Those Seven Years Between Me and Him: From Lovers to Strangers

I am Elianna Lambert. The day I received a tearful call from my best friend, Regina Haynes, telling me that her ex-husband had abused her, my boyfriend, Kristian Reynolds, and I flew back to the country overnight and rescued her.

To help Regina get even, I set aside all business interests and took every order from her ex-husband's company. Kristian also made it clear that he would have him blacklisted across the entire industry.

The day her ex-husband went bankrupt, Regina hugged me, laughing and crying at the same time.

"You two cannot fight, okay? If you break up, who am I supposed to go with?" She said jokingly.

Kristian pulled me out of her arms. "Shut up. There is no way I am ever breaking up with Elianna."

Later, I had her move into my apartment to live with Kristian and me so that I could look after her; I even arranged for her to work at my company, and encouraged her to find a new boyfriend and start a new life.

Every time Kristian would wrap his arms around me and ask, seemingly jealous, "Who is the one you really love, anyway?"

Everything was fine until I left on a three-month business trip and secured a major international deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

When I finally returned to the country, I was eager to surprise Kristian. He drove to pick me up. Out of habit, I opened the passenger-side door and was about to get in when my fingers brushed against something wedged between the seat cushions.

It was a used condom.

...

I held it between my fingers, which were trembling uncontrollably.

It took me a long time to finally remember how to speak. I stared at Kristian in the driver's seat and asked, "With whom?!"

Kristian was clearly flustered, but he kept his lips tightly pressed together and refused to explain.

The atmosphere inside the car grew increasingly suffocating and tense, and my heart sank little by little.

I turned my head away, stubbornly refusing to let my tears fall.

I only sent Regina a message. "Regina, I am breaking up with Kristian. Pack your things. We are leaving."

A few minutes later, Regina hurried downstairs, but she had not brought anything with her.

I thought she had been in too much of a hurry and stepped forward to explain why I wanted to leave.

But the next second, Regina avoided my hand with red-rimmed eyes and walked over to stand beside Kristian. "Elianna, I am sorry. We both drank a lot that night..."

The air seemed to be stagnant. All I could hear was the wind rushing past my ears.

Looking at Regina, who seemed about to cry but was holding herself back, I felt sick to my stomach.

I stared coldly at Kristian and Regina, who did not dare meet my eyes, and gritted out, "What exactly are you two trying to say?"

Regina's face turned deathly pale. She bit her lip, looking as though she were about to burst into tears.

Kristian immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her behind him. He gently patted the back of her hand to comfort her before turning to look at me. "Elianna, it is not what you think. Just listen to me. Regina is timid and sensitive. She has been going through a really hard time lately. We have been meaning to tell you this... I am sorry."

The last shred of hope I had been clinging to was completely extinguished.

My body swayed; a sharp pain tore through my chest, and the world seemed to spin around me.

Kristian's expression changed. He seemed to instinctively reach out to steady me.

Just then, Regina spoke timidly. "Elianna, did you forget to take your painkillers again because you were too focused on work?"

As she spoke, she took out the painkillers she carried with her.

I took a step back. Seeing the two of them standing together, looking so perfectly matched, I felt the sight almost unbearable.

"I will throw out everything of yours in my apartment," I said.

Then I grabbed my suitcase and walked away without looking back.

When I returned to the apartment, it still looked exactly as it had when the three of us lived there together, except that at some point, Regina's belongings had gradually outnumbered mine.

I had kept my emotions under control the entire time, but I finally broke down. Tears streaming down my face, I angrily stuffed every one of Regina's and Kristian's belongings into garbage bags.

The thought of what they had done in this apartment made me feel sick.

After throwing out everything that belonged to them, I sank to the floor. I looked at the gifts I had brought back for them inside my open suitcase, and found the whole thing absurd.

I threw those gifts into the garbage bags as well.

Just then, Regina and Kristian arrived at the apartment.

Regina looked around at the messy apartment, and the guilt and remorse on her face deepened. Tears immediately fell from her eyes. "Elianna, we never wanted to hurt you. But you cannot control who you fall in love with..."

Kristian saw her tears and pulled her into his arms, his heart aching for her.

Regina pushed against him as though she wanted to resist, but in the end, she let him hold her, looking as if she simply could not win against him.

I watched their little performance and let out a cold laugh.

Regina's body trembled slightly, and Kristian immediately turned to me and said, clearly displeased. "Elianna, can you stop being so harsh on her? She already knows she was wrong. Do you really have to humiliate her like this?"

He made it sound as though they, who had betrayed me, were the ones who had suffered some enormous injustice, while I had become the narrow-minded, heartless villain.

The chronic migraines I had developed from years of high-pressure business negotiations flared up when I was overcome by emotion.

A sharp pain shot through my temple, and I could barely stay on my feet.

A trace of pity flashed through Kristian's eyes. He lowered his voice and said to Regina, "Go wait in the car. We do not need any of this. I will buy you those."

Regina looked at me, wanting to say something but holding back.

In the end, she chose to listen to Kristian.

I watched her walk away and finally accepted the reality.

Regina had always been like this—she always needed someone to depend on, like a hothouse flower.

She used to depend on me to survive. After I was gone for three months, she immediately latched onto Kristian.

I just could not understand why, out of all the men in the world, she had to choose Kristian.

I bitterly curled my lips upwards and avoided Kristian when he tried to help me.

His hand froze in midair. He gritted his teeth and said, "You are always acting like you do not need anyone. But we are lovers! What would it hurt to depend on me a little more?"

He sighed and added, "Regina would never be like this."

He had fallen out of love with me, yet he put the blame on me and even compared me to Regina.

I cut him off coldly. "I don't depend on you because I can get what I want by myself. Regina has to depend on you because she has no ability to stand on her own feet. And we are not lovers. We stopped being lovers the moment ago."

Kristian frowned. After a long silence, he sighed in reluctant compromise. "No matter what, we've wronged you. I will talk to my father and have him give you control of this project."

When I heard him say so, I sneered. "Kristian, I do not need your favor. Even if you do not give me that project, it will be mine in the end."

Kristian said nothing more. He gave me one long look before finally turning and leaving the apartment we had once shared and called home.

I could not hold myself up any longer. I collapsed onto the sofa, and the headache I had been forcing myself to endure came crashing back, overwhelming me.

With those seven years with him having ingrained the habit so deeply in me that it had become instinctive, I murmured without realizing it, "Kristian, it hurts..."

But the only response I got was silence.