After dropping hints to Roland for the 99th time, I finally found an exquisite ring box in his coat pocket.

Seeing the joyous expression on my face, he was taken aback. "I haven't had a chance to tell you, if you're free this weekend, let's have dinner with your parents!"

I thought this was the prelude to a proposal.

That weekend, I invited my parents and a few friends and I dressed up, wanting to be at my best for one of the most important moments of my life. But he never showed up, even when the restaurant closed.

His first love updated her status on social media, "Willful princess and her devoted prince."

The picture showed two hands, fingers intertwined, wearing matching rings. At that moment, I was neither angry nor sad, just exhausted.

Our love ended here.

When I found the ring box in his pocket, my heart pounded like a war drum. The sadness and grievance I had just felt were instantly replaced with the clear skies of summer.

Roland's gaze shifted from the ring box in my hand to my now radiant face. He finally said the words I had longed to hear.

I thought that our seven-year love was finally reaching its happy ending. Counting the days felt especially long and I was so excited that I lost sleep every night.

On the day of my dream, I put on a custom-made dress and spent a long time crafting an exquisite look. Dad, Mom and my friends all teased me, saying that they had never seen someone so eager to get married.

I wasn’t eager to marry anyone. I just wanted to marry Roland and give our years of love a happy ending. But things didn’t go as planned. By the time the restaurant closed, Roland still hadn’t shown up or even called.

As expected, the other shoe finally dropped after a day of anxious waiting.

This was the countless times he left me for Lysandra. On my birthday, he went to buy medicine for Lysandra’s menstrual cramps. On our anniversary, he brought Lysandra home, claiming her toilet was blocked and she couldn’t stay there. Even when I had acute gastroenteritis, he first went to take Lysandra’s dog to the vet.

Time and again, I felt like I had become exceptionally patient and enduring, but in reality, I was just unwilling to give up the seven years and youth we had shared.

After coaxing my angry parents away and watching the pouring rain outside, I finally decided to let go with a sense of relief.

Somehow, he no longer heard what I said, saw what I did, or cared about my feelings. It felt like we had run out of things to say.

The phone rang and Roland's impatient voice came through.

"Why aren’t you home yet? If you don’t come back soon, I’ll lock the door!"

I sighed and that inexplicable sense of exhaustion surfaced again.

“Roland, you were supposed to have dinner with my parents today…”

I heard his breath on the other end of the line seem to lighten and after a long pause, his cautious voice came through.

“So, what about your parents now?”

Before I could respond, he abruptly added, “Selena, hold on a moment. I have an important call coming in. I'll call you back later, okay?”

He seemed very urgent and before I could respond, he hastily hung up the phone. I no longer wanted to question whether he really had a call or if it was just an excuse to avoid me.

Looking at my phone with no battery, I walked into the rain, letting it soak my high-fashion dress and drench the elaborate hairstyle I had spent five hours on, making it stick to my forehead.

I suddenly recalled the year I graduated from college when Roland and I waited for the bus in the rain to save on taxi fare. At that time, he tilted the only umbrella we had completely over my head.

That night, as he came home soaked and with a fever, sneezing while daydreaming, he said,

“In the future, when we have money, I’ll definitely buy a car to pick you up in the wind and rain, so you won’t have to get wet again.”

Unable to tell if it was the rain or tears, my vision began to blur.

A taxi pulled up beside me and the driver, a woman, called out, “Hey, get in! I won’t charge you for this ride!”

The driver was a chatty woman who tried hard to make conversation with me. Before I could pay and get out of the car, she called out to me again.

“Hey, there’s no difficulty that can’t be overcome. Money can be earned back and you can find another man. Don’t ever put yourself through this.”

I suddenly realized that her kind words were meant to prevent me from feeling hopeless. I waved my hand in gratitude.

Yes, from now on, I would not allow myself to suffer.

Before going to bed, I checked my phone and Lysandra, Roland’s "first love," had updated something on her social media.

“The princess just couldn’t sleep, so her prince came over to lull her to sleep.”

In the video, Roland’s profile could be seen as he gently hummed a pleasant tune. He had a beautiful voice and sang very well.

When I was feeling down, I once insisted that he sing a song for me. I remembered his response. “I’m not a singer, if you want to hear a song, just search online.”

Looking back on our seven years together, Roland's patience with me was indeed quite limited. I blocked both Lysandra and Roland, as a way of wishing them a matching pair in my own unique manner.

When I woke up the next morning, Roland was asleep beside me. Perhaps it was a change in perspective, but the profile that once fascinated me now seemed rather bland.

I quickly got up, washed up and ran downstairs to buy breakfast. By the time Roland woke up, my breakfast time was nearing its end.

He sat at the table, waiting for me to bring the prepared breakfast to him like many mornings before. But instead, I went straight to the sink to wash the dishes and walked past him.

“Where’s my breakfast?”

I turned to look at him, my expression neutral. “From today on, let's each get our own breakfast. Besides, you always said the breakfast I made didn't suit your taste.”

Roland was very picky about food. To take good care of him, I used to get up early and make a variety of nutritious foods. But he always frowned, either complaining it was too hot or tasteless. Now that I'd figured it out, wouldn't it be better to use that time to sleep a bit longer or go for a morning run?

I expected him to be angry, but instead, he stayed silent for a moment and then grabbed my arm. “Selena, I was just too busy with work yesterday and genuinely forgot about the dinner with your parents...”

Even now, he was still lying and making excuses, but I was too tired to continue deceiving myself and playing dumb to go along with his poor performance.

“Was it really because of work?”

My words seemed to hit his nerve.

"Selena, what do you mean? You don't believe me? Then what do you think I was doing?"

