Starting Over with My Childhood Sweetheart

The new intern at the company knelt in public, holding a pair of my used lace panties, and begged me to let her boss off the hook. "Please, stop clinging to him. You're so desperate to get married that you're making him miserable." "He's rejected your wedding twelve times now. How can you still have the audacity to try to crawl into his bed?" Feeling the inquisitive gazes of everyone around us, I actually laughed in disbelief. She probably doesn't realize yet that the one who truly can't let go is her boss. After all, every bit of success he has today is entirely thanks to me. Without me, he wouldn't even be able to afford this month’s rent. I sent a message directly to my fiancé: "Call off the wedding." Then, I turned and slapped her across the face. "It was your boss who begged to crawl into my bed to win my favor. Don't get things twisted." With that, I walked away. I immediately agreed to the blind date my parents had been pestering me about. I discovered my fiancé was cheating on me when my relationship advice blog received a submission: "I've fallen in love with my boss, but I feel bad for his girlfriend. What should I do?" "My boss has been keeping me for three years. He acts so cold to me in front of others, but he's incredibly doting behind closed doors—it's our little game." "But the girlfriend seems to be taking it seriously. She often sends me money behind his back to apologize for his behavior." "Still, he just bought me a massive diamond ring and a luxury villa to spoil me, and now I don't even know how to face her." The post ended with a playful tongue-out emoji, the kind my fiancé's intern used all the time. Attached below were intimate photos of her and my fiancé, Lucas. The intern, wearing a rabbit-themed roleplay outfit, was curled up in his arms while Lucas held her waist and kissed her. My heart skipped a beat. I suddenly recalled that while Lucas was always gentle with everyone else, he never had a shred of patience for his interns and secretaries. Public scolding and docking their pay were standard practice. But I'm soft-hearted; every time I saw her getting reprimanded, I figured she was just a fresh graduate struggling, so I didn't want to make things hard for her. I often took her out for meals and used my own money to help her out. I never imagined they had been rolling in the sheets behind my back. On a hunch, I clicked through to her profile. It was Fiona, the intern in her early twenties who always greeted me with a sweet little smile. Her profile background was a photo of her and Lucas watching the aurora. Their fingers were interlaced, and they wore matching rings engraved with each other's names. The timestamp in the corner marked it as New Year's Eve from a year ago. That year, Lucas had promised to come home with me to see my parents. But when we reached the airport, he got a call, and with a grave expression, he said he had to go back to the office. He kissed me and whispered promises, "This deal is really important. If I earn a bit more, we can get married sooner." Looking at the date on that photo, I went numb. That night, I was stuck at the airport late, unable to get a ride. I had to take an illegal cab, and the driver locked the doors—I was so terrified I called Lucas a dozen times, but he never picked up. In the end, I had to pay a huge sum just to get out of that car; my legs were shaking when I finally stepped out. He explained later that he was too busy. As it turned out, he was "too busy" watching the aurora with Fiona. While I was lost in my shock, Fiona posted a new photo: "Twenty-two years old, paid in full for a multimillion-dollar villa." "Not by my own efforts, but thanks to my benefactor." "A little kiss for my man." In the photo, she was grinning, holding up a property deed with her name on it, while Lucas looked at her with doting eyes in the background. Among the many comments, one familiar avatar caught my attention. "So happy for you! Remember to treat me to dinner soon!" "But Lucas was so mean when he criticized you yesterday morning! You have to make him buy you another bag!" Fiona replied casually: "That was just for show for his fiancée. My man already bought me a bag to make it up to me." "Great! My man said he'll definitely treat you to dinner! But you'll have to keep helping me hide it from his fiancée." I clicked on the commenter's profile. It was none other than my best friend, Sarah. My hands wouldn't stop trembling. Tears rolled down my cheeks and splattered onto the screen. After Sarah was laid off, I was the one who helped her find work by putting her in touch with Lucas's company. Yet, in the end, she was helping outsiders deceive me. I saved all the records. At that same moment, Lucas sent me the monthly rent payment notice: "Honey, remember to pay the rent early to avoid a fee." "Cash flow is a bit tight this month, so the wedding might have to be pushed to next month." He had been repeating the same line for twelve months. He always claimed that saving for a wedding was hard and begged me for more time. I typed directly: "Let's call off the engagement. You don't need to stress about the cash anymore." Within moments, Lucas called: "Avery, why