My boyfriend was always mixing up my name with his ex-girlfriend's.

When he cooked, he'd call out without thinking: "Princess Claudie, grab your bowl and chopsticks, dinner's ready."

On the birthday gift he gave me, the card read Happy Birthday, Baby Claudie.

Even in our most intimate moments, he'd murmur against my ear, "Claudie, want me to be gentler?"

After the ten-thousandth time he got it wrong, the irritation I'd felt at first had dulled into resignation.

All I could do was turn his face toward mine, look him in the eyes, and correct him, over and over.

"My name is Ann Mason. Not Claudie."

Over time, before he said my name, Robert James would always pause to think for two full seconds.

Then he'd get those two syllables out, precisely: "Ann."

I thought he'd finally broken the habit.

Until later, when his one-that-got-away, Claudia Fox, joined the same company we worked at.

After that, the gift card at the company year-end party had her name written on it again, Claudia Fox.

The red roses delivered to the office, the recipient became Claudia Fox too.

Even when he proposed, down on one knee in front of me, the name he called was:

"Claudia Fox, will you marry me!"

That "I will" jammed in my throat, stuck halfway, unable to move up or down.

The excitement I'd felt drained away all at once.

All of a sudden, it just felt utterly pointless.

——

When Robert realized what he'd done, his face went blank for an instant.

He scrambled to his feet to call out to me, but he still hesitated two seconds before he could speak.

"Ann, I—"

The irony spread through my chest.

Even in a moment like this, he still had to think before he could say my name.

I knew what he wanted to say.

That it was just habit, or maybe he was just too nervous.

Three years together, and I was sick of hearing lines like that.

I took a step back, away from his hand.

"There's no need to say anything more."

"Let's break up."

"No—"

Robert tried to say something else.

But the coworkers nearby had heard the commotion and were crowding over.

When they saw the proposal, the whole crowd erupted.

"Oh my god, Director James is actually proposing during the company retreat!"

"Claudie, you and Director James are together? Why didn't you ever tell us?"

I turned around, and only then did I see Claudia standing a little ways off.

The trees by the path had blocked me from view completely.

From a distance, it really did look like Robert was kneeling in front of her.

Claudia had both hands clapped over her mouth, her eyes brimming with joy and disbelief.

The coworkers gathered around her, cheering and egging her on, pushing her toward Robert.

Someone passing by yanked hard at my arm.

"They're proposing, what are you standing in the middle for? Like a third wheel."

I stumbled.

My long dress was pinned underfoot, my carefully styled hair caught on someone's clothes, tugged until it stung.

I shoved my way out of the crowd, a mess.

When I lifted my head, the two of them were already encircled by ring after ring of people.

Claudia, in a white gauzy dress, stood at the center, like a bride waiting for happiness to descend.

And I was just like everyone around me, a nameless bystander watching their joy from the edge.

Across the crowd, I met Robert's eyes.

His gaze was complicated.

I watched his mouth open slightly, as if he wanted to explain.

But seeing Claudia so happy she was moved to tears, he swallowed every word.

Smiling, he slid the engagement ring meant for me onto her ring finger.

I tugged at the corner of my mouth, bitter, and made no scene, asked no questions.

I just quietly turned around and walked away from the celebration that should have been mine.

The sky had darkened, and the wind off the river was bone-chillingly cold.

I walked across the bridge alone.

I couldn't stop my mind from circling back to the rush I'd felt the day I accidentally stumbled onto Robert's proposal plan.

I'd booked the makeup artist a month in advance, hired someone to source the dress from overseas, spent eight hours getting my hair styled.

When the day finally came, I was so keyed up I didn't sleep a wink.

I'd hugged my blanket and let myself imagine the look on Robert's face when he proposed.

He was always so composed, so collected. Would he stumble over his words at the moment? Would his ears go red?

But no matter what, I would take the ring and throw myself into his arms.

And then I'd say it, loud and clear:

"I do!"

If the sunset over the river hit just right.

If the light gilded our silhouettes in gold, the way it does in the movies.

If some passerby happened to capture the moment.

I'd make it the cover of our wedding album, hang it in the most prominent spot in our future home.

The more I pictured it, the more I couldn't help laughing out loud, giddy and sweet.

"Honnnk——"

A car horn jolted me back to reality.

Now, with my hair a tangled mess and dirty footprints all over my clothes.

I was walking alone under a darkened sky.

My phone buzzed.

A message from Robert.

【Annie, I'm sorry.】

I stopped walking.

【But just let it go for now. Claudie already said yes in front of everyone. Don't make her look bad.】

【I'll explain to everyone later that it was the penalty from a game of Truth or Dare.】

I stared at those few lines for a long time.

But I wasn't surprised.

From the second Robert called out the wrong name, I'd known exactly what he would do.

It was just like Valentine's Day, when he had the bouquet of red roses delivered to the office, and they "accidentally" ended up in Claudia's hands.

When I tried to take them back, he gently pressed my hand down.

