I was finally able to spend some time with my best friends and catch up with them.

"I thought you ditched us for your boyfriend. Don't you dare refuse to hang out with us again. We're way more important than some guy, you know," one of my friends complained before we parted ways.

I nodded in agreement. "Don't worry. From now on, I'll make sure to be at every get-together as long as I have time to spare."

After I got into a relationship with Zeke, I directed all my focus and attention toward him. By prioritizing him in all aspects of my life, I lost my friends and my social life.

In hindsight, I realized it was an extremely foolish decision.

I checked my phone and realized that Zeke had transferred the money back to me.

By the time I reached home, it was 3:00 am.

After turning on the lights, I was surprised to find Zeke sitting on the couch. I was so stunned that I had to do a double take.

Despite noticing that I was drunk, he didn't bother lending me a helping hand to keep me from tripping over my own feet. Instead, he merely scowled at me with a disappointed look on his face.

"Can you get a grip on yourself? If you're jealous, just admit it.

"As a woman in a long-term relationship, do you think it's appropriate for you to come home wasted at 3:00 am in the morning?" he spat with disdain.

I felt incredibly dizzy. I placed a hand on the wall to balance myself as I slowly stumbled toward the couch and sat down.

When Zeke smelled the alcohol on my body, he furrowed his brow ever so slightly. "Didn't I tell you I didn't like those friends of yours? Were you out partying with them again?

"Unlike what you think, Scarlett and I are just friends. You didn't need to drink so much alcohol because of her."

Propping my head up with my hand, I snapped irritably, "You're reading too much into things. I just had a couple more drinks than usual because I had a great time with my friends."

My actions angered him.

"That's enough. I've tried to make things less awkward for you. What more could you possibly want?

"I'm warning you—stop testing my patience. I'm not a saint, Joanna. I can't always be the one compromising so you can get your way."

My head was throbbing, and hearing his voice was making my headache worse. I rubbed my temples and said, "Are you done? I'd like to head to bed now."

Upon noticing this, Zeke took a deep breath. Then, he calmed himself down and got up to try and walk me to the bedroom.

With whatever was left of my rationality, I moved away from him. Subsequently, I staggered into the guest room and locked the door behind me, ignoring Zeke, who was knocking on the bedroom door.

That night, I fell into a deep sleep. I felt like I slept more soundly than I usually did.

…

When I woke up the next morning, Zeke was sitting on the couch. His expression was dark, and he wasn't speaking to me at all. It was clear he was angry at me.

I didn't try to cheer him up. Instead, I brushed my teeth, washed up, and left the house.

I headed toward the dance company and handed in my resignation.

Previously, I'd decided to join this particular company because it was located near my home. Hence, it made it easier for me to tend to Zeke's needs.

Now, I no longer had a reason to stay.

My colleagues asked me to reconsider my resignation multiple times, but I was adamant about my decision.

I submitted my résumé to a dance company overseas, and I finally received a reply last week. They'd decided to hire me.

Joining that dance company had been my dream since I was younger, but I'd turned down the opportunity prior to this because of Zeke. Fortunately, it was not too late for me to pursue my dream now.

After I resigned, I called my best friend when I was in the middle of the handover process and told her the good news.

Once she heard about my new job, she felt incredibly happy for me. Then, she fell silent for a brief moment before asking, "What about Zeke, then? Did he agree to the fact that you're leaving the country?"

I let out a small laugh. "No—and he doesn't need to know. I'm traveling alone this time."

After I finished handing over the remainder of my work, I went to prepare the things I needed in order to travel abroad.

My parents were divorced. Aside from my best friends, who I grew up with, Zeke was the only person I was close to in the entire country.

I used to think that home was wherever Zeke was. However, I didn't feel that way anymore. I felt like I no longer had a place to call home.

By the time I returned to my house, Zeke was getting ready to head out.

Zeke was wearing a suit and a dark green tie. He looked incredibly striking.

When I saw the birthday cake he was carrying, I realized what was going on.

It was Scarlett's birthday today. He was about to go celebrate with her.

"Okay, stop guessing. If I tell you what the present is, it won't be a surprise anymore. You'll just have to wait for me to get there. I'll be there soon," he said joyfully.

He was currently on the phone. I didn't know what Scarlett said on the other end, but it made him break out into a hearty laugh. His smile was so wide that I could even spot his canines.

He rarely smiled when he was with me.

Despite how happy he looked, he wiped the smile off of his face as soon as he caught me staring at him. He'd give Scarlett the world, but he wouldn't even spare me a small smile.

His expression instantly darkened. He turned away from me in a disgusted manner and didn't say a single word. Afterward, he swiftly changed into his shoes and left the house.

Zeke was going to give me the cold shoulder again. He'd done the same thing in the past, and it was always because of Scarlett.

Every time that happened, I'd do everything in my power to appease him. Even if he didn't reply to a single one of my texts, I'd still act warm and friendly toward him.

Instead of doing what I used to do, I searched up some recipes of foreign foods and practiced cooking them at home. I needed to start becoming accustomed to life overseas before I actually moved over there.

…

While I was lying on my bed, I came across Scarlett's most recent post on my social media app.

"Thank you for yet another birthday gift this year. Grateful to always have you by my side," she wrote.

"I feel so emotional. I'm so glad that you're happy, Scarlett," one of Zeke's male friends commented under her post.

I checked the likes and realized that all of Zeke's close friends had liked the post.

His friends had never respected me. In their opinion, I was just someone that got in between Zeke and Scarlett's relationship. According to them, Zeke would be much happier if I didn't exist.