do you want to cancel the engagement? Are you angry?" "My dear, I'm sorry. Just give me a little more time. We'll definitely get married next month, okay?" "I asked Fiona to book you a dress fitting at a bridal shop this afternoon. I'll leave work early and pick you up to make it up to you." I paused for two seconds and agreed. After all, I needed some time to make him give back everything he had taken from me. At 5:00 PM, I waited for him downstairs as promised. The familiar car pulled up, and I reached for the passenger door out of habit, but Fiona was sitting there, waving at me with a smile. "Good afternoon, Avery." "I'm used to sitting here. You're so kind, I'm sure you wouldn't force me to change my habits, right?" "Why don't you sit in the back, Avery?"I didn't say a word, just looked at Lucas. Lucas put on a show of scolding Fiona: "Fiona, are you bullying Avery just because she's kind-hearted?" "Avery, why don't you just sit in the back for today? We need to hurry to the fitting." He looked cold, but the doting tenderness in his eyes was impossible to hide. I nodded and obediently climbed into the back seat. On the way, my phone pinged. My parents had sent me a screenshot of a first-class ticket for the next day. "Get some rest. We'll cook you something delicious when you get back!" During the years I spent with Lucas, in order to save for the wedding, I—who had been spoiled since childhood—never sat in first class again. Even when I flew abroad to visit him, it was always ten-plus hours in budget economy. But in Fiona's posts, it was all first class, business class, and five-star hotels. In her blog, she wrote that Lucas always gave her the best because he loved her. And what Lucas gave me was just a hug and a simple, "Sorry for the inconvenience, honey," after twelve hours in an economy seat. It turned out his tenderness and favoritism were all for someone else, leaving me to endure the hardship. It was indeed a hardship, but from now on, I wouldn't need to put myself through it anymore. I accidentally opened my blog and saw that Fiona had left several more comments after her initial post: "Why aren't you replying? I've been following you for a long time." "We're in the car together now. Should I apologize to her?" "Actually, there are traces of our lovemaking in this car... I'm so afraid she'll find out, hee hee." "My man is so fierce in the car; he wouldn't stop no matter how much I begged." My brow furrowed, and my gaze drifted down, landing on a gap in the seat. A bit of lace was peeking out—it looked like a pair of women's panties that hadn't been tucked away properly. A wave of nausea hit me. I thought I might throw up. Thankfully, we arrived at the bridal shop, and I bolted out of the car, rushing into the bathroom to dry-heave. Lucas, who had hurriedly parked the car, rushed over and gently held my back: "Are you okay, Avery? Do you want some water?" But the moment I thought of Fiona's message, his touch felt even more disgusting. I pushed him away without a word and shook my head weakly, saying I was fine. I was too exhausted to do anything but rest, but Fiona was incredibly excited, making a scene about wanting to try on dresses. Consequently, Lucas spent almost the entire time accompanying Fiona for fittings. I sat to the side, watching it all. They seemed to have completely forgotten that today was supposed to be about me. When Fiona was taking photos in the mirror, she clung to Lucas's arm and turned to stick her tongue out at me: "Avery, let me borrow your fiancé for a photo. You don't mind, right?" When she went to change, her zipper got stuck, and she poked her head out of the fitting room, asking with a grin: "Avery, let me borrow your fiancé to help me with this zipper." Listening to the ambiguous sounds coming from behind the fitting room curtain, I felt nothing but revulsion. I couldn't stand acting with them anymore. I turned to leave. Fiona put on a wounded look. "Avery, I really love this dress. I've never owned anything this beautiful. Could you lend me the money to buy it?" Lucas frowned, trying to refuse: "Don't be ridiculous. This was ordered for Avery." Fiona huffed, grabbed my hand, but looked at Lucas and pouted: "Anyway, your wedding has been delayed for so long, what's one more time?" I was too drained to argue. In their eyes, my silence was as good as consent. After dropping Fiona off and getting home, Lucas blamed me as usual for spoiling her too much. In the past, I would have smiled and made excuses for her, then persuaded Lucas to be more lenient. But this time, I was truly exhausted. I looked at him and nodded gently: "You're right. It's all yours now." "Also, Lucas, we don't need to get married anymore."Lucas was stunned for a moment, then laughed, trying to coax me: "Have you started acting like Fiona, being so moody?" "Is it because of the dress? Should I ask her to return it?" I looked at him and shook my head: "It's not about the dress." "Lucas, you disgust me." Lucas frowned slightly, leaning down to stare into my eyes: "Avery, if you're jealous, I can apologize. If you're angry, I can solve the problem." "But you shouldn't say such hurtful things." Hurtful? When he left me to go sleep with Fiona, did he