Chapter 1

On my girlfriend Claire's birthday, I proposed to her in front of all our friends and family.

But just as I was down on one knee, holding out the diamond ring, Claire's phone rang. It was her neighbor and childhood friend, Liam.

"Claire, I baked a cake for you myself. Do you want to come over and try some?"

After Claire hung up the phone, she didn't hesitate to leave me there to go eat cake.

This was the thousandth time Claire had chosen Liam over me.

By the time I finished cleaning up the mess alone, it was already night.

I saw that Liam had posted on social media. "I can feel how much you value me every single time."

Claire was interacting with him in the comments. "You'll always be my first choice."

I gave the post a like and then blocked and deleted him.

1.

In the middle of the night, while I was sleeping soundly, my phone suddenly rang.

I picked up the phone with bleary eyes and saw it was a call from Claire.

As soon as the call connected, Claire's accusations came flying at me.

"Silas, what kind of drama are you starting now? Why did you block Liam on social media for no reason?"

"It is the middle of the night, and he wanted to come over to apologize to you. I told you, Liam has clinical depression and is very sensitive. He cannot handle this kind of stress."

I looked out the window at the pitch-black sky, feeling an unspeakable chill.

"You called me at this hour just to tell me this?"

Claire paused for a second, but when she spoke again, she sounded even more self-righteous.

"What else would it be? Are you going to say something is going on between me and Liam again?"

"If anything were actually happening between us, you wouldn't even be in the picture. Not to mention, today you were supposed to..."

She suddenly stopped, probably remembering how she had abandoned me earlier.

I had heard Claire's excuses so many times I had lost count. Now, my heart felt nothing.

"Yeah, I know nothing is going on between you two."

Hearing my calm tone, Claire snapped, "Add him back right now," and hung up the phone.

I wasn't going to add him back, obviously.

Since she had woken me up and I couldn't sleep, I got up to pack my bags.

Looking at the house we had lived in for five years, every corner was filled with memories.

Every inch was decorated according to Claire's taste.

...

Claire and I had been together for six years and lived here for five.

In the beginning, we were the model couple in our friends' eyes.

As long as I was free, I would pick her up and drop her off.

After work, we would go to the market together, buy groceries, and cook dinner.

On our days off, we would find a small town to travel to or just curl up at home and watch a few movies.

But all that beauty was shattered after Liam moved to this city for work.

Claire said Liam had saved her when they were kids, and she couldn't just ignore him.

Moreover, she was a psychologist, and Liam suffered from depression.

Ever since Liam appeared, whenever Claire and I were about to go on a date, her phone would ring.

It was always Liam. He had a cold, or he cut his finger, or he was emotionally unstable and thinking about giving up on life.

In all these years, he had threatened to end it all at least ninety-nine times.

I once asked Claire how Liam could time his crises so perfectly.

Claire said dismissively, "Liam has no sense of security. I gave him my work schedule and tell him where I am."

I asked her, confused, "Isn't that something only couples do?"

To my surprise, Claire accused me of having a dirty mind.

She said she and Liam were just friends and told me to stop judging them.

Over time, Claire spent every spare moment with Liam.

We argued about it countless times.

I always looked forward to a better future based on her repeated promises.

This time, I was done waiting.