But every year on Cecily's birthday, he ordered her the most expensive cake he could find, switching brands each time just to keep it new.
I didn't reply again.
I shut the door and walked straight down the stairs in one breath.
The deep-winter air stung until my eyes went red at the rims.
Passing a trash can,
I worked the ring I'd worn for ten years off my finger,
and dropped it in.
A $2 promise ring with free shipping, and yet for all those years I'd treasured it like something precious.
I took a cab to the bank and pulled out every cent on my card just before closing.
Then I opened a new card and put the money into that instead.
Once that was done, I took another cab to the biggest mall in Northport.
First I went to the brand-name bakery on the ground floor and picked out the most expensive cake they had,
then I ordered a full set menu at the hot pot place.
The staff gathered around and sang me happy birthday. I cut the cake and saved the biggest slice for myself.
When I got home,
Tristan called on video to inform me:
"There's a homeless guy hanging around near Cecily's place, and she's just a little thing who scares easily. I won't be coming home to sleep tonight."
Cecily looped her arms around his neck, grinning.
"Wallis, you always spoil me the most. Tonight I'm putting your boyfriend on my couch to stand guard over a damsel in distress!"
She knew, too, that I spoiled her the most. Seven years of friendship, and I'd never once turned down anything she asked.
Tristan toyed with Cecily's hand and reminded me to lock the doors and windows on my own.
Cecily patted his cheek.
"Relax, my Wallis is the bravest of anyone!"
I'm not actually brave.
When we first moved out to the suburbs, there were a few nights I got off work too late and someone followed me home. Terrified, I cried about it to Tristan, and he said I made a fuss over nothing, jumping at shadows. In the end I had to order pepper spray and a little stun gun online myself and carry them every day.
I even comforted myself that he just wasn't the delicate type, that he didn't know how to worry over people.
But it turned out it wasn't that he couldn't worry over people. He just couldn't be bothered to worry over me.
I swallowed the bitterness rising in my chest and pulled up a smile.
"Right, I'm brave. You two do whatever you like."
Then I hung up on them while they stared, stunned.
I started taking stock of the birthday gifts Tristan had given me over the years.
A red string bracelet from a street stall, a phone case that shipped free, cheap knockoff earbuds.
He said our Wallis was the practical sort, that instead of buying flashy junk we should save the money for a house.
Yet the moment it was Cecily's birthday, he'd given her a Van Cleef & Arpels signature bracelet, the full SK-II skincare line, and the newest iPhone Pro Max in the 1TB version.
Shocked and furious, I'd confronted him, and he'd cupped my face and said,
"Baby, being good to your best friend is only to give you face."
"See how much thought I put in for you? Why don't you chip in some money too, so I can buy the gifts."
I threw every one of those cheap gifts into the trash,
then calmly dialed my father's number.
"That arranged match you mentioned before, I agree. I'll come back to Harbor City to meet him."
On my way to work the next day, a local video popped up in my feed.
Shot from a bystander's angle, inside an LV store, Tristan attentively helping his best friend try on a bag.
The caption read: Such a sweet couple! Who's the 6'2" lean, hot guy she's dating?!
So it turned out that while I was spending my birthday night alone, he was out shopping with my best friend.
I stared at that video over and over, and in the end I gave it a like.
At the office, I told my manager I was quitting, agreeing to leave in a week.
Back at my desk, a work friend I got along with cradled her water cup and asked quietly,
"Why'd you suddenly decide to leave? Weren't you just saying yesterday you wanted to save up to buy your boyfriend a computer?"
The video of strangers gushing about the sweet couple flashed through my mind.
I tugged at the corner of my mouth, though no smile reached my eyes.
"He's already someone else's boyfriend now. So naturally there's nothing for me to buy."
