We were out on a trip for Christmas when falling rocks broke the bridge, and everyone fell into the water.

Jose ignored the fact that I couldn't swim and was drowning. He rushed off in a panic to save Emma.

Ignoring my cries for help, he carried Emma, who was scared, and left me behind.

The next day, I woke up in the hospital and saw Emma's post on WhatsApp.

"Happiness is when he always puts you first in danger!"

Everyone was expecting me to tear her apart for stealing my boyfriend.

I smiled slightly. "The perfect couple! Good riddance, stop ruining lives."

...

On the day I was discharged, Jose, who had been missing for a while, finally showed up.

He didn't even ask why I was in the hospital or if I was hurt.

He didn't ask how I, who couldn't swim, had made it back.

Instead, he immediately defended Emma and accused me, "What's that post on WhatsApp supposed to mean?

"Don't you know how important reputation is for a girl? You've got a bad heart, and you're always slandering others!"

I cut him off. "Jose, I was hurt too..."

He froze, rubbed his nose awkwardly, but still stubbornly said, "But aren't you standing here fine now?"

Yeah.

But at that moment, I almost died.

When freezing water was filling my lungs, I was on the verge of suffocating. However, I saw the man I loved carrying another woman, panic all over his face.

I finally understood that love isn't something you can hold onto through someone's charity.

Even if I begged him on my knees, someone who doesn't love you won't even spare you a glance.

After this near-death experience, I became indifferent.

Seeing that I wasn't speaking, Jose softened his tone. "It was an emergency, I..."

I didn't need to hear the rest to know what he was going to say.

I didn't want to hear his excuses. I raised my hand to stop him, exhausted. "It's fine, you don't have to explain. I get it."

His words were all too familiar. How urgent it was, how poor Emma was, how much she needed help.

But I was his girlfriend. I needed help too!

Shouldn't the person he protected have been me?

His phone rang at the worst possible moment.

When he saw who it was, he couldn't hide his smile. His voice was unusually soft. "Yeah, I'll be right there."

After hanging up, he glanced at me, looking guilty. "Emma's hurt. I have to go."

The same childish tricks, but they always managed to make him leave me behind.

I gave him a tired look and turned to leave the room first.

Once in the car, I closed my eyes to rest.

Jose never bothered to comfort me, always assuming that I'd apologize to him like before.

When we got home, Emma, dressed in skimpy pajamas, jumped off the couch and threw herself into his arms, crying like a damsel in distress.

"Jose, you're finally back."

Emma saw the look on my face and quickly let go, panicking as she explained, "Avery, I was just so scared, I'm sorry..."

Before I could say anything, Jose jumped in to defend her, "She cut her hand, so..."

Before, I would've had a huge fight with Jose and told Emma to get out of here.

But now, I just smiled slightly, not caring at all.

I didn't wait for him to finish and just turned around, heading back to my room.

"Is Avery mad at me? It's all my fault for being so stupid. Please don't fight because of me; I'd feel so guilty.

"Maybe I should go apologize to Avery."

Emma looked pitiful. Her sweet, helpless words once again triggered Jose's urge to protect her.

"Ignore her; who knows what's gotten into her this time? Let me help you put on some ointment first."

Jose's impatient voice echoed.

I let out a cold laugh, turned around, and shut the door, shutting out their playful banter.

I leaned against the door, breathing heavily, unable to hide the sadness in my heart.

Why were we drifting further apart?

The ring on my hand dug painfully into my skin. I took it off and placed it in my palm, feeling a deep sense of irony.

We bought this ring from a little stall by the school gate right after we graduated college.

It was roughly made and looked a bit cheap.

I'd worn it for years. Even after I had money, I couldn't bear to replace it.

It was proof that we had once been in love.

But ever since Emma came between us, the ring had become a shackle.

I took it off and tossed it into the drawer.

I packed my things quickly and walked out of the bedroom, dragging my suitcase behind me.

Jose stood up from the couch, staring in shock at the things in my hands.

"Where are you going?"

I acted like I didn't hear him and turned to leave.

Jose quickly blocked my way, his tone accusatory. "What are you making a fuss about? I told you Emma was hurt, that's why I rushed back! Can't you show some sympathy, Avery?"

"Move."

I frowned and said coldly.

Jose had become quite skilled at turning things around, blaming me for lacking empathy and maturity, even though he was the one at fault.

As if everything was my fault, and he and Emma were perfectly innocent.

How utterly ironic!

I didn't care about them anymore. All I wanted was to get away from this cheating couple as fast as I could.

Emma ran over from the couch, holding her injured hand, tears in her eyes. "It's all my fault. If Avery doesn't like me, I'll leave right now. Please don't fight with Jose over me."

"Sure, then get out." I shook her off and crossed my arms, ready to watch the show.

If she wanted to leave, just go.

Emma hadn't expected me to react this way. She froze in place, biting her lip with an unwilling look and teary eyes. "If me leaving will fix things, I'll go."

She looked like a delicate little flower, unable to bear the slightest insult.

Jose was clearly holding back his anger, looking at Emma with pity before turning to blame me again, "I told you she's just staying temporarily..."

I simply grabbed my luggage and walked out without a word.

Jose still tried to come after me.

But Emma let out a small cry and conveniently fell into his arms.

"Jose, I twisted my ankle."

Jose panicked, quickly turning to catch her, taking off her sock to check the injury.

