In our lakeside town, if a woman wanted to marry the love of her life, she must personally build a wooden rowboat to serve as her wedding vessel. On the exact day of our seventh anniversary, my girlfriend, Sarah Granger, held the launch ceremony for her newly finished boat. The crowd cheered as they witnessed the moment, and my heart pounded furiously against my ribs.

However, just as I was about to board the boat, I caught the hushed whispers of her best friends.

“Are you really giving this boat to Logan? Aren’t you afraid Austin will throw a fit?"

“Yeah, Austin can be pretty sensitive. Be careful not to push him too far.”

The next second, Sarah’s casual voice rang out, filled with absolute certainty.

“He won’t. Austin is the easiest guy to appease. He’s completely head over heels for me. Besides, around these parts, if a guy isn’t married by twenty-eight, everyone starts looking at him like a pathetic bachelor. He wouldn’t dare make a scene. Think about it: the marriage certificate goes to Austin, and the wedding vessel goes to Logan. It’s totally fair. Plus, it… makes up for my regrets.”

So, agreeing to get legally married to me was a regret for her? Easy to appease? Pathetic bachelor?

Those words hurt my ears, and I started to choke up, but I didn’t cry. Instead, I pulled out my phone and sent a single text message.

[Mom, I’m taking your advice. I’m twenty-eight now, and I’m not waiting around anymore.]

The boat, fully adorned with fresh roses, hit the water, and people immediately began shoving me forward playfully.

“Austin, get on the boat already!”

“Aussie! It’s been seven years, and you two are finally making it official!”

My close friend, Marcus Bell, spoke with genuine excitement. He was truly happy for me.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Sarah Granger stepped off the boat and walked over in my direction. However, she paused beside me for a split second before walking right past. Instead, she stopped right in front of Logan, her voice soft and filled with affection.

“This is your birthday present. Do you like it?”

An eerie silence filled the surroundings.

Logan’s eyes were wide with pure delight. Then, hand in hand, they walked toward the boat together. This time, as Sarah passed by me, she paused.

She sounded completely nonchalant as she said, “Aussie, I’m letting Logan have this boat first. The next one is already being built, so be patient.”

Some people looked on just for the drama, while others stared straight at me. It felt like everyone was waiting for me, the guy famous around these parts for having a fiery temper, to kick up a huge fuss. However, I just looked at her calmly.

“There’s no need, Sarah.”

She froze, clearly not expecting that kind of reaction from me. Sensing that the atmosphere was growing tense, Sarah’s best friends quickly jumped in to smooth things over for her.

“Austin, don’t overthink it! Sarah is just helping him to fulfill a birthday wish!”

“Exactly! The groom is definitely going to be you.”

Listening to their pathetic excuses, I actually found it funny.

Beside me, Marcus was grinding his teeth in pure rage. “How could Sarah do this? She knows perfectly well that a woman from our lakeside town can only build one wedding vessel in her entire life!”

A sudden wave of bitterness washed over me.

He was right. In our town, even a three-year-old child knows that a woman must marry using the very first boat she built. Only then would it symbolize a lifetime of deep, unbreakable love.

Marcus’s voice buzzed in my ear, thick with anger. “Aussie, I’m furious on your behalf… He’s just an assistant trying to climb the social ladder. Is Sarah blind?”

In reality, Logan wasn’t just a simple assistant. He was the son of an old family friend of Sarah’s, entrusted to their family’s care. Because of that, Sarah showered him with boundless favoritism.

She took him to every event. Any gift she bought for me on holidays would always have a duplicate bought for him. Even the wedding vessel I had anticipated for seven long years could be handed over to him, just like that, all for a silly birthday wish.

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Marcus,” I said, gently patting his shoulder.

Before long, the two people on the boat finished the ritual and stepped back onto the shore. A smug smile still hung on Logan’s face as he strode over to me.

He spoke in his usual, falsely innocent tone. “Austin, Sal was just granting me a birthday wish. Please don’t read too much into it.”

Sal. What an intimate way to address her.

Just as I was about to speak, I was abruptly cut off. Sarah stepped forward and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Aussie, it’s just a boat,” she said. Her voice remained gentle, but her eyes held an unmistakable warning. “People are watching. Don’t make a scene.”

“I won’t.”

Taking a step backward, I smiled and gave Logan a polite nod.

“Happy birthday.”

The moment the words left my mouth, a suffocating silence fell over the crowd. Sarah looked down at her now-empty hand, visibly dazed for a moment. It made sense; if this had happened in the past, I would have thrown a massive fit by now.

Marcus couldn’t stand it anymore, and he demanded answers at the top of his lungs. “Sarah! You gave the boat to him, so what exactly do you plan to use when you marry Aussie? He’s waited for you for seven years! Give him an answer!”

