Aiden's POV

Bridget didn't say anything. Daryl kept his head down the whole time too, and the tension kept rising in the private room.

My phone rang just then. While making my way out to the washroom to answer it, I heard the people in the room whispering to each other.

The moment I stepped out and closed the door behind me, the tension inside the room melted away, and they began getting rowdy and excited once again.

"Alright, let's play blackjack poker this time! Daryl, you start first. Everyone, get into your own groups!"

Daryl then asked quietly, "Bridget? Have you taken your cards yet?"

"Yeah, hurry up. It's your turn."

I leaned against the door for a bit, trying to swallow the bitterness rising in my throat.

On the phone was the HR manager, Sarah Singleton, and she was repeating her question to me.

"Are you sure that you want to resign? But weren't you in line for the internal promotion to department manager next month?"

I shut my eyes and listened to the loud cheering in the room, congratulating Daryl and Bridget for winning the round, and sighed.

"Yeah. I'm sure."

Sarah thought that it was a huge pity, but she still went through the relevant steps and procedures with me for the handover process.

When I finally walked out of the bathroom and returned to the room, I realized that it was all empty.

A waiter was clearing up the mess left behind. He was also very surprised to see me.

"Sir? Didn't you come with these people earlier? Ms. Ellison said that they were going to the beach nearby for a barbecue supper. They've already paid up and left."

I slowly unclenched my fists and sighed softly.

Bridget had forgotten about me again.

…

Since it was so late at night, I stood by the roadside, waiting for a long time before an Uber was willing to come and pick me up.

When I arrived home, Bridget suddenly called me. As soon as I answered the call, her loud, angry voice cut through the silence.

"Why the hell didn't you get into the car? Are you seriously throwing a huge fit like this just because Daryl drank a few sips of the peach frappe? Didn't you know that I was looking everywhere for you?"

I changed out of my shoes into my indoor slippers and replied calmly, "I was still in the washroom on a phone call earlier when you all left without me."

There were a few seconds of silence on the phone. When Bridget spoke again, her voice still sounded tight and angry.

"What the hell was that phone call for? Why did you take such a damn long time anyway?"

So, she still thought it was my fault.

A short pause later, she continued and said, "We're staying out here at the beach until sunrise. Just make do and get an Uber home by yourself."

Then, she hung up on me without even waiting for my reply.

I stared blankly at my phone screen wallpaper of me and her in our graduation gowns, posing for the photo.

She never let me "make do" while she was still pursuing me in college. When we ate together, it had to be at a place that I liked. When we went shopping together, she had to buy me clothes that suited me.

She also made sure to plan for my birthday at least two months in advance.

Bridget was the top student in the entire college, and she was also known for her extremely good memory.

If I just mentioned briefly that I like corn cheese burritos for breakfast, she would immediately buy it for my breakfast the next day.

If I randomly brought up that I felt like some Diet Coke but forgot about it later, she would buy me a bottle and even untwist the cap for me before handing it over while wiping off the sweat on her face, saying that she got me a bottle that was room temperature and wouldn't hurt my stomach.

I used to have some stomach issues in the past and couldn't take any cold drinks then, and she remembered it.

When graduating from college, I said that our rented graduation gowns looked very nice, so she bought a replica straightaway and said that we could wear them again when we had our wedding photos taken next time.

However, just last month, she found the gowns in a box and thought that they were our rented ones that we forgot to return, so she tossed them out because she thought they were taking up too much space.

Instead, they were quickly replaced with a box of neatly folded shirts, watches, and soccer player posters. Bridget told me that there were still a couple of months until Daryl's birthday, and she wanted to keep his birthday gifts for him here until then.

I nodded after staring at her blankly for a long while.

It was true that she had a very good memory. All the things inside the box were indeed Daryl's favorite items. She could remember everything about Daryl for life, it seemed. However, I was just a passerby in her life, someone she could just keep in her memories for a short while before I was kicked out.

…

Bridget and Daryl returned the next day at noon with huge smiles on their faces.

"Do you remember how we used to skip classes in high school just to get to that barbecue joint by the beach? You even tore your pants while scaling the school wall and had to lie to our homeroom teacher that a wildcat scratched you instead."

Daryl chuckled and nudged Bridget on the shoulder. "You still have the nerve to bring that up! It only happened because you had been pestering me for days to take you to that barbecue joint. I wouldn't have had to scale any walls otherwise!"

Bridget just stuck her tongue out at him before doubling over in laughter once again.

When Daryl turned around and saw me there, he smiled even more deeply and said, "It's such a pity that you couldn't come with us, Aiden. That beach barbecue was really one of the best ones I've ever had in my life."

I nodded at him before turning to look at Bridget.

"I've got something to tell you."

"Later. Look, Daryl purposely learned how to brew this at a cafe on the way back. He made two. This is yours."