Emma clutched her ankle with a pained expression. When Jose turned his back, she shot me a mocking smile.

It was as if she was saying, "See? Jose cares more about me."

Such cheap tricks, but so effective.

In the past, I'd used countless tricks just like this to keep Jose from running to Emma.

He never cared. He'd look at me with disgust as I screamed myself hoarse, turning into a shrew for him.

But not anymore, and I moved into my new place.

The new place was actually the one I'd rented before moving in with Jose. I'd put it on hold when we moved in together.

I brought Zion back. It jumped around excitedly, wagging its tail like crazy.

Jose used to be allergic to dog hair and didn't like Zion.

For him, I'd sent Zion, who I'd had for two years, to live with a friend.

Looking back, I was a pretty irresponsible dog owner.

That night, I blocked Jose on WhatsApp. When he found out, he sent me a threatening text.

[Either unblock me, or we're done!]

I blocked his phone number too.

My phone wouldn't stop buzzing. When I checked, it was a message from my best friend, Zoey.

"Look at this!"

She sent me a screenshot. Emma had posted a photo of her and Jose holding hands on her social media, along with a caption.

"Your constant support is my biggest motivation. Today is date day with Jose!"

Jose had said they were innocent, that I was the one with a dirty mind.

But here they were, holding hands just a few days later.

I wonder if Jose's embarrassed by his own words now.

Zoey started calling me like crazy when I didn't respond.

"Jose actually cheated?! I'll kill him!"

"We broke up," I said calmly.

The other side was silent.

By this time, the class group chat had already blown up.

Back then, Jose and I were the talk of the town, and all our friends were rooting for us.

Now, just two years after graduation, we had gone our separate ways, and plenty of people in the group chat were enjoying the drama.

Some nosy person tagged me in the chat, making sure I didn't miss the news.

Without hesitation, I replied: [Yeah, their relationship is special. Emma's been very attentive. She's even taken care of him in bed.]

After that, I immediately left the group chat.

I didn't even need to check to know the group was exploding by now.

Emma clearly got the message too, and she bombarded me with texts in a rage.

[You bitch! Jose and I have been together since childhood. You're the real homewrecker!]

I took screenshots of each message and blocked her.

Out of sight, out of mind.

After I'd done all that, a WhatsApp notification popped up with a friend request from an unknown number.

[What do you mean by what you said in the group? What do you mean by 'caring for him in bed'?]

[Accept my request and explain yourself to Emma!]

I casually replied: [You two did it. Can't handle people talking about it now?]

After typing that, I sent him the messages of Emma cursing me out.

He was typing for a while before finally sending a response.

[Emma's still young and doesn't know any better.]

Over twenty, and still "young"?

How do those two things even go together?

[Best of luck to you both.]

After typing that, I tossed my phone aside and started packing my things.

My phone stayed silent.

Jose probably thought I was just throwing a little tantrum. I used to always come crawling back to him, so now he thinks it's a huge favor to bother pacifying me.

But inside, I felt nothing.

Ever since the drowning incident, my PTSD kept me awake at night, with the images of that day playing on a loop in my mind.

The air in my lungs had been running thin, and every now and then I'd see flashes of myself sinking and struggling underwater.

I remembered Jose diving into the water, swimming straight for Emma without hesitation.

He froze for a second when he heard me calling for help, but he still swam to her first.

"Emma's weak. Hold on just a little longer."

Emma flashed a smug smile, mouthing something at me.

"You'll never win against me!"

Then she shoved my head underwater.

The river water rushed into my nose and lungs. At that moment, I was standing on the edge of death.

I woke up in a panic from the dream, only to find Zion curled up on top of me, fast asleep.

My phone chimed.

I snapped out of it; it was an email from my advisor.

"Avery, have you thought about what we talked about last time? You're doing really well in your field, and it would be a shame to give up your career over a man. Besides, if you pass up this opportunity, it'll be hard to return to this industry later."

My advisor was earnestly urging me to reconsider.

I majored in Computer Science in college, and my academic performance was excellent. My advisor always appreciated my hardworking attitude.

I learned a lot working under him.

I had once given up the chance to study abroad for Jose.

But now I had finally figured it out.

Chasing a career is better than chasing a man.

"Miss, I'm ready to join the project."

My advisor responded with excitement.

"Get ready! I'll take you abroad by the end of the year!"

Since I had the chance to improve myself, I definitely wasn't going to let it slip away.

My advisor sent over some materials for me to quickly get familiar with the process.

Picking up the knowledge I had set aside for years wasn't something that could be done overnight.

Running between the lab and school, I quickly put Jose's matters out of my mind.

During this time, Jose sent me a few messages. His attitude was gentler than before, constantly trying to find out where I was living.

I replied: [None of your business.]

He tried calling me several times using different numbers.

I never answered.

Later, his mom, Liliana, called me.

"Avery, meet me at the café at 4:30 this afternoon.

"You and my son need to resolve your issues. If you don't come, you'll bear the consequences."

Without waiting for my response, she hung up.

I let out a cold laugh. If it weren't for the business ties between our families, I would've cursed her out for that attitude long ago.

Well, I had some things I needed to resolve with her too.

At the appointed time, I went to the café.

Before I even stepped into the private room, I overheard Liliana's complaints.

"I told you from the start girls from small-time families are always so vain. But you didn't listen. Now look at that one argument, and she's run off! This is all your fault for spoiling her!"