I scrolled through Zeke's social media activity and realized that they were right.

"Happy birthday, my princess," Zeke commented.

I read through their online interactions emotionlessly.

One of his friends even replied to him and wrote, "I don't think you should be posting that. If Joanna sees that comment, she'll probably throw a huge fit. You know how petty she is."

Once, I gently reminded Zeke to keep his distance from Scarlett. After all, he was a man while she was a woman. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to interact with her so much when he had a girlfriend.

After his friends heard about the incident, they called me petty and narrow-minded. They even mocked me and said I was being too controlling. They claimed I was robbing him of his friendship with Scarlett.

When Zeke heard what his friends said to me, he implicitly agreed with them. On top of that, he even told me off and said I should be more generous as a woman.

Unlike what his friend claimed, I did not throw a huge fit. Instead, I exited the app and began to watch some videos online instead. Afterward, I ended up falling asleep on the bed.

When Zeke came home, I was sound asleep. He woke me up in an annoyed manner and yelled, "I've been outside the entire night. Do you not care about me, Joanna?

"My friend's girlfriend has been blowing up his phone the entire night. You didn't even call me once! What is the meaning of this?"

I was staring at him with a confused expression. I had no idea why he was so angry.

I used to do exactly what his friend's girlfriend did. When that happened, he said, "You're my girlfriend, not my prison warden. Can you be less controlling? I feel like I have no freedom because of you."

Now that I had given him space, he was accusing me of not caring about him. I actually didn't know what he wanted me to do.

Despite my frustration, I didn't bring up the past.

"Why would I need to blow up your phone if you were hanging out with your friends? Since you and Scarlett are just friends, I have nothing to worry about," I replied nonchalantly.

Zeke looked like he was in disbelief. He was probably shocked that I mentioned Scarlett's name without sounding bitter or angry.

All of a sudden, something seemed to click in Zeke's mind. He looked at me and explained, "I just posted that comment to commemorate the occasion. It doesn't mean anything. Don't read too much into it."

I shook my head. I wanted to say something, but he beat me to it.

"Why are you acting like this, then? Do you think I shouldn't have gone to Scarlett's birthday party?" he asked.

He continued, "We've known each other for ten years now. Although we dated for a short while, our relationship is strictly platonic right now. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to miss my good friend's birthday celebration."

I stared at him with an understanding expression. "I understand that, Zeke. It's getting late—you should go and get some rest."

Zeke fell silent. He was staring at me. It felt like he was trying to figure out if I was actually as calm as I appeared to be.

Moments had passed, and he still didn't have an answer to his question. Then, he tried to wrap his arm around my waist, but I moved away.

"Do you want to sleep in the master bedroom or the guest room?" I asked emotionlessly.

He was shocked. He couldn't believe I'd rejected him when he tried to act intimately toward me. If this had happened anytime in the past, I would've been overjoyed.

Angry and embarrassed, he slammed the door of the guest room behind him and stormed to the master bedroom.

After he left, I swiftly dozed off. Ever since I got rid of my unnecessary thoughts and worries, it had been very easy for me to fall asleep.

…

The next morning, Steve Johnson, the administrative director of my dance company, called me.

He found out that I was leaving the country and said he wanted to throw me a farewell party. I hastily declined his offer, so he had no choice but to cancel his plans.

Subsequently, he told me he'd like to organize a dinner so he could sit down with everyone from the dance company and have a nice meal together. I had no reason to decline his invite, so I agreed to attend the dinner.

To my surprise, when I arrived at the restaurant later that night, Zeke was present too. After remembering that he was Steve's nephew, I realized it was probably natural that he was there.

Scarlett was sitting next to him. The dinner was practically a company one. So, I didn't expect him to bring her along.

When Zeke saw me, he shot me a look and signaled for me to take a seat next to him.

I ignored his request. Since he and Scarlett looked like such a wonderful couple, I didn't think I should go over and disturb them.

When Scarlett caught sight of me, she flashed me a taunting smirk.

Subsequently, she put on an apologetic expression and said, "I'm sorry for imposing on your company dinner. I had nothing to do, and I was bored out of my mind. That's why Zeke decided to bring me along."

Zeke looked like he wanted to offer me an explanation, but he didn't end up saying anything in the end.

I politely raised my wine glass and replied, "It's alright. I don't mind."

Then, I lowered my head and took a sip of my wine.

My phone wouldn't stop buzzing during dinner. When I checked my notifications, I realized I'd received multiple text messages from Zeke.

"I just happened to bring her along. Don't read too much into the situation.

"If it makes you uncomfortable, I won't let her tag along next time."

I scrolled down to the very last message.

"Let's head home together after this," it read.

I cleared my throat before lowering my head and typing up a reply.

"It's okay. You should take Scarlett home. I took my own car to dinner."

Afterward, I shifted my focus back toward the dinner party and ignored the rest of his messages.

Toward the end of the meal, everyone at the table was reminiscing about the past and happily chatting with each other.

After having a few drinks, Steve started to feel emotional. Hence, he got to his feet and raised his wine glass toward me.

"Back then, you were the best dancer in the country, and it had always been your dream to join the best dance company overseas. However, for reasons I'm not familiar with, you suddenly decided to stay here instead."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "Fortunately, you're going to leave the country soon. You can finally fulfill your dream. I'm so happy for you!

"Congratulations, Joanna! Safe travels and all the best for your future."

I flashed him an emotional smile and raised my glass before emptying its contents.

Zeke, on the other hand, looked incredibly stunned. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.