She then stuffed a plastic takeout cup into my hands. I only just realized that she was holding another cup of java chip frappe in her other hand, and it was already half gone.

"Try it, Aiden," Daryl said. "I made this peach frappe especially for you. I even added another serving of peach syrup. Go ahead and try it."

Aiden's POV

Daryl deliberately emphasized the word "peach" every time he said it.

I just put the drink on the table and said, "Thank you, but you can both have it instead."

Daryl let out a disappointed "Oh," and lowered his head. "But Aiden, I'm really not contagious or anything."

Bridget frowned. She dragged me out to the balcony and warned me in a low voice, "What the hell is wrong with you? Daryl personally made that drink for you. You're going to embarrass him if you don't take it."

I met her gaze.

"I can't drink peach—"

"Why not? You've always liked peach frappes, haven't you? You're just doing this to Daryl on purpose, aren't you?"

I suddenly realized how ridiculous it all was.

I had already told her about my peach allergy the same year I met her. Even inhaling peach fuzz would cause a reaction in my airways, so consuming anything with peaches would be even more disastrous for me.

When had she begun thinking that I liked peach frappes in the first place?

When she saw that I wasn't responding to her question, she sighed heavily and said, "Are you still mad because I forgot your coffee earlier? Or is it because Daryl drank your peach frappe?

"Why are you being so sensitive lately? Daryl and I are just ordinary friends. What's the point of you being jealous of him?"

She suddenly realized that my blazer I'd hung out to dry on the balcony was missing. She thought that I had taken it in to wear it the next day to work, so she softened her tone and tugged on my wrist.

"Alright, don't be mad anymore. You're going to be promoted to a managerial position soon. And managers aren't as petty as you are right now.

"Once this busy season is over, I'll take you to Grand Sky Dining next month for a romantic dinner, alright? It'll be just the two of us."

I drew my lips in a straight line and pulled my hand out of her grasp.

She was stunned and subconsciously took a step forward.

Daryl suddenly began walking toward the door with red-rimmed eyes.

"I'm sorry, Aiden. I won't make coffee for you anymore. Please don't fight just because of me."

Then, he turned and practically ran out of the apartment.

Bridget's face turned dark at once. "Happy now?"

She grabbed her jacket and wanted to run out after Daryl, but I stopped her.

"Do you still remember when my birthday is, Bridget?"

She was already halfway out the door when she heard my question. However, she hesitated at the door and responded, "When was it again? I've been really busy lately and—"

"It was yesterday."

I hadn't wanted to go with her to her friends' gathering yesterday, but I misunderstood her, thinking that she had been planning to celebrate my birthday with her friends.

Bridget stiffened at the door, a flash of guilt appearing in her eyes. However, it only appeared for a fraction of a second. She still rushed out of the door toward the elevator when she heard it ding.

"Stay at home and wait for me! I'll go and get you a cake and make it up to you!"

The door shut after her, and everything was quiet once more.

I finally unclenched my right fist that had already turned ice-cold.

She still hadn't come home by 8:00 pm later that day. She just called me, sounding very excited on the phone.

"It was such a coincidence! Daryl just told me that he missed our high school teacher, and as it turned out, our teacher happened to be in our city on a business trip! I've already called my other friends to meet up. I won't be back for dinner anymore!"

I stared at the dinner I'd already prepared on the table. The food had already gone cold by now. Even the cream on the ice cream cake had begun melting into a weird gloop.

"But you said—"

She then hung up on me and texted me instead.

"It's just too noisy here. I'll be back after dinner. Go to bed early tonight and rest well."

My fingers froze on the phone screen. I just didn't have the strength to reply to her text anymore.

A short while later, I saw that Daryl had posted on his Instagram stories. The first one was a video of Bridget serving him some food from a buffet table.

He said, "Wow, it's been years, and I can't believe you still remember my favorite dishes."

Bridget replied, "Of course I still remember everything about you! How could I ever forget?"

I shut my eyes and felt my phone vibrating again. This time, it was an email.

"Good day, Mr. Aiden Rossario. Congratulations on your new position at our company. Kindly report to the office in two days at 8:00 am to complete your onboarding procedures. Thank you."

I got up and threw the cold dinner into the trash, including the cake I'd bought. I'd guessed that she would buy the wrong type of cake, so I had gone through the trouble to buy it myself.

But now, the cream and frosting had completely melted, and the "Happy Birthday" written on the cake had already smudged into a horrible, ugly mess.

The cake couldn't wait for her anymore.

I didn't want to wait for her anymore either.

…

It was dawn by the time Bridget finally came home.

"You're still up?" she asked. "Sorry, I forgot to buy the cake for you. But this is one that Daryl bought for you as his way of apologizing to you."

