Letitia's eyes were rimmed red as she cursed Abner under her breath, toweling the rain out of my dripping hair.

My phone buzzed.

Abner.

【You smashed your phone, so I dug out this backup just now.】

【You're too extreme, you know that? Look at how things used to be. We all got along just fine.】

Then he sent a photo.

It was Pansy, one arm slung around me and Abner.

In the picture, the two of us were smiling like it hurt worse than crying.

It was taken right before graduation, with Pansy's fingers digging hard into the back of my neck, forcing us to pose.

She'd laughed when she said it:

"Now that we're graduating, don't you dare forget me."

So Abner had really kept that photo all this time.

I didn't reply. I just blocked his number.

The next day, I took Letitia with me to the apartment to pack my things.

I pushed the door open and there was Pansy, wearing the slippers I'd just bought, lounging on the couch.

Abner looked up, saw it was us, and yanked Pansy protectively behind him.

"Trudy, what did you bring her here for?"

"You've got a problem, take it up with me. Don't even think about bullying Pansy."

Beside me, Letitia's face went taut with rage. I patted her hand.

"I'm just here for my things. Move."

Abner froze, then let out a soft scoff.

"Moving out? Trudy, there's a limit to how much of a tantrum you get to throw."

But Pansy poked her head out from behind him.

"Honestly, Trudy, you really shouldn't hate me this much."

"Back then I led everyone in freezing you out because I liked Abner."

"Whose fault was it that you clung to him every single day? And then he actually went and protected you, so I had no choice but to deal with him too."

That was Letitia's breaking point.

"Are you out of your mind? You bullied people for three years over a guy?"

"And you, Abner. Back then all you knew how to do was cower while they beat you. Now you want to play the man?"

"You two pieces of garbage deserve each other!"

Abner's face went ashen, and then he roared.

"Shut up!"

"Fine, since it's all out now, I'm done pretending. Pansy and I have actually been together for a year."

A year?

Those two words shattered something at the top of my skull.

I thought back to a year ago.

Abner had suddenly volunteered to go out to the suburbs for "exposure therapy."

He refused to let me come along, said that with me there he'd just grow dependent again.

Every weekend, he'd head out alone for the better part of the day.

And every time he came back, he couldn't hide the smile in the corners of his eyes, and sometimes he carried the faint trace of perfume.

He'd lied and told me it was the calming aromatherapy from the clinic.

I'd been so happy back then, simmering hot soup at home every weekend, thinking he was finally close to recovering.

Now, looking back.

There was never any exposure therapy.

I'd been a complete and utter fool, hand-delivering my own fiancé into the arms of the woman who'd tormented us.

Abner looked at me, his voice going soft again.

"Trudy! Back then, if you hadn't lied and told Pansy we were together, she never would've bullied us in the first place."

"And besides, I never said I wanted to break up with you. Pansy feels like she owed you all these years, she's been carrying the guilt, she even told me to treat you well!"

"Pansy's been so good to you, and you still want to hold a grudge against her? How can you be so ungrateful?"

Pansy nestled into Abner's arms, the corners of her mouth curving up in satisfaction.

"Trudy. Thank you for taking care of Abner in my place these five years. It must have worn you out."

Letitia lost it, snatching the ashtray off the coffee table to hurl at them.

I held her back, hard.

Throwing away my own life over trash rotting in the mud wasn't worth it.

I turned and walked into the bedroom, packing my cards and important documents into my bag.

As I passed through the living room, Abner was murmuring softly, coaxing Pansy.

Hearing my footsteps, he sneered:

“You walk out that door now, and don't expect me to ever come crawling back to smooth things over with you.”

I didn't slow down. I grabbed Letitia and slammed the door hard behind us.

Downstairs, Letitia's eyes were red as she gripped my hand tightly:

“Trudy,”

“My dad's been wanting me to take over the overseas branch for ages. Come with me.”

“Leave this whole mess behind. We'll start over.”

I nodded without a moment's hesitation.

The next three days, I was busy sorting out my visa.

Sure enough, Abner didn't reach out to me even once.

His social media, though, was buzzing—every post a photo of him and Pansy.

The day before I left the country, I got a text from Pansy.

【Come by Abner's apartment. There's something I took from you back then. Time to give it back.】

I pushed the door open. Pansy was lounging on the living room couch, wearing Abner's shirt.

Smiling, she tossed a yellowed diary onto the coffee table.

Before I could even reach for it, she suddenly flipped it open to a page and started reading aloud:

“Today Abner smiled at me. I really hope he can keep that smile forever.”

“Oh my, how touching.”

I held out my hand.

“Give it back.”

Pansy yanked the diary back, her eyes turning vicious.

“What's the rush?”

“Trudy, look at all this groveling garbage you wrote. Honestly, it's so pathetic it makes me sick.”

“You guarded him like a dog for five years, nursed him through his illness, and what did it get you?”

“No matter how much you like him, all I have to do is crook my finger and he comes crawling right back to my side.”

“Just accept it. All you're good for in this life is being my stepping stone, picking up the trash I throw away.”

Watching her smug, sneering face, I felt not a single ripple inside me.

“Are you done? Because if you're done, I'm leaving.”

Just then, Pansy's eyes darted, and she suddenly grabbed the coffee off the table and splashed it all over herself.

I watched this clumsy little performance:

“Such a tired old trick. Aren't you embarrassed by how stupid it is?”

Pansy tilted her head up and gave me a triumphant smile.

“I said I bullied you both because I liked him, you told him you two were together, and he believed it, didn't he?”

“So you see, who cares how clumsy the trick is? Guess who Abner's going to believe when he walks out here.”

The words had barely left her mouth when the door was flung open.

Abner came rushing out like a madman.

The moment he saw Pansy drenched in coffee, he whipped around and stared me down:

“Trudy, if you've got a problem, take it out on me! Why would you throw coffee on her?”

“You always said you hated people who bully others. How are you any different from them right now? Apologize to her, now!”

I didn't argue. I didn't bother to defend myself.

“Apologize?”

“The only thing I need to apologize for is being blind these five years, actually treating a piece of garbage like you as something precious.”

With that, I ignored Abner's stunned look, picked up the diary, turned, and pulled open the apartment door.

I never looked back.

……

Half a month later. London.

My phone suddenly rang—an unfamiliar number from back home.

“Trudy, you actually had the nerve to block me?”

“All right, you've calmed down by now, haven't you? Enough is enough.”

“Which hotel are you at? Send me your location and I'll come pick you up.”

Listening to that familiar voice, I let out a soft laugh.

Abner froze:

“What are you laughing at? Where are you?

“Abner.”

“I'm not in the country anymore.”

The line went dead silent in an instant.

Then came Abner's voice, the words tumbling out far too fast:

"You... what did you say? You went abroad? Where? When are you coming back?"

I didn't answer.

I just hung up and pried the domestic SIM card out of my phone.

In this life, we would never see each other again.