It felt like someone who’d been suffocating for so long had finally found a breath of fresh air, pure and exhilarating. I headed to the garage, finding a car I hadn’t driven in a while, and drove around the villa a few times before leaving.
After much thought, I decided to drive to the old courtyard in the southern part of the city.
The courtyard was bought by the family over a decade ago. Now that I had decided to leave Avery, there was no reason to cut ties with my family over her.
For all these years, I’d kept Avery in the dark about the family investments and the state of things at home. At first, it felt unnecessary, but later on, I just didn’t want her to think everything she had was because of me.
Now, it was a relief to be free of that. As soon as I parked the car, an alert popped up on my phone about a vehicle notification.
I opened the vehicle app to a scene I’d never forget. In my frequently driven car, Bryan was violently tearing at Avery’s clothes, her face a mix of reluctant shyness. The disturbing sounds pouring from my phone made me nauseous.
Already hungry from not eating all day, I opened the car door and vomited loudly. My hands shook as I tried to shut off the phone, but it wouldn’t turn off. Finally, I picked up the phone and smashed it against the ground, the disgusting sounds fading away.
I had always thought their relationship at most was just flirtatious, but now it was clear—these two had already crossed the line. No wonder Avery had been avoiding me for the past while.
I crumpled to the floor, my legs giving out. My body started uncontrollably shaking, relieved that these days were almost over...
The next morning, I opened my phone to see Avery trending online.
[Rising star Avery and fiancé Bryan check out wedding venues, couple look absolutely adorable together.]
The accompanying photo showed Avery with a shy smile, clinging to Bryan’s arm. Below the trending topic, the comments were overwhelmingly positive:
“Didn’t expect Avery to be this type of cute little wife—love her even more now...”
“Yeah, she’s got a new movie coming out soon, and she’s the lead! What a big move to announce her wedding at this time!”
“Tomorrow’s the big day, hope our little Avery forever finds happiness!”
Shortly after, a message from Avery popped up on my phone.
[Dennis, don’t forget to come to the wedding venue that day. The host has you scheduled to give a speech about our love story with Bryan. The script is in your email; make sure you’re well-prepared—don’t mess this up!!]
Shortly after, I received Avery’s prepared script in my email. Opening it, I was shocked to find that the past eight years with Avery had all been neatly rewritten with Bryan. It was almost impressive how she could remember all the details. But I didn’t have the energy to read any further, nor to reply. I just tossed my phone aside and started packing.
I booked a flight to Ordos for the earliest possible flight tomorrow.
After years of hustling with Avery every day, suddenly being on my own felt liberating.
In the courtyard, I spent the day tinkering with flowers and plants. Avery was probably preoccupied with wedding preparations, so she didn’t send any more messages all day.
I went to bed early and got up before dawn the next morning to get ready for the airport. As soon as I arrived at the airport, Avery’s incessant messages started popping up.
[Dennis, don’t be late today! Or else you know what’s coming—no talking to you for the entire year!]
Half an hour later, I received another message from Avery: [Where are you? Did you die??]
Afterward, came a barrage of phone calls.
Avery has always been like this—only frantically reaching out when she needs me. There was a time when I found being needed by her to be a kind of happiness. Now, it’s just annoying. So, I simply turned off my phone.
A few hours later, Avery’s wedding was about to begin. She was pacing back and forth at the venue, constantly dialing my number.
A media reporter close to Avery reminded her that time was running out.
Avery lost her patience and snapped, “Has anyone seen my manager, Dennis? Why isn’t he here yet?”
The reporter in front of her froze, staring at Avery in shock.
“Avery, you mean you don’t know? My colleague just told me—your manager is actually a secret big shot. He’s the heir of Grand Prosperity Group, the company funding your next film!”
“And get this—he’s getting married today too!” As the reporter muttering to himself, he pulled up a photo on his phone and handed it to Avery. “Look, these are the fresh wedding photos from the scene!”
