During a camping trip, my boyfriend's ex-girlfriend serenaded him with a song and handed him a bouquet of flowers.

All of our old friends turned to look at me, expecting me to tremble with anger or cry my heart out.

But I just smiled and said, "You two seem so perfect for each other. Why not share a tent tonight?"

*****

During our summer vacation, my boyfriend, Daniel Harrington, insisted on bringing his ex-girlfriend, Brenda Baker, along despite my objections.

Not only that, they left me behind at a highway rest stop.

I was both heartbroken and furious, but when the police brought me home, Daniel accused me of being lazy and embarrassing him.

That was when I snapped and accused him of caring more about Brenda than me.

He called me petty and slammed the door on his way out.

We argued for nearly half a month.

This morning, Daniel finally smiled at me and said, "I admit I was partly wrong.

"How about we go watch the sunrise together at the mountaintop?

"I've already packed the tent and snacks!"

I knew he wasn't genuinely apologizing. He was only doing this because his parents were coming to visit in a few days, and we had plans to have dinner together.

In the past, whenever we fought, I would always cave in out of fear of losing Daniel. I would buy gifts and apologize, groveling until he finally smiled again and showed me affection.

This would go on for days.

Only then would Daniel warm up to me again.

I'd feel relieved and happily continue maintaining our fragile relationship.

It became a pattern, repeating over and over.

Daniel seemed to think it was always my fault.

It was as if he had a chokehold on me, suffocating me, yet I still forced myself to smile.

Lately, however, I'd started losing interest in everything related to Daniel.

So when he invited me to watch the sunrise, I simply replied, "Sure," and then turned to head back to the study.

In the past, watching the sunrise with Daniel was something I longed for.

But every time I mentioned it, Daniel would refuse.

Yet when Brenda invited him, he immediately got dressed up and went, and she would post their photos on social media just to spite me.

I was so angry I couldn't sleep for days.

Daniel told me not to overthink it, saying it was just a group of people going and that he couldn't say no.

When I came out of the study, Daniel was gone.

Even when the time we had agreed upon passed, he still didn't show up.

I didn't call or text him like I used to. Instead, I quietly called a cab and left with my luggage alone.

Life was like a dream. Rather than worrying about others, it was better to find happiness on one's own.

There were many people climbing the mountain.

Chatting with them made the journey less tiring. After reaching the summit and taking a short nap, I waited for the sunrise in the refreshing breeze.

The orange-red light broke through the thin clouds, gradually warming my face. It was so gentle and soothing.

I happily took a picture and posted it on social media, only to accidentally see a message Brenda sent in our old classmates' group chat.

It was a video of a concert with a girl singing along in the background.

I knew that voice too well. It was Daniel. But I didn't feel sad or surprised.

After all, this sort of thing had happened too many times to count.

I thought, "What difference did one more time make?

The only difference now was that I wouldn't call Daniel to question him.

There is no need anymore."

When I got home, Daniel was already there, and there was a beautifully wrapped gift box on the coffee table.

But I wasn't interested in opening it. Instead, I took a shower and went to the study to catch up on sleep.

I knew the gift wasn't for me but for Brenda.

Once, there was a gift box on the coffee table.

It just so happened that day, and it was also my birthday.

I thought it was a surprise from Daniel and couldn't wait to open it, but when he saw me, he shoved me aside and snatched the box away.

He said it was a gift for Brenda and accused me of being presumptuous and rude.

The next day, he remembered it was my birthday and gave me a belated gift.

But I didn't hold it against him.

As I was dozing off in the study, I suddenly heard the door open.

I thought, "Is Daniel coming to see me? Is he going to apologize?

Forget it.

It doesn't matter anymore."

I didn't care and drifted off to sleep.

I woke up in the evening and immediately noticed the gift box on the desk, identical to the one on the coffee table earlier.

But now there was a note under it, a handwritten apology from Daniel: [Sorry for not telling you yesterday and leaving you to watch the sunrise alone.]

[Brenda got tickets to my favorite singer's concert, but there were only two, so we went. Don't overthink it.]

[I'll definitely go with you to watch the sunrise next week.]

I shook my head and smiled. I wasn't interested in opening the box to see what was inside, so I just shoved it into a drawer.

I thought, "Was watching the sunrise alone supposed to be lonely?

I didn't feel that way. Without burdens, it was quite pleasant."

As for the concert tickets...

