I returned to my apartment and pulled out the wedding suit I had tailored for Dylan. In a fit of rage, I tore it to shreds.

Then I opened the closet and gathered all the jewelry Dylan had given me over the years.

Logging onto a second-hand trading website, I listed everything for sale.

Within hours, the items were sold one after another. I donated all the proceeds to the orphanage where I had lived as a child.

My friend Olivia called shortly after, her voice filled with gratitude. “Lydia, thank you for your donation. It’s truly a lifesaver.”

“No need to thank me,” I replied calmly. “It’s all money from a scumbag, so I spent it with a clear conscience.”

The sum was insignificant compared to Dylan’s extravagant lifestyle, but for the orphanage, it could provide the children with a brighter future.

A bitter smile crossed my face as I wrestled with mixed emotions.

“Did you and Dylan... fight again?” Olivia asked cautiously.

“We broke up.”

“You’ve broken up a hundred times before.”

“This time, it’s real.”

“Alright, if you say so,” Olivia said, clearly unconvinced. Then, she changed the subject. “By the way, I want to invite you to my wedding.”

“Wedding?” I paused. “With who? The new boyfriend from three months ago?”

“Yeah, him. We’re holding it at the orphanage. Can you come?”

Without hesitation, I agreed. “Of course.”

It was ironic. I had been with Dylan for seven years and even planned to propose to him, yet we never made it to marriage. Meanwhile, Olivia and her boyfriend of three months were tying the knot.

After hanging up, I immediately booked a ticket and flew to the city where I had spent 18 years of my life.

On the wedding day, the orphanage was decorated warmly and beautifully.

There was no luxurious venue or extravagant setup, but the 30 children served as flower girls and boys, along with their innocent singing, filling the hall with pure and heartfelt joy.

When the groom appeared, the best man beside him instantly caught my attention.

His face seemed familiar, yet I couldn’t quite be sure.

“That best man is so handsome!” I overheard several women whispering nearby.

“Who is he?”

“He’s Ethan, the founder of a successful tech company who grew up at this orphanage. His story is super inspiring—he’s gone viral online!”

My heart skipped a beat—it really was him!

But he was nothing like the lanky boy I remembered. Now, Ethan stood tall and confident, exuding charisma and commanding attention wherever he went.

“Hi, Lydia. Long time no see.” Ethan approached me after a while.

“Hi, Ethan.” I smiled at him, surprised he still remembered me.

At that moment, Olivia tossed her bouquet into the air. It landed right between Ethan and me.

Ethan effortlessly caught it and handed it to me. “They say the person who catches the bouquet at a wedding will have a happy marriage.”

I waved my hand with a bitter smile. “You should keep it. I’m not cut out for marriage.”

Ethan looked at me with a complicated expression. He opened his mouth as if to say something but decided against it.

During the wedding banquet, Olivia’s husband shared their story:

“We had only known each other for three months when I proposed. Many people said it was too rushed, but from the day I met her, I knew she was the one I wanted to spend my life with.”

Listening to his words, I couldn’t help but mock myself.

Yes, if it’s true love, why would it take seven years?

And why would a woman need to propose?

I took a sip of wine, trying to suppress the bitterness rising inside me.

After the party, I stood by the roadside trying to hail a cab, but not a single car stopped.

A light rain began to fall, and a passing car splashed water all over me. I stood there, drenched and disheveled, tears stinging my eyes.

Just then, Ethan walked over, holding an umbrella.

“Need a ride home?” he asked.

Ethan drove me back to the hotel.

On the way, he started reminiscing about our childhood.

“Do you remember that time when you tried to save a stray cat from the sewer and almost fell in yourself?”

“Of course I remember! Then you hid the cat under your shirt and brought it back, only to get scolded.”

“And there was another time we snuck out at night to catch fireflies and ended up being punished to clean the toilets the next day.”

“It seems like we always got into trouble together.”

“No, it was always you causing trouble, and I had to take the blame for it. I’ve never met a little girl as mischievous as you were.” He giggled.

“Hahaha... Well, I’ll treat you to a meal sometime to make up for it,” I said with a grin.

“Deal!”

The atmosphere in the car grew lighter and more cheerful.

It felt like riding a time machine, traveling through the rain back to my childhood, leaving behind the tears and heartbreak of the past few days.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the hotel.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and thanked him, “Thanks for driving me back tonight.”

Ethan turned to look at me. “No need to thank me. Talking with you has been fun.”

His gaze lingered on me, carrying a hint of melancholy.

As I opened the car door to leave, I hesitated for a moment.

“Do you want to come up to my room for a cup of coffee?”

“Sure!” he replied without hesitation.

At the hotel elevator, we both reached to press the button simultaneously, and our hands touched.

I flinched as though shocked, but he grabbed my hand tightly instead.

Dylan’s words from a few days ago flashed through my mind, and I stopped resisting.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Ethan pinned me against the wall and kissed me fiercely.

