Chapter 2

Right beside her, Chris was watching her intently, his eyes overflowing with gentle warmth.

The caption read: [Setting off fireworks at the beach in the middle of the night. What a wild idea. Good thing I had someone with me.]

I closed my eyes, realizing that the last shred of feeling I had for Chris was gone for good.

I sat in the living room, opened bottle after bottle of the wine I'd saved for the engagement party, and finished them all by myself.

Looking at the empty bottles scattered across the table, I took a picture and posted it to my social media. [I guess I was always alone from the start.]

My friends all knew Chris hadn't shown up at the wedding, and they started checking in on me.

[Phoebe, you've still got your girls with you.]

[Tomorrow, I'm taking you out to find yourself a new man! Don't waste your time on just one guy!]

Just then, my phone chimed with a new message.

I opened it. It was from Chris.

Chris: [Why are you being so dramatic?]

Seeing his message, completely void of any concern, I let out a self-mocking laugh and grabbed another bottle, downing it in one go.

Maybe it was the alcohol burning my stomach, but before I knew it, a few tears slipped from the corners of my eyes.

Whenever Violet needed someone by her side, no matter what Chris was doing or where he was, he'd drop everything and rush to her.

But when it came to me, all I ever got was a cold "stop being so dramatic."

After seven years together, I guessed I never really figured out where I stood in his heart.

That night, for the first time in forever, I didn't sit in the living room waiting for Chris to come home.

Because I was always afraid he'd feel lonely coming home to a dark, empty house, I'd leave a light on and wait for him on the couch.

Sometimes I'd wait all night, and I never cared. But after so many nights, I ended up with chronic headaches.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but I slept more heavily than ever that night.

I woke up early the next morning, and sure enough, Chris hadn't come home all night.

But instead of calling him up to give him a hard time like I used to, I made some breakfast, scarfed it down, and headed out for work.

Just as I was about to head out, Chris walked in.

He looked a bit surprised to see the table was empty.

"Where's my breakfast?" Chris asked.

He had a bad stomach, so I'd always make sure he had breakfast ready, whether he came home the night before or not. I was always afraid he'd feel sick if he skipped it.

But today, I kept changing my shoes without a second glance. "I already ate. Just get takeout."

Maybe realizing I was upset, Chris reached out and took my hand, his voice much gentler than yesterday.

He said, "Phoebe, I know I was wrong for not coming to the wedding yesterday, but Violet really couldn't be without me.

"I was sad about your mom passing too, but she's gone now. Wasn't her biggest wish for us to be together and happy? Please, don't be upset with me anymore, okay?

"And there's nothing between Violet and me. So, don't stay mad, alright?"

Back then, whenever Chris explained things to me with that kind of patience, I'd always forgive him right away.

But this time, I only felt annoyed. I was really tired of hearing the same old lines.

"Got it. I'm gonna be late for work, so I'm heading out," I said.

With that, I pulled my hand free and walked straight out the door.

As soon as I walked into the office, word spread that our department was picking two people to go train at the overseas branch. Everyone was scrambling to sign up.

Ever since I started here after graduation, there'd already been three chances to go abroad for training. This made it the fourth.

Pretty much everyone who joined with me had already gone, and when they came back a year later, they scored a promotion and a fatter paycheck.

But I couldn't handle the idea of doing long-distance with Chris, so I never put my name down. I kept letting those chances slip away.

Looking back, I was already thirty, and my life was a complete mess.

In love, I was always the one putting in all the effort, chasing after Chris for seven years, getting stood up a hundred times, and he didn't even care about my mom's last wish before she passed away.

As for my career? I had nothing to show for it. Everyone my age was already in management, while I was still stuck at the bottom, going through the motions.

I realized it was finally time to make a change.

I signed up for the training program and let my boss know. He had been my boss since day one, so he was pretty surprised to see me finally sign up.

"Phoebe, you finally decided to go for it? Did you talk it over with your boyfriend?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I made this choice for myself. I want to get ahead in my career."