ever consider that he was hurting me? I gave a bitter laugh. In his eyes, this sentence was enough to be considered "hurtful"? Thunder rumbled outside. I'd been afraid of thunderstorms since I was a child, and for a moment, I hesitated to leave. He took advantage of that to soothe me: "Alright, Avery. Go home and get some rest. I need to head back to the office; I won't be sleeping here tonight." "Once I'm done with this busy stretch, we'll definitely get married." I stared at him blankly: "Lucas, it's thundering outside. You're letting me go home alone?" I didn't say the rest: "I'm scared." Because of a kidnapping during a thunderstorm when I was young, I was terrified of them. At my worst, I would have heart palpitations and struggle to breathe, even landing in the hospital a few times. That's why, every time it stormed, he used to stay by my side without fail. But now, he just turned back, frowning, his face full of annoyance at my "unreasonableness": "Avery, the company is busy right now. Can't you get over a small thing like being afraid of thunder?" "Avery, don't make this difficult for me." With that, Lucas walked away without looking back. Half an hour after he and Fiona left, Fiona posted again. "All I had to say was 'I'm scared,' and my boss ditched his girlfriend to come with me." "Seriously, how am I supposed to let you marry her after that?" "But it's fine, I'm already carrying his baby." "My man said to just focus on giving him a child, and he'll never let me leave." Fiona leaned into that familiar embrace, smiling as she stroked her belly, taking a selfie. I finally sent her a private message from my advice-blog account: "You're pregnant with your boss's child? Does his girlfriend know?" "If you can't marry him, the child will be born out of wedlock." Fiona sent a voice note directly: "Of course she doesn't know. We've been keeping it from her perfectly." "Besides, so what if it's out of wedlock? He spends more money on me and the baby than he ever did on her. It's way better than a marriage without money or love." "He said she has health issues and can't have kids, so my baby will be his only one." When I helped Lucas get his business off the ground, I drank so much at networking events that my health suffered. My doctor told me I'd have a hard time getting pregnant. For years, I took a bitter liquid supplement that made me gag. Back then, Lucas would cry, throw it away, and swear he'd marry me even if we never had kids. What a pity. Looking at it now, he broke that promise. My finger hovered over the screen for a long time. Finally, I typed one line: "Good for you. I wish you happiness."I slowly packed my luggage and booked a shuttle to the airport for the next afternoon. I had already said what needed to be said to Lucas. Whether he saw it or cared didn't matter anymore. After getting everything ready, I realized I couldn't find my ID. I remembered that when I went to see Lucas two days ago, I'd left it there. I called Lucas to ask for it. When the call connected, it was Fiona's voice: "Hello, Avery?" "A few of us from the office are out drinking. Lucas is wasted. Why don't you come pick him up?" Before I could refuse, she hung up. I had no choice but to drive over there. I hadn't even entered the room when I heard a roar of laughter from inside. "Fiona, you and Lucas really got married behind his fiancée's back?" I peeked through the door. Several employees were gathered around Fiona, looking at the marriage certificate in her hand. Fiona's pretty face couldn't hide her triumph: "He said our child needs to be born legitimate." "In a couple of days, he's going to pay to send me abroad for the pregnancy." The colleagues chimed in: "Just during the drinking game earlier, he'd rather drink until he puked than let you touch a glass. He really spoils you!" "They say where the money goes, the love follows. Our boss is giving you all his money and love." "Right? He makes everyone in the company play along and lie to his girlfriend just to keep you happy." I took a deep breath, pushed the door open, found Lucas's jacket in the silence that followed, and retrieved my ID. As I was leaving, I made eye contact with Lucas, who had just stepped out of the restroom. He adjusted his expression and wiped away a smudge of lipstick on his neck: "Honey, why are you here?" "They were tired from overtime, so I brought them out for a late-night snack." He pulled a wedding ring out of his pocket like a magic trick and put it on my finger: "I just bought it tonight. I spent a long time picking it out. Do you like it?" Fiona leaned over with a smile to smooth things over, though her tone was provocative: "Yeah, it took forever to find a discounted model." "He said you're so used to being frugal that you'd definitely like the sale price." Lucas glared at her, then sighed at me: "Avery, don't blame me." "Money's tight everywhere lately. I'm really in a bind..." On my way here, I had passed a store window and seen this ring. It was a simple ring with a diamond under a carat, marked down to less than what Fiona's hair clip cost. I curled my lips into a cynical smile, took the ring off, and placed it back in his hand: "If things are so tight, then let's not get married."