Every single gaze in the crowd locked onto her. I, too, watched her quietly, a tiny, fragile spark of hope rising in my heart.

This would be the absolute last chance I’d be giving you, Sarah.

One second passed, then two. My fingernails dug deeply into my palms. Just as I was about to lose my resolve and smooth the situation over for her out of habit, Sarah let out a soft chuckle.

She said indifferently, “Next time, for sure.”

It was dismissive and utterly evasive. With those words, the last bit of love I had for her popped like a punctured balloon, finally sinking into total, dead silence.

Beside me, Marcus’s face flushed red with anger, but I quickly held him back.

Once the launch ceremony was over, a feast was to be held right on the deck of the boat, complete with plenty of drinks. A few passersby gathered around to watch the excitement.

“It looks like another couple is getting hitched! That is one magnificent wedding vessel!”

Someone in the crowd yelled, “Congratulations!”

Standing at the bow of the boat, Logan held Sarah’s hand.

“Sal, I have one more birthday wish.” His voice was loud, instantly drawing everyone’s attention. “I want you… to be my girlfriend for the next seven days!”

The crowd instantly erupted into wild cheers.

“Do it! Say yes! Say yes!”

Sarah laughed. She squeezed his hand back and said with zero hesitation, “Fine, but remember, it’ll just be for seven days.”

From the start, she never cast a single glance in my direction. Logan subtly shot a look at me, the smirk on his face growing even wider. Some of our mutual friends who knew the real story kept glancing over at me. Their eyes held a mix of sympathy, amusement, and pity.

As her ex-boyfriend, it felt like I shouldn’t be standing there any longer. However, just as I lifted my foot to leave, Sarah called out to me.

“Aussie, are you heading back?”

“Yeah. It’s not a good look for your ex-boyfriend to be hanging around right now.”

She frowned. “Don’t talk nonsense. It’s just a harmless little birthday wish to make Logan happy. Go ahead and get a ride home first. I have to drive Logan home later. I’ll bring you those lobster rolls you wanted tonight. Be good.”

With that, she reached into my bag, snatched my house keys, and immediately jumped back into the wild celebration. I stared at her silhouette, and despite myself, my eyes finally began to sting.

When I got home, I received a video message from Logan. In the video, Logan’s face was flushed red. Amidst the playful shoves of the crowd, he pulled Sarah into a tight embrace.

Someone shouted jokingly, “Sarah, if you ask me, you might as well marry Logan instead!”

“Austin doesn’t even come close to our boy Logan!”

Logan laughed and cursed back, “You’ve had way too much to drink.”

Sarah just stood there with a smile playing on her lips, offering absolutely no denial.

Right after the video, a text message came through from Logan.

[Hey, Austin, why did you leave so early? Sending you this video so you can feel like you’re part of the fun!]

Strangely enough, seeing this no longer stirred anything in me. I just stared blankly at the wooden boat in the video.

Sarah used to whisper in my ear all the time, telling me how a wedding vessel was a once-in-a-lifetime milestone for couples in our lakeside town, and that no detail could be compromised. The deck had to be crafted from premium teakwood, the railings on both sides had to be wrapped in my favorite purple irises, and I was supposed to design the cabin curtains myself…

I did feel a twinge of regret. After all, I had looked forward to this for so long. However, my regret wasn’t for the girl; it was for the boat.

It was late into the night when Sarah finally walked through the door empty-handed. When her eyes met mine, she froze for a moment. Then, she walked over and wrapped her arms around me just like she always did. Immediately, a suffocating wave of strong men’s cologne hit my nose.

The last time I had put cologne on myself was five years ago. Back then, she had frowned and told me it was disgusting for a grown man to wear cologne. Only today did I realize that her disgust depended entirely on who was wearing it.

She looked up at me, her tone as gentle as ever. “The party ran a bit late. Why aren’t you asleep yet? Were you waiting up for me?”

I didn’t answer her question directly. I only asked, “Where are my lobster rolls?”

Avoiding my gaze, she picked up a glass from the counter and took a sip of water.

“When I was driving Logan home, he said he wanted to try them, so I gave them to him. Besides, didn’t you say you wanted to lose weight for our wedding photos anyway? You can just eat them another day, right?”

This was the third time this had happened. I had told her half a month ago that I wanted them, so she promised to buy them, and she did three separate times.

The first time, she was intercepted halfway by Logan, who dragged her along to look at apartments with him. The second time, Logan was being excluded by his coworkers, so Sarah went to comfort him over pasta. And then there was tonight.

I let out a soft sigh, suppressing the bitter ache in my chest. “Sarah, let’s break up.”

The glass of water in her hand trembled slightly, but she quickly covered it with a sneer.

