At the party, Olivia wore a white dress, her long, dark hair cascading over her shoulders. She looked strikingly innocent and captivating.

Still, I pretended not to notice her and drank too much. But the more I tried to suppress my feelings, the stronger the ache inside me became.

Then, I heard from my roommate that Olivia had broken up with her well-off boyfriend. He had apparently cheated on her, and she had been devastated for a long time.

It felt as if I had suddenly awakened, a powerful impulse surging through me. I set the bottle down and rushed toward her. "Olivia, will you be my girlfriend?"

Maybe it was the liquid courage. Even though I knew she would probably reject me again, I didn't want to graduate with any regrets.

Olivia looked up at me and stayed silent for what felt like an eternity.

Just as I turned to leave, she rose to her feet and wrapped her arms around me. Before I could react, her lips pressed softly against mine. I swore it was the happiest moment of my life.

And just like that, Olivia made our relationship public. But I soon realized it wasn't as pure as I had imagined.

Her childhood friend, Aiden, was always by her side. No matter what we did, she brought him along, whether it was dinner, a movie, or even a date.

I didn't like it and brought it up several times. However, all I got in return was an icy look.

"If you don't like it, then we can break up. I don't want my boyfriend to be so selfish and petty!" Olivia snapped. "Aiden and I have been best friends since we were kids. If you can't accept that, there's really no point in us being together."

I was terrified of losing her, so I tolerated it again and again.

If Aiden said he was hungry, Olivia would rush to cook for him. Yet, in the five years we had been together, I had never once tasted a meal made by her.

When Aiden's birthday came, she would thoughtfully prepare a gift for him. But she didn't even remember my birthday.

Sometimes I wondered if that kiss had been a joke. Maybe Olivia had simply had too much to drink that day.

I turned a blind eye to everything she did, thinking my love could move her. After all, I truly loved her.

And now, she had even forgotten our wedding. Instead, she had posted close-up photos with Aiden, her so-called friend, on Instagram and stayed out all night, ignoring my calls.

That was when I finally realized this one-sided relationship had to end. Olivia never loved me.

…

Since I had canceled the wedding, the hotel demanded full payment. After paying more than 20 thousand dollars for the wedding bar tab, I returned home.

Looking at the spacious apartment, I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

Every corner of the place had been decorated to Olivia's liking. The pink color scheme wasn't to my taste, but if it made her happy, that was enough.

I had imagined countless times the happy life we would have after the wedding. But in the end, it all dissolved into nothing.

I collapsed onto the couch, staring blankly at the ceiling.

I had lost track of time when the phone in my pocket rang. I knew it had to be Olivia.

Even when my phone was on silent, her calls still got through. Habits had a hold on me, and I answered almost instantly.

As soon as I picked up, her languid voice came through. It carried a hint of guilt, but her excitement was impossible to hide.

"Hey, babe, I'm sorry. I got carried away with my friends last night and drank too much. You're not mad at me, are you?"

That was the tone Olivia always used after she did something wrong. And whenever she spoke in that soft, coaxing tone, my anger would vanish without a trace.

"Of course not," I replied coldly.

It was the response of someone utterly disappointed. I realized there was no point in getting angry anymore.

But Olivia didn't seem to notice anything amiss. Instead, she launched straight into her latest ideas. "Babe, thank you for being so understanding. I think we still need to refine some of the wedding details."

She went on, "Aiden said we could do a helicopter bouquet drop. It wouldn't just make you look good—it would make us both look good in front of everyone.

"Also, he said my custom wedding gown doesn't show off my figure well enough. Since the wedding's been postponed, maybe we should switch to another one?"

Olivia babbled on and on over the phone. Her ideas were completely ridiculous, and every other sentence revolved around Aiden.

A helicopter bouquet drop? Swapping out a custom wedding gown just like that?

I almost laughed at those ideas. If none of this had happened, I probably would've let her lead me by the nose.

But now, it all just felt ridiculous.

Right then, a man's voice drifted through from the other end of the line. It was soft, but I could still tell it was Aiden.

From their hushed conversation, I gathered that neither of them had eaten yet and that they were about to head out for a meal. It even sounded like Aiden was blaming me for holding them up.

The next second, he snatched the phone away and snapped, "Nathaniel, Olivia's hungry. We're going to get something to eat, so we're hanging up now."

Just like that, the call was cut off, leaving only the dial tone humming in my ear. It was obvious Aiden didn't take me seriously at all.

…

Olivia and Aiden went to the most famous Fleurian restaurant in the city.

Ever since I started dating Olivia, most of my income had gone to her. She said she didn't want to work because she hated office politics. So, I agreed.

If she didn't like it, she didn't have to work. She just had to do whatever made her happy. After all, I made enough to support her.

Olivia loved designer handbags and cosmetics, buying new ones every single month. But I never interfered. If anything, the more she spent, the more driven I felt to earn money.

My friends had warned me before, telling me to slow down. They said that no woman who wanted to settle down would spend her days obsessing over designer goods. Yet, I hadn't listened.

Sometimes, I tried to be romantic and would take her out for a fancy Fleurian meal. But each time, she'd complain.

"Nathaniel, can you be a little more practical? We've been together for so long. There's no need for all that flashy stuff. It's just a waste of money."

At the time, I thought she had changed. I never imagined she would go with Aiden instead. On top of that, she even took out my card and offered to pay for both of them.

As it turned out, it wasn't that she didn't want Fleurian food. She just didn't want to eat it with me.

Soon enough, it was time to pay.

Olivia called me again. "What's going on, babe? The restaurant says this card won't go through. They said it's been frozen."

After settling the hotel bill, I had frozen the card. I no longer wanted to give my heart to someone who didn't deserve it.

"What's wrong with this bank anyway? How can they just freeze a card like that?" Olivia grumbled. "I'm definitely filing a complaint later. Now, I can't even pay the bill. Babe, send me some money, will you? Everyone's watching. This is humiliating!"

Whenever she went out with Aiden, she was almost always the one who paid.

He was nothing more than a real estate agent, and he didn't even have a fixed income. All he had besides his looks was a way with words. And Olivia was utterly fooled by his smooth talk.

After listening to her long list of complaints, I simply said flatly, "I froze the card."