On Valentine's Day, after much persuasion, I finally convinced Valery Fisher to go to Los Angeles with me.

The train was about to depart, but I still had not seen her.

It was not until I called her that she told me her younger brother had an acute case of gastritis, so she left me stranded alone.

The next morning, her childhood friend Brock Abbott posted a short video, documenting the entire process of her cooking for him:

[Your presence is the warmest confession.]

Everyone laughed at me for being cheated on.

But for once, I did not lash out and instead left a comment under the video.

[Do you only have one fork between the two of you? How broke are you?]

***

Valery had always known I had no sense of direction. I would get lost whenever I went out, even with GPS.

When she left me alone on the train without saying a word, I did not blame her.

After all, she had told me her brother had acute gastritis, and I felt so guilty that I could not help her when she needed it most.

When I tried calling her again, all I got was an automated message, "The person you are calling is currently on the phone."

But then, in Los Angeles, I saw the video Brock had posted. Valery was standing there, wearing an apron and cooking for him.

And there was that line: [Your presence is the warmest confession.]

I could not keep my temper in check, so we ended up having a huge argument.

Valery, as usual, snapped back at me impatiently.

"If that's what you think, there's nothing I can do about it!"

Then she blocked me on everything.

I wandered around Los Angeles, lost and alone, for a full week.

On the last evening, Valery finally remembered me and unblocked me.

She called and said.

"I'll meet you at the train station tomorrow."

I understood what she meant. She wanted to sweep everything under the rug.

In this relationship, I was always the passive one.

Whenever we fought, she could throw a fit and act like nothing had happened once she cooled off.

But I never knew how to deal with her.

After countless fights, she always had me in the palm of her hand.

What she did not expect, though, was that after spending seven days all alone in Los Angeles, I had finally had enough.

If it had been before, I would have taken all the blame without hesitation and then gone on to comfort her.

But now, I was not going to be foolish anymore.

I replied casually, "Do what you want."

Then I hung up and laid back on my bed. I knew her well, and she would not say anything else.

But a moment later, I got a notification on my phone.

[Good night.]

I did not respond.

At 10 a.m., I walked out of the train station.

I waited at the exit for a long time, but there was still no sign of Valery.

I was carrying a bunch of bags.

A driver trying to pick up passengers approached me and offered to take my luggage.

"Sir, hop in. Let me help you with your bags."

I shook my head. "No need, sir. My friend will be here soon."

I had already bought round-trip tickets, and Valery knew exactly when I would arrive.

But by noon, she still didn't show up.

All I got on my phone were a few spam ads.

"You leaving or what, sir? It's midday now, and it'll be expensive and inconvenient to get a ride later."

The same driver had already picked up several passengers and was surprised to see me still waiting when he returned.

I gave him an awkward smile. "Alright then, let's go."

By the time I got back to my rental place, it was nearly 2 p.m.

The driver, who was worried I might get heatstroke, had turned on the air conditioning and even kindly offered me a bottle of water.

But during that time, I still had not received any message from Valery.

I did not ask her about it. Once I got home, I took a shower and collapsed on the bed, feeling completely drained.

Maxim Maynard called me.

"Spencer, you should consider the offer to transfer to the branch office seriously. It's only three years, and you can still come back to visit your girlfriend during vacations."

Maxim was my boss. He had just opened a branch office in the neighboring city and needed a general manager. He had high hopes for me and wanted me to go there to gain some experience.

He had mentioned it to me before, but I had not agreed because I could not bear to leave Valery.

When I did not respond, he continued.

"When you come back, you will have a higher salary. If you're worried I'm just making empty promises, we can sign a contract."

Valery and I had met in our freshman year, and now it had been two years since we graduated.

We had been together for six years.

In the month leading up to graduation, our classmates were all making plans for their future. Some were talking about "taking over the family business", others about "starting their own companies", or "going to grad school". But I just said happily.

"I want to be with Valery forever."

During the past six years, I had given her everything.

But she still did not care about me at all.

Otherwise, why would she disregard me?

I finally spoke, "No problem, Maxim. I'll do it."

Maxim's excited voice came through the phone.

"That's settled, then! I don't have anyone else in mind if you don't go.

"Well, as for that senior management certification exam the company signed you up for, you'd better prepare well and pass it!"