Chapter 2

I had called him by that name countless times before. Yet, this was the first time my voice was completely devoid of emotion. Anthony stiffened. His eyes hardened. Then, he said through clenched teeth, "What did you say?" We had always kept our interactions civil. Every time we noticed we were about to have an argument, we would use various methods to try and change the topic. Getting into fights could sometimes do a lot of damage to a couple's relationship. I would like to avoid it if possible. However, that did not mean we could go on like this forever. "I said… let's break up. I'm setting you free." I felt that this would be a respectful way to end our relationship. Neither of us would try to cling to the other person, and we would not have too much resentment against each other if we were to break up now. Anthony remained silent. He stared at my face with an intense gaze. "You're breaking up with me over something so insignificant?" I met his gaze. Then, I headed into the bedroom without a word. "Vivian Shaw, finish whatever it is that you have to say first. What on earth are you so upset about?" I opened the closet and removed the clothes that were kept in a specific corner. As expected, the ring box he had hidden in that corner was gone. I pointed to the empty space and choked back a sob. Then, slowly, I said, "You asked to meet my parents for dinner today. Yet, you were actually busy celebrating another woman's birthday. You even gave her a ring—a gift that held special significance. Anthony, what do you expect me to make of that?" I did not want to be so blunt about it initially, but I also did not want to be misunderstood as unreasonable. So, I decided to make things clear once and for all. Yet Anthony seemed completely unbothered. He frowned and said frigidly, "We couldn't have dinner with your parents tonight, but I could always treat them to dinner tomorrow. "As for the ring, it's just a regular accessory. Why are you being so fussy about it? I can buy a few of them for you tomorrow if you want." Anthony had always been like this. He often tried to smooth things over whenever we ran into an issue. In his opinion, settling a problem with money was the best way to go. My mouth turned up in a mocking smile. "That won't be necessary. You should get the rings for those who want them instead." I had already decided to break up with Anthony on my way here. I saw no point in continuing with this relationship. Anthony could not understand how and why I had arrived at that conclusion. He announced monotonously, "You're not calm enough at the moment. We'll talk about it again once you've cooled off." Before I could even form a response, he'd turned his back and was gone, the sound of the door slamming echoing his departure. Meanwhile, as the silence stretched, I remained rooted to the spot, a vast emptiness left in his wake. I thought Anthony would agree to break up right away. Yet, he chose to avoid the issue by using this method. It was deeply unsettling. He held onto me, yet his heart belonged elsewhere. Why he chose to inflict this unnecessary discomfort on everyone was beyond me. I took some time to cool myself down. Breaking up was different from confessing your feelings to someone, whereby you would need both people's consent to initiate a relationship. Now that I had told Anthony my thoughts, I had no reason to stay in this house. My parents were high school teachers. They had traveled here to participate in an academic seminar, and they would only be staying in this city for five days. Since I had nowhere else to go, I packed my belongings and rented a room at a hotel. It would be best to make a clean break when ending a relationship. After settling pretty much everything, I deleted Anthony's contact details from my phone. As I slowly calmed down, I looked at the unfamiliar surroundings and recalled past memories. I was secretly in love with Anthony for many years, but he did not know about it. He only knew that we attended the same college and had the same major. To him, I was just one of the many juniors he was acquainted with. Anthony was the president of the student association in college. He excelled in his studies, but he was also cold and aloof. People admired him, but they often found him unapproachable. To be on par with him, I started studying diligently and raised my class ranking from the bottom to the top three in our major. I even squeezed out time to join the student association just to be closer to Anthony. After graduating from college, Anthony took over his family's company. Meanwhile, I started working at his company as a regular, unremarkable employee. Perhaps because I was his junior in college, Anthony would often look out for me. On the other hand, I became increasingly drawn to him because I thought he was giving me preferential treatment.