He was about to continue, but I impatiently pulled up the screenshot of Lysandra's social media post from yesterday. "Did you really think I wouldn't recognize you just because your face wasn't showing?"

Roland had a red mole on the back of his right hand and I had one in the same spot on my left hand. I once took pride in this, believing we were a perfect match.

Roland's self-righteous attitude instantly deflated. "Yesterday was Lysandra's birthday. She doesn't have many friends in this city, so I just went to celebrate her birthday. Last night, I was going to pick you up, but Lysandra suddenly called and said there might have been a burglar at her place..."

I pulled my arm out of his grasp and nodded indifferently. "Yes, that makes sense."

He was stunned, a hint of surprise flickering in his eyes. He had probably prepared words to deal with my crying and complaining, but I didn't react as he expected.

“It’s my fault. I didn't manage my time well. I'll definitely accompany you to see your parents this weekend.”

I casually applied some lipstick and replied, “We’ll see.”

His expression softened and with a bit of awkwardness, he apologized and said, “I have a class reunion today. Why don't you come along?”

In the past, I would have happily agreed, then put on makeup and dressed up to go with him. I always thought that loving someone meant integrating into their circle.

He used to be very against it and never took me to his friends' gatherings. I once threw a tantrum over it, but he said, “What would you do there? You don’t know them.”

But more than once, I saw on Lysandra’s social media that he took her to his friends’ gatherings.

“No, I don't know them! Besides, our company has a team-building event today.”

I used to long to be with him every moment I had free time, so much so that I rarely attended company team-building activities over the years.

Once, my world revolved only around him, while his world included games, sports, friends and his "first love" Lysandra.

Now, I want to step out of that closed-off world and see the wonders outside.

After repeatedly and humbly seeking reconciliation, all met with my casual refusals, Roland's patience finally ran out. "Go if you want, I don't care!"

He slammed the door and left, while I leisurely changed into a beautiful dress. I felt particularly good after no longer caring about his mood. But I didn't expect the company team-building event and their gathering to be at the same place.

After finishing in the bathroom, I happened to pass by a private room. To my surprise, I saw Roland inside. His close friends were teasing him. "Roland, why isn't your girl blowing up your phone with calls and messages this time? Did you two have a fight?"

Roland had a sensitive stomach, but his group of friends always liked to push him to drink. Because of this, whenever he went out, I would often remind him to drink less. "So what if we had a fight? She's almost thirty, not eighteen or nineteen. Does she even dare to break up with me?" he retorted.

The people around him joined in the teasing, “Yeah, she’s almost an old woman now. Who would want her if she left you?”

“Roland, you’re just too responsible. Otherwise, you’d have kicked her out and been with Lysandra already.”

Roland rubbed his temples, clearly frustrated. “She’s hinted and suggested marriage many times already, it’s annoying…”

It turned out he wasn’t unaware of my desire to get married, he was just pretending not to know and avoiding the topic of marriage. I shook my head, intending to leave, when I heard Lysandra's voice behind me.

“Selena, you’ve followed us all the way here? Aren’t you being a bit too clingy with Roland?”

As she spoke, she pushed open the door to the private room and everyone inside turned to look at me in unison.

Roland’s friends exchanged glances as if saying, “Look, she’s followed us here again!”

Roland’s expression was inscrutable, leaning casually on the sofa with an air of confidence.

“You were so aloof this morning, saying you wouldn’t come, but it turns out you were secretly stalking us! Since you’re here, come in and greet everyone properly. What’s with the timid and petty attitude?”

I didn’t want to respond, but suddenly I remembered some past grudges. I had to get back at them today.

After Lysandra returned, she loudly announced that everyone should start playing games, with the loser having to drink as punishment. I knew she was deliberately trying to ignore me and make me uncomfortable, but I continued browsing my phone while keeping an eye on their activities. I was quite content despite her efforts.

Suddenly, there was another burst of noise from their side. Lysandra had lost. She leaned half against Roland, rubbing her temples. “Roland, I’m feeling dizzy and it seems like I’ve had too much to drink. Could you help me?”

Roland must have drunk quite a bit himself. Hearing Lysandra’s words, he frowned as he looked at the row of drinks in front of him.

The scene before me was reminiscent of a welcome party for Lysandra a year ago. That day was my birthday, but Roland, unusually, wasn’t to be found all day. Late at night, I received a call from an unknown number, which turned out to be Lysandra saying that Roland was drunk and asking me to pick him up. When I hurried to the private room, they were all laughing heartily. It turned out that Lysandra had lost at a game of Truth or Dare and had deliberately set me up. I was immediately infuriated and ready to leave when Roland leaned in and warned me, "Selena, everyone here is my friend. Don’t embarrass me!"

At that time, I still loved him deeply and sat back down despite my grievances. Just like tonight, when Lysandra lost and was punished with alcohol, she turned to Roland for help, even though he had already drunk quite a bit.

Knowing Roland had a sensitive stomach, I felt sorry for him. Under his weak pleas and coaxing, I ended up drinking the alcohol for him. Unfortunately, his friends seemed to get even more into the game. Roland, as if cursed, kept losing and in the end, I ended up in the hospital.

Instead of appreciating my sacrifice, he felt that my hospitalization ruined their fun and was annoyed.

"Selena, you see how uncomfortable Roland is. You’re the one who can drink the most, so come on, help him out!" Lysandra's words were filled with a sense of entitlement. "Roland, tell her to come over. She listens to you the most..."

Roland looked at me with a detached expression and casually waved me over. "I’m feeling unwell, so you should drink for me."

Finally, the moment I had been waiting for had arrived. I curled my lips into a smile and walked toward them with a beaming expression.