Once inside the room, Ethan suddenly seemed to snap out of it.

He let go of me and said, “Sorry, I got carried away. I shouldn’t have forced you.”

“You didn’t force me.” I tugged on his tie, stood on tiptoe, and whispered in his ear.

“This time, you might be causing trouble again,” he said with a grin before sweeping me off my feet and tossing me onto the bed.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or my desire to take revenge on Dylan, or I just needed someone to fill the emptiness inside me.

I unleashed all my pent-up frustration on Ethan, leaving marks all over his body.

He didn’t hold back either, making the night feel like our last.

***

Seven days later, Dylan’s assistant called me.

“Lydia, when are you coming back? The project you’re responsible for is already delayed.”

“Didn’t I resign? I submitted my resignation email last week. Did Dylan not see it? Should I send it again?”

“Who approved your resignation?!” Dylan’s angry voice came through the phone. “You’ve got to stop being so reckless! Do you have any idea how much damage your behavior has caused the company?”

“Oh? Really? I had no idea a regular designer with a monthly salary of 5,000 could be so critical to the company,” I replied and hung up the phone.

I was initially a children’s book illustrator, but I joined Dylan’s advertising company three years ago because I loved him.

“You just need to spend more time with me. You don’t have to work too hard. Your salary isn’t even enough for me to buy you a bag,” Dlyan had said then.

I agreed, thinking this would give us more time together and make us closer.

I didn’t realize it would only speed up his growing indifference toward me.

I blocked Dylan’s and his assistant’s numbers.

This time, it was a clean break.

Just after I hung up on Dylan, my phone chimed with Ethan’s name on the screen.

“Lydia, didn’t you say you’d treat me to dinner?”

“Sorry, I… I picked up some freelance work and have been busy rushing to finish illustrations,” I stammered on the phone.

“No matter how busy you are, you still need to eat dinner, right? Are you free tonight?”

“Sure. What do you like? I’ll make a reservation!”

“I’ve already taken care of it. Just show up tonight.”

“Alright, then… see you tonight.”

I hurriedly ended the call, my cheeks burning.

The wild scenes from that night flashed through my mind. Even now, closing my eyes, I could still smell the scent of Ethan’s cologne.

I didn’t know how to face him since we lost control that night. That’s why I hadn’t reached out.

What exactly was my relationship with Ethan now?

A mistake?

Friends with benefits?

I shook my head, telling myself not to overthink it for now.

Ethan is very handsome and humorous. When I’m with him, I feel relaxed and happy—that’s enough, isn’t it?

As for the kind of everlasting, passionate love, I shouldn’t dare to hope for that anymore.

Following the address he gave me, I arrived at the restaurant.

When the taxi stopped outside, my eyes turned teary.

Does he still remember?

A few years ago, when he received an acceptance letter from the nation’s top university, I worked part-time at a café for two months to treat him to this sushi restaurant.

“You said you didn’t like sushi, didn’t you?” I asked as I sat down.

“But you do.”

“And it’s not that I didn’t like it. It’s just that there were a lot of things—and you know—I couldn’t afford to like back then,” he said with a smile.

I caught the deeper meaning behind his words but didn’t know how to respond. Lowering my head, I stuffed a piece of salmon into my mouth.

He placed a peeled shrimp on my plate, then another.

“Thanks, you’re so thoughtful! No wonder your ex-girlfriend couldn’t get over you,” I joked.

Not like me, who was stuck in a seven-year, on-and-off relationship with Dylan.

In the first year, when he was pursuing me, Dylan treated me like a treasure. But as time passed, I became more like a housekeeper.

I spent more time cooking for Dylan than illustrating books.

Now, I realize I loved Dylan so much that I lost myself in him. How could I expect his love for me not to fade?

“How do you know about my ex-girlfriend?” Ethan interrupted my thoughts.

“Oh, I heard it from Olivia.”

I wasn’t about to tell Ethan that I had secretly looked up a ton of news about him online two days ago.

“I was only with her for six months, and we broke up a year ago,” he said, eager to clarify something. “I’ve been single for a year now…”

“I didn’t even ask,” I teased, amused by his serious tone.

That night, he took me to his home.

"You’re the first woman to ever come to my house," he emphasized.

His apartment wasn’t very big, and the decor was simple—nothing like what you’d expect from the home of a successful, wealthy businessman.

After I had showered, he carried me from the bathroom to the bed.

This time, he was gentle.

He blow-dried my hair, his fingers tracing my neck, sending tingling sensations down my spine.

Then he gently nibbled on my earlobe, kissing his way downward.

“Ethan…” I murmured his name.

“I love it when you say my name…”

Just as I was sinking into Ethan’s touch and kisses, the sharp ring of my phone broke the moment.

I reached for my phone on the bedside table and declined the call.

But the phone rang again. Irritated, I was about to turn it off when a gruesome photo popped up on the screen with a single message:

“Lydia, please, come back! Dylan met with an accident.”