"Sorry, Annie. I wrote the wrong recipient by mistake."

"Just let Claudie keep these flowers. Taking them back in front of everyone would embarrass her."

A message popped up in the company retreat group chat.

【Director James is treating everyone to an engagement dinner. Meet at the second-floor restaurant of the hotel!】

It wasn't a last-minute decision. It was part of the proposal plan.

And since he'd proposed to the wrong woman, then everything would just be handed off to Claudia, mistakes and all.

That was always how Robert did things.

Someone posted a photo of the dinner table.

The hotel's top-tier banquet spread, the main course king crab.

I'm allergic to seafood, and Robert could never seem to remember that.

But it happened to be Claudia's favorite.

Maybe this was fate steering him back onto the right track.

I closed the message and pulled up the rideshare app instead.

No matter what, I was choosing to walk away.

I went back to the apartment alone.

I pushed open the door, and the first thing I saw was the couple's photo on the cabinet by the entryway.

My steps stalled for a moment.

Robert hated being photographed. It had taken me forever to wear him down for this one.

I remembered the day we moved into this place, how I'd carried the photo around, turning in circles looking for the perfect spot.

Robert had watched me, exasperated.

"It's just one photo. Does it really matter where it goes?"

I'd turned around and shaken my head at him, dead serious.

"No. I want everyone who walks in to see it the very first second!"

The spot on the entryway cabinet, right by the door, was the one I'd picked after careful thought.

Open the door, and the light from the hallway would fall there first.

A declaration of just how happy the people who lived here were.

It was also my only comfort, the thing I came home to after working late into the night just to put down roots in this city.

But was I really happy?

I picked up the frame and traced it, inch by inch.

Even in a couple's photo, Robert still wore that same unsmiling, buttoned-up face.

The dozens of photos my coworkers had dumped in the group chat came flooding back.

In every single one, he had his arm around Claudia, smiling with a tenderness I'd never seen.

Maybe I was the only one who'd ever felt happy in this relationship.

I turned the photos face-down on the cabinet and started packing.

Clothes, shoes…

It was only when I got to my jewelry that my hands stilled.

The necklace hanging in the most prominent spot on the stand was last year's birthday gift from Robert.

I thought about it, then dug out every gift we'd exchanged over the years.

If we were breaking up, there was no reason to keep them.

The first year, the second year.

Every gift had been matched, one for one.

Only the third year was missing—the anniversary gift and the Valentine's gift Robert was supposed to give me.

He'd entered the wrong recipient, and they'd all gone to Claudia instead.

I sent Robert a message.

【I've already thrown out everything I gave you. The things you gave me are in the bedroom cabinet.】

【Do whatever you want with them.】

When I finished packing, the message bar was still empty.

I opened the group chat. They were still going strong, just now wrapping up.

Claudia had posted to her social media feed.

【You said she was settling, that she was an obligation, that you had no choice. It's okay. I'll wait for you, however long it takes…】

No replies, no likes. This was meant for me, and me alone.

I liked it, switched off my phone, and dragged my suitcase toward the door.

Whatever happened between them from here had nothing to do with me.

I opened the door and came face-to-face with Robert, breathless.

The sight of me seemed to relax him.

The next second, his brows knit again, his voice turning scolding.

"Why come back all of a sudden without saying a word? I was frantic, looking everywhere for you."

I didn't answer. I just found it absurd.

So frantic.

So frantic that he'd finished his dinner, walked Claudia through the entire evening, and only then found the time to come looking for me.

Robert squeezed his way in.

Under the apartment lights, he finally saw the suitcase in my hand.

His face changed.

"It's this late. Where do you think you're going?"

I looked at him, my face blank.

"Moving out. I'll come back later for the rest."

He didn't rush to stop me. Instead, impatience swept over him in an instant.

Just like the old days, after he'd called me by the wrong name and I'd lose my temper, making him swear over and over that he no longer loved his ex.

He drew in a deep breath, forced himself to be patient, and pulled the proposal ring from his pocket.

"Enough. I swear I only love you. Is that good enough?"

"Today really was an accident. I only treated my coworkers to dinner because I'd already paid the deposit and didn't want to waste it."

As though it had been nothing more than grabbing some street food with the team, he soothed me halfheartedly.

"I cleared everything up with Claudia, too. Look, I even got the proposal ring back."

"Let's just put this behind us."

Robert seized my hand and, without another word, shoved the ring onto my ring finger.

But it was far too loose.

The moment I lowered my hand, it slid right off, rolling straight to his feet.

The air went still for a beat.

Looking at his stunned face, I let out a mocking laugh.

"Another accident? You entered the wrong size when you ordered it?"

This ring had fit Claudia's hand like it had been measured for her.

For once, Robert looked a little guilty.

He picked up the ring, coughed a few times, trying to mask the awkwardness on his face.

"It was an accident. I'll have someone resize it later."

"Don't bother."

I cut him off, my voice cold.