Before I could react, he leaned in and held the back of my head. We’d been together six years and had done all kinds of crazy things.
The car has always been one of our favourite places. But this time, as he leaned closer, all I could see was him kissing Inez in the afternoon sun.
I shoved him away, got out of the car and crouched by the road, retching without caring how I looked. My stomach churned, but nothing came up; only sour liquid kept rising.
Henry got out too, his face turning from pale to ashen as he stared at me in disbelief. Under the streetlight, his expression was hard to read.
There was anger, embarrassment and a barely perceptible hint of hurt. But I no longer cared.
I pushed myself up from my knees and wiped my mouth. “Henry, did you see it? This is how I feel about you now.”
“We should…”
Before I could finish, he slammed the car door and drove off. That night, Henry, who had always been in the circle of friends, updated his profile for the first time.
A close-up photo of him and Inez with the caption: [Finally met the right person.]
Below, our mutual friends lined up to like and congratulate them.
[Wow, Henry finally found someone! Congrats!]
[You are such a perfect match! When’s the wedding?]
[Inez, so you two are together!]
My WhatsApp also exploded instantly, with many messages popping up.
[Jeanne, what’s going on with you and Henry?]
[Did you see Henry’s post? Did you two break up?]
[Are you okay?]
I didn’t reply to any of them. Instead, I made a plate of pasta and my appetite was surprisingly good. Sleeping late into the night, I suddenly felt the bed dip beside me.
I woke up suddenly and saw a figure sitting there in the dark and I almost screamed in fright.
“Don’t be scared, it’s me!”
I let out a relieved breath and turned away from him. He switched on the bedside lamp and the bright light made me squint.
He leaned over me, his eyes red as he stared at me. “Don’t you have anything to ask me? Didn’t you see my Instagram post?”
I had no idea what he was freaking out about in the middle of the night, but being woken up was really annoying.
“Yeah, I saw it. Congratulations.”
He was choked by me, breathing heavily and his tone suddenly softened, a little aggrieved.
“Back when I’d go out for business dinners at night, you’d call me nonstop and keep the lights on waiting for me to come home. Now you don’t even acknowledge me.”
“There’s nothing between Inez and me. I’m just looking out for her as a junior classmate. If you don’t like it, I’ll move her to another department tomorrow.”
I looked at him and suddenly felt a deep sense of boredom. I cried and made trouble before, begging him to give me a sense of security, but he always found me annoying.
Now that I didn’t want it, he was practically begging me to take it. But I had already booked my flight for two days from now.
Him? I didn’t want him anymore. Everything he offers? I didn’t care about it either.
Henry suddenly seemed like a different person. He really transferred Inez to another department and replaced his assistant with a man.
When he couldn’t come home at night, he’d send me photos and location updates just like I used to, though I never replied.
