Until I became the mouse in the corner, looking up at the happy life the two of them shared.
I cried, I made scenes, but every time Marco brushed me off, the words were the same: Isn't this all for the crew? Isn't it all so I can give you a good life?
All of it for me.
The unspoken pressure pressed down on me like a heavy lid clamped over my head, smothering me until I couldn't breathe.
But the way I saw it, these were all just excuses.
For the sake of impressing the men who whispered his name in the social clubs, Marco took her to Tahiti, the place he had promised me countless times and never delivered on, the place he was supposed to take me; for the sake of being talked about, he chartered more than a dozen cars to crawl the city for her birthday, and forgot that the same night was our fourth anniversary together, the night I waited and waited for him in vain.
There was so much, so much, that even now, looking back, still leaves me aching and bitter.
By the time I reached the office above the front, Marco was already inside. I slipped my withdrawal letter beneath a stack of ledgers, and Marco, without looking closely, signed it.
Just as I was about to leave, Marco called me back.
He took a velvet box out of the drawer. He opened it, and inside was a glittering aquamarine necklace.
His voice was unusually gentle. "Do you like it? I bought it specially for you."
My heart gave a sudden tremor.
It had been a long time since he last gave me a gift. Let alone bowed his head to apologize to me first.
Before I knew how to begin, Marco's phone buzzed. A message from Gianna.
【So how'd it go, Marco? Did Adriana like that necklace? I've got pretty good taste in gifts, don't I?】
The air froze.
I tugged weakly at the corner of my mouth. So it turned out even the gift meant for me was picked by someone else.
I pushed the box back toward him. "No need. Take it back."
In the past, I would have gotten angry at Marco all over again, but today my heart was strangely calm.
Gianna had been part of my relationship with Marco for far too long, far too deeply. Even in the smallest corners.
The body wash at home had suddenly changed scent, and Marco said Gianna had recommended it, that it smelled wonderful; new sheets and bedding had appeared in the closet, and again Marco said Gianna had recommended this material and pattern, that it was so comfortable, so beautiful.
I don't know when it started, but in his eyes my thoughts and feelings had already come to count for less than a single offhand word from Gianna.
Marco frowned, silent for a moment. Before he could speak, Gianna's next message came through.
【Or maybe I should buy you two some little toys? Didn't you say Adriana loves……】
The voice message wasn't even finished before Marco cut it off.
My whole body went rigid, unable to believe what I'd just heard. My lips went numb. "Marco, you told her even what happens between us in bed?"
Marco was visibly thrown. He cracked the knuckles of one hand, slow, then the other. "Adriana, don't get the wrong idea, I can explain."
There was clearly mockery and teasing in Gianna's voice message.
I couldn't help a cold laugh. What had I become?
"I don't want to hear your explanation, and I'm not something you two can joke about however you please."
But Marco suddenly frowned. "Is it really that serious, Adriana? Gianna's your friend too, not some outsider. What's so wrong about talking about it? Do you really have to be this petty?"
My eyes stung, and I curled my fingers.
"Even now, you still think I'm just throwing a tantrum," I stared at Marco and said, word by word, "Marco, let's break up."
"What did you say?"
Marco's face went livid, the room going still around him the way a club goes quiet when the wrong man walks in. "Adriana, I dare you to say that again."
"I said, let's break up."
Marco tilted his head back against the sofa, pinching the bridge of his nose wearily.
