’t confront him, though.

Instead, I calmly said, “There’s a problem with the project. I need to go back and make some changes. Just letting you know, we’ll have to reschedule the wedding photos.”

A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

In the past, I would have confronted him with a cold stare, but now I felt no desire to exchange any more words.

As I turned to leave, I realized that sharp stones had left cuts and bruises on my feet.

Hobbling away, I could hear his urgent attempts to explain growing fainter behind me.

“You don’t understand. I can give you a future. The company is doing better now. Back then, I just didn’t know any better about love…”

When I got home, I quickly tended to the wounds on my feet and packed my things.

He didn’t come home until evening.

He walked in with a rare sight—holding a takeout box of food that had long since gone cold.

Casually placing it in front of me, he bent over, revealing the ambiguous red marks beneath his collar.

There was a hint of guilt in his eyes and his voice lacked the usual indifference as he said, "I brought this for you. I remember you’ve always wanted to try that restaurant."

It was the first time he had ever brought me food, but it was leftovers from his time with another woman.

The sight made me feel sick to my stomach. I quickly closed the social media post where Emily had checked in at that very restaurant today.

I got up and headed to the bedroom.

"No need, I’ve already eaten," I said.

The jostling from his walk made him notice the bandages on my foot.

After a moment, he came in with some anti-inflammatory medication.

I glanced at him as he knelt by my feet and said coldly, "No need, I've already taken care of it."

Rejected again, his expression faltered, showing a hint of frustration.

Perhaps the guilt from his betrayal kept him from lashing out immediately.

Instead, he spoke with forced patience, "Well, let me at least bring in the food. You've been wanting to try it for so long; you should at least have a bite."

As he turned away, I snapped impatiently. "I said I don’t want it. I don’t want leftovers from someone else!"

Alex's patience finally wore thin and my rare display of anger ignited his frustration.

He spun around and slammed the anti-inflammatory medication onto the floor.

“What’s with your sarcastic attitude? What’s wrong with you? I went out of my way to bring this back for you—do you have any idea how long I spent getting that food? After a whole day of work, I come home to see your cold face. Do you think I owe you something?”

"I already told you, I was just asking Emily about my recent schedule—what’s your problem? She’s my secretary; if I don’t ask her, who should I ask? It’s just that your wedding photos were delayed. If it’s such a big deal, fire me already!”

With that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

He didn’t even notice the suitcase I had packed beside the wardrobe.

Tomorrow was supposed to be our wedding day.

And yet, he hadn’t even glanced at the wedding itinerary.

While he was busy freshening up, I went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of wine.

I was utterly exhausted, my eyes burning from fatigue. All I wanted was to get a good night’s sleep before leaving for my trip.

But even after downing a bottle of strong liquor, I lay wide awake, with no trace of drowsiness.

Instead, my thoughts grew increasingly clear.

By 2 AM, the sound of a door closing came from outside.

I walked out of the bedroom and glanced around. Alex’s slippers were carelessly placed by the entrance.

He seemed to have left in a hurry.

With the house finally free of his presence, I turned on the ceiling light and sat down on the sofa.

I sent out messages to several business partners, informing them they could now terminate our contracts.

After shutting off my phone, I lowered my head, my gaze falling onto the carpet.

It took me a while to remember that this was the carefully chosen decoration I had picked out myself.

When I had just graduated, I anticipated the struggles of supporting him in his startup, knowing that the promised wedding home might not materialize.

So, I had paid extra attention to this small rental apartment.

Looking back now, I felt incredibly foolish.

Ten years ago, Alex was with me simply because there were no better options around.

He saw me as the easiest to deceive.

I spent the night tossing out everything I had bought, throwing it all down the stairs. By the time I finished, the sky was beginning to lighten.

I glanced at the time, then dragged my suitcase into a cab headed for the airport.

In the airport terminal, while resting in a chair, I noticed Emily's post from the early morning:

["Almost drowned taking these photos—don't you dare say they look bad!"]

The photo collage beneath it showed a night view of the ocean. Emily was standing in the sea, with the water reaching up to her knees.

I opened the chat with Alex.

Before I could send the breakup message, his call came through.

I answered and before I could say anything, he demanded urgently.

“What’s going on with those projects? The contracts are signed; we’re just waiting on your plan. Why are the partners suddenly wanting to cancel?”

“You know how many cancellation notices I’ve received this morning?! What on earth are you doing? Forget it, I’ll hear your explanation in person!”

“This mess means we can't go ahead with the wedding today! My company is about to go under! Cancel everything! Cancel it all!”

The call abruptly ended.

I felt a deep sense of scorn.

If he had been honest and told me he no longer loved me and wanted to break up, I would have respected him as a man.

Instead, he chose the most pathetic excuse.

With a blank expression, I sent the breakup message and boarded the plane.