Over the years, I'd wished more than once that Sandra and I could move forward with the wedding, but she would always find an excuse to delay it.

At Wendell Group, she kept her distance from me to avoid gossip. She wouldn't even let me call her "Sandy" in public or ride with her to and from work.

I didn't want to put her in a difficult position, so I kept our relationship a secret for six long years.

Every day, without fail, I woke up early and rushed to catch the subway to work.

I thought that if I kept at it, Sandra would one day come around and agree to marry me.

Now, she had finally agreed, but it was for another man.

I let out a bitter smile. Just as I was about to speak, Lester's voice came through the phone, dripping with feigned victimhood.

"Forget it, Ms. Wendell. If Fred becomes my assistant, he'll just make things harder for me. I… I'm scared. I'm no match for him. I'm just too stupid…"

"Lester, don't worry. With me there, Fred won't bully you anymore." Sandra immediately reassured him in a tone so gentle that it felt like he was her boyfriend.

I felt disgust twist in my stomach and interrupted her, "You want me to be his assistant? Is he even qualified? If you think Lester is so great, why even bother with an assistant? He can handle the project on his own, right?"

Sandra paused for a moment, then raised her voice in fury, "Fred, are you serious? I've agreed to marry you. What more do you want? You had your chance. Don't regret it!"

She hung up after saying that.

I shrugged off her little tantrum and continued looking for a cleaning service for my apartment.

Once my place was tidied up, I lay on the couch scrolling through my news feed when Lester's video call suddenly popped up.

I answered it, and there he was, lounging in Sandra's office chair with his legs crossed in a smug pose, taking in the surroundings.

"Fred, Ms. Wendell had me come to her office to work overtime. She even went to get me water herself. Did you ever receive this kind of treatment?"

Sandra was a germaphobe, especially when it came to her office. She had once fired an employee on the spot for entering her office to deliver a document.

Not even I was allowed to go in without permission.

Apparently, Lester was the exception.

When I didn't respond, Lester gloated, "Ms. Wendell has handed over all your projects to me. She's made me deputy CEO, taking your place. It looks like you're really abandoned."

I scoffed. "Is that so? Well, you'd better do a good job. Try to bankrupt Wendell Group as soon as possible."

"Fred, you son of a—"

Lester was just about to lash out when I suddenly heard a door open in the background.

The video call was immediately cut off.

I simply shook my head at the irony of it all. If Sandra really trusted Lester to handle all the projects, it was truly over.

The next morning, I went to Skyborne Group to finalize the employment details and agreed to join as soon as possible.

On my way back, I heard a familiar voice.

"Ms. Wendell, it looks like they're holding some kind of event over there. It seems fun. Should we go check it out?"

I turned to see Sandra and Lester standing there.

A couple's kissing contest was being held on the street, with a microwave as the prize for the winners.

Lester was clearly excited. He grabbed Sandra's arm, swaying her back and forth. "Ms. Wendell, let's enter."

I instinctively thought that Sandra would refuse. After all, she hated these kinds of events.

But to my surprise, she smiled indulgently at Lester and said, "Alright, if you say so."

Sandra and Lester held hands and stepped onto the stage to sign up.

When the host blew the whistle to start, Sandra reached up and wrapped her arms around Lester's neck while gazing at him tenderly.

The crowd, ever eager for drama, began to chant, "Kiss him! Kiss him!"

Sandra summoned her courage and gave Lester a peck on his lips before quickly pulling away, smiling shyly. Her face turned crimson.

At once, the excitement soared, and everyone started shipping them as a couple.

"Are they just starting to date? The air around them reeks of love! How sweet!"

"They're such a perfect match. Seeing other people so happy really brings tears to my eyes! You two have to stay together forever!"

I curled my lips in a self-deprecating smile.

I suddenly remembered how, not long ago, I'd suggested we take a cute couple's photo. Sandra dismissed the idea as childish, reminding me we weren't young anymore and didn't need such juvenile displays.

But now, she was willing to kiss Lester in front of everyone.

It turned out that she only found me childish because I wasn't worth it.

I was too tired to watch them flirting any longer, so I turned to leave. But just as I was about to walk away, I locked eyes with Sandra.

The moment she met my gaze, her body froze. Instantly, she pulled away from Lester.

Sandra opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Lester beat her to it. "Fred, what a coincidence! What are you doing here? You didn't follow us, did you?"

At his words, Sandra's eyes flashed with annoyance. "Fred, were you following me?"

I replied casually, "I'm just out for some business and happened to pass by."

Frowning, she said coldly, "You've quit your job. What business could you possibly have? You're a grown man, Fred. Is there any point in lying like this? Besides, who told you to follow me? You're invading my privacy!

