At the party, my fiancée drew the truth card.
A friend asked, "You're getting married tomorrow. Do you have any regrets?"
Her eyes turned red as she choked up and looked at her first love.
Everyone was waiting to see how I would react and save face.
I spoke calmly. "If you can't get over it, why not go for it right here?"
Lisa Perez didn't realize I was being sarcastic.
All these years, I had always been accommodating, no matter how unreasonable she was.
She excitedly asked, "Are you serious? If you don't mind, I'd like to fulfill this dream."
The atmosphere in the private room instantly became awkward. A friend cleared his throat and said I was the model of a gentleman.
"That wouldn't be right. Lisa is your woman. How could I do this?" Roger said sanctimoniously.
I couldn't stand his hypocrisy.
He had been living abroad just fine, but for some reason, he suddenly came back, right before our wedding.
It was suspicious enough.
I downed my drink in one go.
"You guys go ahead. I'm heading back." I glanced at the tipsy Lisa. "We're not getting married tomorrow. Maybe another day."
"Paul, are you mad? Can't you take a joke?" Lisa said anxiously.
She thought I was mad.
In the past, I would have been upset, but now, I felt nothing.
Not getting married seemed like a relief to me.
At this gathering, I saw things more clearly.
A mutual friend sent me a screenshot of one of Lisa's social media posts.
He warned me to be careful not to get cheated on without knowing.
Lisa had posted. [Getting married soon, feeling so conflicted.]
When I checked her social media, I couldn't find this post.
I realized she had put me in a restricted group.
What I saw was. [Getting married soon, feeling so happy.]
Now that explained Roger's return at such a time. Probably, he had seen that post.
I called a driver to take me back to our new house.
Looking at the furniture and floors, I felt a pang of sadness.
I had personally arranged everything, putting in a lot of effort.
Now, it seemed all wasted.
Late that night, Lisa came home. I tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep.
I sensed her entering the bedroom, then leaving again.
I got up to see she had just come in to get a pillow.
She went to sleep in the guest room.
From that day, Lisa and I were in a cold war.
She came home later each day.
At first, it was just an hour or two, but recently, she didn't come home at all.
In the past, I would have frantically searched for her.
Every time we had a cold war, she'd disappear.
To find her, I even skipped work, getting scolded by my boss.
I'd imagine her with another man and go crazy with jealousy.
But this time, I didn't care.
I even felt good being alone at home.
A few days later, I saw a Maybach at the far gate of our neighborhood.
A beautiful woman got out of the car.
I took a second look and realized it was Lisa.
There were only three Maybach cars in the entire city, and Roger owned one of them.
She saw me too, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Hey! Paul!" The person in the car greeted me.
I had no interest in looking inside. I knew who it was by the voice.
"I ran into Roger on my way back from work. He offered me a ride. Don't overthink it," Lisa said.
This was the first time she spoke to me in days.
In the past, she would never have spoken to me first during a Cold War.
"Paul, didn't you say you'd buy a BMW to drive Lisa to work? Where is it?" Roger leaned out, speaking.
Lisa's expression turned awkward.
Roger was deliberately making me look bad in front of Lisa, as he often did.
He brought it up because of something that happened before.
When Lisa and I first started dating, I saw her get out of Roger's car and got furious.
I snapped at him, saying I'd buy a BMW to drive Lisa myself.
Thinking back, I felt my jealousy was ridiculous.
They both knew I had a scooter.
In fact, I had already ordered a BMW.
I had planned to give it to Lisa as a wedding gift, but now, it seemed pointless.
"I'm just a regular worker. How can I compare to you? Mr. Gray, if it's convenient, you can drive Lisa back and forth," I said with a smile.
"Paul, what's wrong with you lately?" Lisa seemed displeased.
I knew she probably still hoped I'd compete with Roger like before.
She loved being the center of attention since she was little.
My sudden submission now made her feel upset.
I was tired of competing. Whatever she wanted, I didn't care.
Not wanting to wrestle with it, I turned and walked home.
Surprisingly, Lisa followed me.
I thought she'd go with Roger to spite me, as she usually chose him in such situations.
For example, at gatherings, she always sat next to him.
I used to get really anxious, but I couldn't cause a scene in front of everyone. I'd message her to sit next to me.
She always had excuses, like the space next to me was too small or the air conditioning was too strong.
But today, she surprisingly followed me home.
"Are you really not planning to get married?" Lisa asked, as if she had been holding back for a long time. As soon as she got home, she blurted out the question.
"I haven't decided yet," I replied.
This was true. I had understood a lot of things.
However, our parents had already met, and I hadn't figured out how to explain it to them.
"I was just joking with you that day, and you said in front of so many people that you weren't getting the marriage certificate. And now, you're the one who's justified?" Lisa said, raising her voice.
She still didn't get it.
Those many events drove me to make this decision.
"I think we both need to calm down. Didn't you say it yourself? You're feeling complex."
At my words, she turned pale.
"I never said that," She denied it.
I didn't want to be too absolute with my words for now. After all, marriage was not a child's play.
It was not something one could just start or end on a whim.
"If you think Roger is good and you want to choose him, I have no objections," I said.
I went back to my room and closed the door.
In the middle of the night, I came out to wash up and found that Lisa was no longer at home.
For three consecutive nights, she wasn't home, but I no longer cared where she went.
Ever since I started dating Lisa, I had devoted myself entirely to her.
I always looked for jobs that were close to home with a 9-to-5 schedule so I could spend more time with her.
That was because I felt somewhat inferior in front of her. I always wanted to stay close to her, fearing I'd lose her.
Sometimes, people were quite pathetic.
The easier something was to get, the less they cherished it.
I turned on my computer and logged into a job search website to see if there were better job opportunities.
Actually, if I didn't spend so much effort on women, earning a million dollars annually wouldn't be a problem.
I once had an opportunity to join a large company. I had already passed the interview, but thinking about having to be apart from Lisa, I felt uneasy because she might go to her first love.
I had thought I would spend my life with one person forever, but today, things had come to this.
Just then, I received a group message mentioning me.
It was a video.
When I opened it, I saw a man and a woman passionately kissing.
Their tongues were entangled, and the woman occasionally let out moans that could easily lead to wild imaginations.
Due to the dim lighting, I couldn't immediately recognize them, so I took a screenshot and enlarged it.
When I saw the man clearly, my heart sank. It was Roger.
But the woman had her back to the camera and didn't show her face.
However, from the clothes the woman was wearing, I could guess with about 90% certainty that she was Lisa.
I bought that outfit for her on May 20th last year, and it was a limited edition, with only two pieces available in the entire city.
That dress cost me two months' salary, but I didn't mind spending money on her at all.
At that time, I was just filled with joy, eager to give it to her and see her happy.
Now, she was wearing that dress and kissing another man.
The group chat exploded instantly.
[Damn, Lisa, this is outrageous!]
[Paul is such a good guy. How could you do this?]
Seeing my friends' anger, I just smiled and put my phone aside.
I had more important things to do.
