Chapter 1

During our fifth year together, my girlfriend, Erin Palmer, finally got the job she'd been dreaming of.

At lunch, my coworker, Jared Monroe, nudged me and joked, "You know what they say—when people get a decent job, the first thing they do is dump their partner who is so-called ‘out of their league’. You'd better be careful."

I laughed and punched him lightly in the arm. "Quit spouting nonsense. We're doing great!"

That night at her celebration dinner, I showed up at the restaurant door with a bouquet in one hand and a carefully chosen gift bag in the other.

Erin's best friend, Chloe Adams, smiled and asked her, "Erin, who's this?"

Erin turned around, glanced at me, and said casually, "Oh, he's a classmate from university."

I stopped dead in the doorway. My hand was half-raised in greeting. For a second, I didn't know whether to keep it up or pretend I'd never moved at all.

I forced myself to walk over, set the flowers and the gift down on the table in front of her, and said, "Congratulations on getting into the job you wanted. I've got something to take care of, so I'll head out first."

Then, I walked away before my voice could crack.

Back home, I sat curled up alone in the dark living room, replaying our entire relationship over and over again in my head, trying to figure out if I'd done something wrong or if I'd somehow made Erin mad.

I'd spotted Erin from a distance the day we enrolled in university. She stood there in a ponytail and a plain white T-shirt, the sun lighting up her bright, confident smile. She looked like she was glowing.

From that moment on, no one else ever caught my eye.

I pulled every favor I could and asked around in every possible way until I finally found out her name. She was Erin Palmer, a freshman in the linguistics department.

What happened after that was embarrassingly cliché.

On rainy days, I'd give her an umbrella. On hot days, I'd bring her cold drinks. At noon, I'd bring her lunch. Whenever she got sick, I showed up with medicine.

After a month of relentless effort, I finally won her over.

Right before graduation, Erin told me she was going back to her hometown to prepare for the civil service exam. She wanted a secure job in the public sector. Then, she looked at me and said she hoped I would go with her.

So, I turned down every offer I'd already secured and went with her to her hometown, a small city where life moved slowly.

Before I left, all my roommates surrounded me, shaking their heads.

"Don't be stupid. Everyone's trying to get into big cities. And you're running off to some backwater place."

"Exactly. You're giving up all your job offers for her. She might not even appreciate it. Once she passes that exam and lands a decent job, she could turn around and dump you!"

"Yeah, Jason, you're being a total doormat. Guys like that always end up with nothing. Don't let that be you."

I just gave them the finger and flipped my hair. "You don't get it! I'm doing this for love!"

After that, our days were simple and sweet. I went to work to support us, and Erin stayed home to review her notes and study, focused completely on her exam preparation.

"Honey, studying by myself isn't working that well. I want to sign up for a prep course..."

"Do it! How much is it? I'll transfer the money to you."

"Honey, it's my mom's birthday next month. You know how she is. She doesn't like that you're not from here and hates the idea of me moving away. I want to buy her a really nice present. Maybe it'll put her in a good mood and she'll finally accept us!"

"Sure! Go pick something out. Once you decide, I'll send you the money. It's for my future mother-in-law. I'm not going to be stingy!"

"Honey, I passed by the mall yesterday and saw this gorgeous dress! It's just really expensive..."

"Buy it! As long as you like it, that's all that matters!"

My dad used to say that men who spoiled their wives would be blessed, and men who listened to their wives would become rich. I agreed with all my heart. So, as long as Erin wanted something, I did everything I could to buy it for her.

That dress really was beautiful. When she walked in wearing it at the celebration dinner, she looked even prettier than she already was—so stunning that it almost hurt to look straight at her.

...

"Why were you there?"

Sometime after midnight, Erin finally came home, reeking of alcohol. She didn't explain anything. All I got was that cold, blunt question.