I remembered how I once went out of my way to buy two tickets from a scalper, excitedly telling Daniel about it.

But he just scoffed and said he wasn't in the mood.

After that, I never brought it up again.

Yet now that Brenda had tickets, Daniel suddenly had the mood.

They truly were meant for each other.

I was just a nobody.

About an hour later, Daniel called me. "Did you see the gift on your desk?"

"Yes," I replied.

"Don't you like it? It's the game character model you've wanted for so long."

Daniel sounded confused.

"Oh, I haven't opened it yet."

I nodded.

I thought, "A game character model? I used to like them, but later, Daniel said they took up too much space and were useless.

So I sent all of them back home and never bought any more."

"Are you still mad? Don't be so petty. I've already explained..." Daniel began to say.

I interrupted him, "You don't need to say more. I understand. You and Brenda are the best of friends."

Daniel was silent for a few seconds, then abruptly hung up.

I wondered if Daniel was angry. But in the past, when I made a big fuss, he would always get annoyed.

Now that I wasn't making a scene, he should feel relieved.

I thought, "Maybe he was laughing about it after hanging up."

But whatever the case, it didn't matter to me anymore.

I didn't want to let Daniel's actions affect my emotions anymore.

It was evening.

When Daniel came back, he was holding a bouquet of pink and white roses. He saw me sitting in the living room and slammed the roses down in front of me.

There was an open card attached, with the words: [Happy Seventh Anniversary of Our Meeting!]

At the end of the message, there was even a heart drawn.

Without needing Daniel to say anything, I knew the flowers were from Brenda.

Brenda always sent pink and white roses.

I, on the other hand, always sent red roses.

I used to send pink and white roses too, but Daniel once told me he hated them and asked me not to send them anymore.

He was even angry with me for a whole day because of it.

But later, when I saw Brenda giving Daniel pink and white roses, he smiled happily.

I questioned Daniel about it, but he denied ever saying he didn't like pink and white roses. He even said they symbolized pure feelings.

At that moment, I was silent and finally understood a simple truth.

The type of flower didn't matter. What matters was the person who gave them.

But now, I didn't feel a trace of anger.

"Put the flowers away for me."

Daniel ordered smugly, tilting his chin up.

"Okay."

I nodded, got up, and threw the previous flowers I had given Daniel into the trash before replacing them with the new pink and white roses.

"What are you doing? Why throw away the red roses instead of using a new vase? Are you throwing a tantrum?"

Daniel crossed his arms and looked at me with that familiar, cold, mocking gaze, continuing, "You're always so petty..."

It was the same old words, the same condescending attitude.

In the past, I would have been furious, my face turning pale, my body trembling, and I would have argued with Daniel until he stormed out.

Then, I would apologize and beg him to come back.

But now, I calmly replied, "You've misunderstood."

Daniel seemed surprised by my calmness, his expression changing to one of disbelief. He furrowed his brows, stopped talking to me, and stormed out.

Without a doubt, Daniel was angry again.

He probably thought I would chase after him with his bag, like before, apologizing and trying to make things right.

He'd continue to ignore me on the street.

I would even skip work just to appease Daniel for hours, which eventually led to me being scolded by my boss, getting my pay docked, or even being fired.

Because of this, I was forced to switch jobs several times.

But this time, I didn't chase after him, nor did I plan to. Instead, I went to the study.

After all, Daniel had Brenda.

I turned on my computer and logged into a design forum. It had been so long since I last used my account that I had to try several times before getting the password right.

As soon as I was online, a friend greeted me: [Hey Arabella, why are you suddenly back? Didn't you quit because of your boyfriend? Did you break up?]

I stared at the screen for a while before replying with a simple: [Yes.]

Actually, I've been interested in drawing since I was a kid, and I even showed some talent for it. Prestigious schools abroad and famous gaming companies offered me opportunities.

But I turned them down for Daniel, choosing instead to work at an ordinary company.

I'd wake up early to make breakfast for Daniel, wash his clothes at night, watch the shows he liked, and help him solve problems at work.

It seemed like everything I did was to cater to Daniel, and I gradually gave up on my own interests, drawing, building aircraft models, all of it.

But in the end, I got nothing. Daniel's attitude toward me was warm and icy, but he was always warm and affectionate with Brenda.

The dream I once had of a lifetime of love with Daniel had long since shattered.

Rather than exhausting myself for others, it was better to love myself more.

Two hours later, I received a call from Brenda.