My Girlfriend Made Me Share Our Future Home with Her Ex

I must have a strange connection with my distant relatives. It turned out that the new place we planned to live in after the wedding was in the same complex as theirs. It was even on the same floor and had the same apartment number. I wondered if I had mistaken the building.I secretly sent a message to my girlfriend, Elsa Smith, venting about this bizarre coincidence.Just after I hit send, my distant cousin, Leo Quinn, came out of the bedroom with his soon-to-be bride. The relatives cheered in support, and the bride shyly covered her face. Only I stood there in shock.It was not until my mother elbowed me and said in frustration, "Look at Leo. He's about to get married. And you? Always talking about bringing your 'imaginary' girlfriend home. When are you going to let me meet a real one?"I silently remarked, "Mom, you've already met her. The woman standing shyly beside another man is my girlfriend, Elsa."But I did not dare say it aloud, fearing my mom would have a heart attack

Today was supposed to be a day of happiness for me and Elsa. We had planned to finally introduce Elsa to my parents. We had been together for three years, but every time we scheduled a meeting, it kept getting postponed.Elsa always had some excuse to avoid it. Excuses included nerves, a busy work schedule, not feeling well, or even saying the stars were not aligned for meeting the parents.Three months ago, we were closer than ever to making it happen. My parents had even dressed in their best clothes and arrived at the reserved restaurant. However, Elsa never showed up. Every call I made went straight to voicemail, and then she sent me a brief text, "My friend was in a car accident."The absurdity of the excuse made it clear she was avoiding the meeting again. Elsa had once told me that her parents' divorce made her fearful of marriage, and I had only felt sympathy, promising her that I would wait until she was ready. So, I took the blame for her absence once again."I’m sorr

This was actually a little game Elsa and I used to play. If one of us got upset and the other did not know why, the upset one could use this little game to give the other a way to make amends. However, that only worked when there were still feelings between us. And honestly, I was the one always making the effort, constantly paying and trying to patch things up. Elsa would just ignore it, turning it into a competition to see who could stay mad the longest.But something felt off about the amounts this time. Just as I was puzzling over it, a friend who was unaware of our breakup, sent me a screenshot of Elsa’s latest social media post. He jokingly asked, "Wow, going on a trip? Living it up, huh?"It was a price list from a travel agency. 4,998 dollars for a standard couple’s package. 6,988 dollars for a VIP couple’s package.Elsa really had it all figured out. She wanted me to apologize and make up with her while also funding a romantic trip with Leo.I laughed coldly. That

Elsa walked over and she was completely drenched. She had an umbrella in her hand, yet she was soaked to the bone, with wet hair plastered to her face. I almost did not recognize her.But I felt no pity for her. After all, she could always go back to Leo for comfort. Her problems were no longer my concern, just as my life was no longer hers."It’s none of your business. Just leave," I said, annoyed that the joy of my reunion with Risa had been ruined by Elsa. I wanted to grab a broom and chase her away.Elsa looked at me with a pitiful expression. "I just saw it was raining and worried you didn’t have an umbrella, so I came to bring you one."Risa listened and then burst out laughing. "So, you waited outside someone’s door just to give them an umbrella? Why not just go to the bank and ask them to hand you some cash?"Her strange analogy made me laugh too. She was right.On so many rainy days before, Elsa had never cared. If there was only one umbrella, she would hog most of it. S