Chapter 3

The next morning, the first thing he said to me was, "Did you make breakfast?"

"I forgot."

Taking a deep breath, he snapped, "I specifically reminded you last night, didn't I? How could you have forgotten? Winona, just what the hell is going on with you recently? You were never like this in the past whenever I told you to do something."

"Make it yourself. You know how to cook now, don't you?"

He stared at me for two seconds before barking a laugh. "Fine! Continue with your tantrum, then. Let's see who's the first to buckle and give in."

When I didn't respond, he sat down on the couch and began editing a video.

After a while, he suddenly spoke up again.

"By the way, the Frostia collab is confirmed."

My fingers froze where they were hovering over my phone screen.

Zachary went on calmly, "The brand wants an aurora travel shoot and has set the departure date for sometime early next month. The trip will last seven days."

I kept silent.

Then, as though he had finally thought of something, he continued, "I originally promised to take you there, but the brand has specifically requested for someone with a cold, elegant on-screen presence. Rowena is a much better candidate for that."

He paused, then added almost like an afterthought, "If an opportunity presents itself again, I'll take you there next time. It's not like Frostia's going anywhere."

Frostia wasn't going anywhere, but I had been waiting to go there for three whole years.

The night we went past one million followers, we were eating mac and cheese when he said, "Once we're done with this busy period, I'll take you to Frostia to see the aurora. That's something you've always wanted, right?"

Later on, despite me bringing it up many times, he would always tell me that we didn't have the money for it or that we didn't have the free time for it and could only travel locally first.

Now, we had the money and the time.

He was going to Frostia, but the person he was bringing along was Rowena, not me.

I replied with a soft "okay" and watched as he visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Most likely, he thought that I was finally being understanding.

I got up to take a shower, and after turning on the water, I crouched there under the spray for a good long while. My tears mixed with the warm water before swirling down the drain.

When I finished, I came out to see that Zachary was browsing a shopping site. The screen showed a camera that would cost over three thousand dollars.

He didn't even glance at me as he said, "Rowena's birthday is next month, and I want to give this to her. Her phone camera quality is truly terrible. You're knowledgeable about cameras, right? Help me take a look."

I stared at the camera.

My birthday was last month, yet he had forgotten about it. Instead of reminding him, I had simply ordered a small pizza to the studio to celebrate alone.

It wasn't until three days later that he had finally sent me a message, saying, "I forgot about your birthday, but I'll make it up to you another day."

However, till today, he still hadn't made it up to me.

I muttered, "Whatever."

Zachary furrowed his brow. "What do you mean, whatever? I'm talking to you nicely. Could you at least show a little humanity?"

Three years. More than 60 cities. The job I quit. The home I never went back to. Celebrating my birthday alone.

In the end, to him, I was the one who had no humanity.

All the words I wanted to say got stuck in my throat, leaving only one sentence.

"Do whatever makes you happy."

With that, I went into the bedroom.

Before the door fully shut, I heard him mutter, "Was that really necessary?"

What followed was him placing an order for the camera using our shared bank account. Half the money in there was actually mine.

…

Zachary left the house again in the afternoon.

Once he was gone, I pulled out my suitcase and began packing.

I packed a few pieces of clothing, my ID, my content planner, and a pair of gold earrings.

There were so few items. The quantity was so small and pitiful that even I was surprised. I had lived here for three years, yet only half my suitcase was full.

At that moment, my phone rang with a call from Zachary.

"Rowena has a photoshoot in the afternoon but is missing someone to hold the reflector. Are you free to come?"

"No."

Impatience crept into his tone as he retorted, "It's not like you have anything to do at home. Why can't you come help out?"

"I'm not going."

Two seconds passed in silence before Rowena's voice came over the line. "Winnie, it's me. Actually, you don't need to come. I can just ask my friend. Zach, stop making things difficult for Winnie. She's busy resting at home."

She let out a giggle, then added, "By the way, Zach told me that you've lost some weight recently, so you really should eat more."

My grip tightened on my phone.

So, I would only ever get his concern if it went through Rowena first.

I replied, "I got it."

After hanging up, I continued to fold my clothes and pack them into my suitcase, even as bitterness gnawed away at my insides.

In the evening, a parcel came.

It was the camera.

Zachary was infinitely careful as he unboxed it, treating it like a most precious piece of treasure.

"The image quality is quite good. Rowena will probably like it."

Suddenly, his phone rang. Seeing that it was his mother, Marcy Thorne, he put the call on loudspeaker.

"How have you been, Zach? Is Rowie still working with you on those videos?"

Zachary laughed and answered, "Everything is fine, Mom. And yes, she's still working with me."

Marcy said, "I saw that video you uploaded. Rowie sure is a beautiful woman, and she has such graceful charm too!"

Chuckling lowly, Zachary replied, "Mom, stop complimenting her."

"Don't forget to bring her home for Christmas dinner. Your dad wants to meet her too."

From where I sat on the couch, I felt a sudden chill go through my body.

Several seconds passed before Marcy seemed to remember me and asked, "By the way, how is Winona? I haven't heard you mention her in a long time. Are you two still doing okay?"

Zachary glanced at me. "We're okay. There's no need to worry."

That was it. He didn't say anything more than that, nor did he ask if I wanted to talk to Marcy.

During my three-year relationship with Zachary, I had bought them gifts, remembered their birthdays, and called them weekly to check in on them.

Yet, to Marcy, I was just someone who Zachary hadn't mentioned in a long time.

Zachary ended the call and placed the camera into a gift box.

When I stood up, he asked, "Where are you going?"

"To sleep."