“Are you changing your tactics? I haven’t even called you out yet, and you’re taking it to the next level?”

I froze, not quite understanding what she meant.

She let out a cold laugh. “Didn’t you have Marcus try to pressure me into marriage today? What’s the matter? Since pressuring me didn’t work, you’ve decided to play hard to get instead?”

Only then did it click. She actually thought I was the one who told Marcus to say those things today just to force her into marrying me.

I found the whole thing absurd, but I didn’t bother to explain. Instead, I just nodded.

“Yeah. Since pressuring you didn’t work, I’m thinking of marrying someone else.”

The moment those words left my mouth, the scornful look on her face deepened.

“Austin, do you honestly think you’d ever break up with me? That’s enough. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. You’re twenty-eight now. Who else would marry you besides me? Go to bed early. We have to go to the Granger estate tomorrow for Grandma Wilma’s birthday.”

With that, she turned around and walked into the bedroom. Looking at her back, I felt nothing but exhaustion.

The next day, I still went to Grandma Wilma’s birthday party. Years ago, Grandma Wilma had given me an antique emerald ring, and I needed to return it.

When I arrived at the estate, Sarah’s mother, Catherine Granger, was standing by the entrance. Logan stood right beside her, a bright smile on his face, looking every bit like the ideal future son-in-law.

Logan spotted us first. His smile widened instantly, and he walked over to me.

“Hey, Austin! Sal said you were upset, so I didn’t think you’d make it today!”

He intentionally flashed the watch on his wrist. It was an heirloom that the family always gifted to their future sons-in-law.

Grandma Wilma’s gift was a pair of rings, while Catherine had prepared the watch. However, Sarah had demanded the watch from her mother a long time ago, claiming she wanted to put it on my wrist herself when the time came. Now, it seemed that wouldn’t be necessary anymore.

Having noticed it as well, Sarah looked down and quickly explained, “Logan is just borrowing it for the day. He’ll give it back, so don’t overthink things.”

Catherine walked over as well. Her expression was flat, and her tone carried a sharp hint of warning.

“You’re here? I heard about what happened yesterday. It’s just a boat. Logan has no family to rely on right now, so it’s only right that we look after him a bit more. Control your temper and don’t make a fool of yourself.”

Everyone expected me to lose my temper, yet not a single person had stopped Sarah from doing what she did. I found it almost ironic.

Out of habit, Sarah reached out to wrap her arm around mine, trying to soothe me with her usual display of affection. However, I stepped aside, avoiding her touch. Her hand froze in mid-air, and her brows instantly knit together.

“What are you up to now?” Sarah lowered her voice, her tone laced with bubbling anger. “It’s Grandma Wilma’s birthday. Don’t ruin the mood for everyone. I’ll apologize to you when we get home, alright?”

I looked up calmly, meeting her gaze head-on. “I’m really not angry.”

I pulled out the emerald ring and steadily held it out to Catherine.

“Mrs. Granger, you should give this to Logan as well. Then, I won’t go inside to disturb Grandma Wilma.”

Seeing the ring, Sarah’s eyes widened. Meanwhile, Logan gripped the edge of his shirt, putting on a worried and deeply understanding act.

“Austin, are you just saying that because you’re upset? Sal, this is all my fault. I shouldn’t have been so greedy and accepted the boat… I’m the reason Austin is angry. How about I return the boat and the watch to him right now…”

As if suddenly remembering something, Logan tried to pull the watch off his wrist as he spoke. Yet somehow, even though the watch looked quite loose, it wouldn’t come off.

Sure enough, the tension Sarah had felt upon seeing the ring vanished instantly. She snickered, snatched the ring right out of my hand, and marched over to Logan.

“There’s no need to return anything. I said it’s yours, so it’s yours. Here, put the ring on, too.”

Then, she turned back to me, her eyes filled with utter disdain.

“Fine, Austin. Let’s see how long you can keep up this little act! Since you don’t want them anymore, Logan can wear them all for now. Didn’t you say you weren’t going in? Why aren’t you leaving yet?”

In the past, the more she provoked me like this, the more stubborn I would become, digging my heels in just to stay. Now, all I felt was relief.

“Then I’ll be taking my leave.”

With that, I turned around and walked away.

Behind me, I could hear Logan’s gentle voice trying to calm her down. This only seemed to fuel Sarah’s rage, and her voice grew louder.

“Just let him go! He’s just desperate to get married and starved for affection, so he thinks he can use this to manipulate me. He needs to take a good look at how old he is!”

I didn’t look back. I just stepped straight into a waiting taxi.

Right then, a text message from my mother popped up on my phone.

[Aussie, take a look! This is the wedding vessel the bride’s family just sent over.]