"Fred, I never thought you lacked even the most basic trust in me. If you can't trust me, how am I supposed to trust you enough to marry you?"

In Sandra's eyes, my life had always revolved around her and Wendell Group. She'd always thought that she was the one supporting me.

If she had cared, even just a little, she would have realized that I was better than she believed—and that I had sacrificed a promising future for her.

I glanced at Sandra indifferently and said, "Go ahead and marry Lester. You've kissed him already, so it only makes sense, right?"

Sandra's face turned bright red, and she was rendered speechless.

Full of smug satisfaction, Lester chimed in to stir the pot, "Fred, don't get the wrong idea. I just wanted the prize so badly. Ms. Wendell was just being kind to help me. Please don't take it the wrong way."

I knew that Lester was just trying to provoke me. If this had been before, I'd have been furious, demanding an explanation from Sandra.

Now, I merely looked at them coldly and sneered. "I'm done with Sandra. Don't worry. Even if you two were to sleep together right here, I wouldn't care."

Lester seemed surprised that I wasn't reacting.

Sandra's expression darkened even further. "Fred, I've explained myself to you. What's all this sarcasm for?"

I ignored her and walked past, leaving without a second glance.

By the time I got home, my phone was buzzing with messages from Sandra, one after another.

"Fred, why did you move out?

"Throwing a tantrum is one thing, but this is too much!"

She only noticed I had moved out that day, when I'd already left yesterday. That alone proved how little she cared.

I didn't reply. A moment later, my phone buzzed with a string of notifications that I'd been removed from the family plan across several platforms.

Sandra and I used to be so close that everything we had was linked under a family plan.

Even after our fights, Sandra would never remove me from the plans.

But now, she had unilaterally removed me. I didn't need to guess how angry she was.

Honestly, it no longer mattered to me.

For the next two days, I immersed myself in my new job, and Sandra didn't reach out to me.

Instead, she posted updates about spending time with Lester. She also changed her profile picture from our matching one to black and altered our matching username. She even removed our photo from her social media header.

I knew that she was waiting for me to make the first move and apologize, but I didn't care anymore.

It wasn't until the evening of the third day that I came home to find a cardboard box at my door. On top of it was written "To Fred".

I took it inside and opened it, only to find a collection of mementos from my time with Sandra.

There were letters from when she first confessed her feelings, the couple's headbands she had bought for us, photos from our trips together, and even the lipstick-stained page commemorating our first kiss.

As I looked at these things, memories from the past slowly returned to me.

Nevertheless, it didn't matter. Sandra and I were over.

I tossed everything into the fire pit and set it ablaze, turning the physical remnants of our memories into ash.

As I watched the flames flicker, I felt a strange calm wash over me.

Suddenly, the door burst open, and Sandra rushed in, wide-eyed with shock.

Ignoring the searing heat, she lunged forward and snatched the burning photos with her bare hands. She beat at them frantically to smother the flames.

Anxious, she demanded, "Why are you burning these things?"

Sandra finally managed to put out the flames, but her hands were blistered from the heat.

Her eyes filled with tears as she glared at me. "Fred, do you remember what these things meant to us? How could you burn them? I sent them to you because I thought…"

Sandra knew I was sentimental. She had sent me these mementos to make me remember the good times, hoping that I would forgive her for the past.

It was her way of giving me an out—proud, yet subtle.

If this had been before, I would have taken the easy way out, compromised, and chosen to forgive her.

But I was tired of chasing after her forgiveness.

This time, I didn't want to make things right. I wasn't going to play her game anymore.

Without looking at her, I calmly responded, "Didn't you send these to me to get rid of? They're useless now anyway. I might as well burn them."

Sandra stared at me in disbelief, clearly taken aback by my calm response.

After a long pause, she sighed in resignation and said, "Fred, okay, fine. I admit that when you pointed out Lester's issues at the company, you were doing it for the greater good. I made you apologize because Lester is Mr. Hale's son.

"I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry, okay? Look, you can come back and be deputy CEO again. You'll be on the same level as Lester. Just try to stay out of his way from now on. Will that fix this?"

I looked at Sandra without saying a word, but inside, I couldn't help but find this situation hilarious.

It wasn't just about work. Even outside the office, she was always taking Lester's side.

I remembered the time I'd been bedridden with a terrible flu and needed her care. Instead of helping me, she abandoned me to care for Lester.

And on our anniversary, she bought all the fireworks in the city just to fulfill Lester's request to see them. Meanwhile, I sat alone at home, staring at cold plates of food until morning came.