I didn't even need to turn around and look to know that it was a peach mille-feuille cake he'd bought.

"You can have it instead."

"Aiden Rosario! Are you done with your stupid tantrum? Don't you know that Daryl—"

"I'm allergic to peaches."

Aiden's POV

Bridget, standing behind me, froze at once.

"Since when?"

"Since birth."

She then raised her voice at me and spoke sharply. "Then why didn't you say so earlier? Don't you know that Daryl purposely bought this cake for you? And now you've gone and wasted his good intentions!"

I turned around and saw her holding the cake and a fork in her hands. My face was dark, and she could immediately tell that I was annoyed, so she softened her tone with me.

However, her words were still condescending toward me, and she sounded helpless as she said, "Fine, fine. We won't buy anything peach-related for you anymore next time. Are you happy now?"

She then sighed long and hard afterward, as if she were the one being charitable to me and I should be thankful to her for her compromise and know when to stop.

From the very start, she still thought that I was simply throwing a temper tantrum and that things would all blow over if she just played along with me this once.

I simply hummed and turned back around to put my documents into my bag.

She sat at the table, eating the peach cake, before suddenly looking up at me.

"Where are you going? Business trip?"

"Back to my hometown."

She nodded. "I guess you haven't gone home for a long time. It's good to go back for a visit once in a while.

"By the way, Daryl said that the yogurt candy from your hometown is really good. He's also a huge fan of the local hot sauce there. Remember to bring some back as souvenirs for him.

"And make sure you read the label on the hot sauce before bringing any back. He's allergic to nuts."

I didn't respond, and she just took my silence as a yes. She then got up and dug in her snack drawer, brought out a small pack, and handed it to me.

"Eat this on the way back. Don't starve to death."

The pack she gave me was actually a small ziplock bag. There was a pack of opened, half-eaten Oreos and half a bar of chocolate.

Daryl had come over to spend the day at our apartment a few days ago, and she'd bought him hundreds of dollars worth of snacks and chips to munch on, and this was all that was left over.

I didn't take it from her and circled around her instead, grabbing some wet wipes and stuffing them into my bag.

Bridget's tone turned icy. "Are you seriously still mad? You already got the cake. And I've already apologized to you. What more do you want from me?

"Fine. It's good that you're going home. You need a few days to cool off. Once you're back, we will have a proper talk in Grand Sky Dining. Daryl's already booked a table for us next week."

I shook my head, my back still turned toward her.

"No, thanks. I'm scared of heights."

A split second later, she grabbed me harshly by the arm and forced me to look into her eyes.

"And since when have you ever been afraid of heights? Aiden Rosario, do you even think of me as your girlfriend? Why the hell didn't you ever tell me about your peach allergy or your fear of heights?

"How could I possibly know if you never told me about them? And now, you still have the nerve to get mad at me for getting them wrong?"

I faced her anger head-on, looking into her eyes.

Back when we were still dating in college, she kept telling me that I was as easy to read as an open book. She said that she could easily tell what I was thinking, whether good or bad, with just a single look.

But now, she couldn't see anything about me either. She couldn't even remember a thing about me anymore.

The phone kept ringing on the table.

Bridget let go of me and went to answer her phone. Daryl's voice was loud and clear.

"So, how was the cake, Bridget? Is Aiden enjoying it? I bet you've both made up already, right?"

She just massaged her temples in frustration and said, "No. He said that he was allergic to peaches."

"Wait, what? I'm so sorry! I didn't know that he was allergic! You guys fought again, didn't you? It's all my fault…"

He sounded panicked as he kept apologizing on the phone over and over again. I glanced at Bridget's back and saw her inhale deeply.

"It's not your fault. He never told any of us about it, so he only has himself to blame."

Of course. It was my fault once again.

I crouched over to put on my shoes and tie up my shoelaces.

"Why are you so anxious about it? I already told you that it's not your fault. You had good intentions in the first place. Besides, even I had no idea that he was allergic to peaches. How could you have known either?"

I dragged my suitcase out. While she was still comforting Daryl on the other end of the line, I spoke up, saying, "When you took me to your friends' gathering three years ago, you were the one who told everyone that I was allergic to peaches and even warned them not to order anything with peaches in it.

"And when Francis wanted to spend his birthday bungee jumping, you were also the one who told him that I wouldn't be joining because I had a fear of heights. But I guess it now seems that Daryl remembered it more clearly than you ever did."

Bridget completely froze. Her lips trembled, but she couldn't say a single word.

I opened the door and dragged my suitcase out, wheeling it to the elevator doors.

"Bridget Ellison."

I turned to face the door, where she could still see me. She was still holding the phone in her hands, but it was so far from her ear that she couldn't hear anything that Daryl was saying.

"I'm not coming back anymore," I continued. "Let's break up."