Chapter 3

3

Without giving them another chance to make excuses, I turned around and hailed an Uber on the street.

Throughout our years together, I had long grown exhausted by Valerie’s volatile temper.

Even on the day I proposed, she hadn’t held back her complaints.

“For such a big moment, all you prepared were some cheap balloons and roses? That looks so tacky.”

“And why did you choose deep red for the backdrop? I told you a hundred times that I love pastel pink. Can’t you put a little real effort into this?”

For that proposal, I had hired a professional event design team.

We spent over a week perfecting the venue.

Yet, she ripped it apart like it was worthless garbage.

I had bought her a designer diamond bracelet worth over three thousand dollars, but Valerie barely spared it a glance.

She casually tossed it straight into her purse.

Meanwhile, a jar of paper cranes Landon had folded for her was treated like a priceless treasure.

“Straight-laced guys like Garrett never understand what girls actually want. A gift isn’t about how expensive it is; it’s the thought that counts.”

When I got back to our apartment, my eyes landed on that very jar of paper cranes sitting prominently on the shelf.

In a surge of rage, I smashed the glass jar onto the floor.

Looking at the colorful paper cranes scattered across the hardwood, a strange gut feeling struck me.

I picked up one of the cranes and gently unfolded it.

To my shock, there was something hidden inside this ordinary piece of paper.

“Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art― Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night, And watching, with eternal lids apart...”

Passionate love notes and romantic quotes were scribbled in neat handwriting―Landon’s handwriting.

No wonder Valerie had treasured it so much.

She had placed it in the most visible spot in the living room and dusted it every single day.

She was terrified that even a speck of dust might taint their secret romance.

When Valerie and I first started dating, I introduced her to Landon right away.

Back in college, the three of us were practically inseparable.

We shared everything and seemed closer than family.

Over all these years, Landon always joked that he was the third wheel, claiming he envied what Valerie and I had.

Yet he never once dated anyone, coldly rejecting every woman who confessed her feelings to him.

I had foolishly assumed he was just too devoted to his writing career to focus on romance.

It turned out he had been sleeping with Valerie all along.

Looking at the framed photos on the wall, I realized that Valerie only ever showed a genuine smile when Landon was in the frame.

Disgust washed over me, and I smashed every single photo frame to pieces.

All those years of love and devotion had been built on a foundation of lies.

I had wasted my youth on a woman who didn’t deserve a second of my time.

I tore through the apartment like a madman, smashing anything that held memories until all my energy drained away.

Collapsing into the chaotic mess, I buried my face in my hands and broke down.

Over the years, I had thought about walking away more times than I could count.

Yet my heart had always been too weak to let go.

Now that the emotional storm had passed, my mind became crystal clear.

It was time to close the door on this broken relationship once and for all.

Just as I finished typing out a message to schedule an appointment with our divorce lawyer, a notification popped up on my phone.