LOGINThe group chat only had three people in it, yet every time I sent a message, no one responded. At first, I figured everyone was just busy. After all, Maya Reed and I had been best friends for eighteen years, and Adrian Pierce and I had been together for seven. Then came today. I dropped a message in the chat like I always did: [What if we all went to Seattle for the weekend?] Nothing. Silence all day. That night, Maya shared a reel of a cozy indie cafe in downtown Seattle. [Omg this place looks so cute!] Adrian replied instantly. Within seconds, the two of them were spamming the chat until the unread count hit 99+. I jumped in: [So are we going or what?] The chat went completely dead again. I scrolled back through the chat history. Yesterday I wrote: [Thinking about quitting my job. I’m just so exhausted.] No reply. The day before that, Maya posted a selfie with a text: [My skin looks terrible, I hate this.] Adrian replied a second later: [Stop it, you look gorgeous.] They flirted back and forth until midnight. I chimed in: [Wanna grab dinner tomorrow?] Silence. The very next evening, I walked into a diner downtown and caught them eating together. Last week, Adrian posted a movie trailer. Maya commented: [I wanna see that!] I replied: [Count me in too.] Neither of them responded. When I texted Adrian privately later, it turned out they’d already bought tickets and finished the movie together. They weren't too busy to reply. They just didn't want to reply to me. I didn’t leave the group chat. I didn’t type out a massive, dramatic paragraph demanding answers. I simply tapped the settings and muted the notifications. On the day I finally turned in my resignation, the chat pinged. Adrian: [@Emery My mom is asking about us getting married again. Maya’s asking too. Why aren't you answering?] I stepped off the plane, pulled up his message for the very last time, and typed back: [You two can keep talking without me.] [Happy breakup to us.]
View MoreMaya clutched the envelope tightly, suddenly wrapping her arms around me. She sobbed with deep, ragged heartbreak.It was as if she were trying to cry out all the grievances and regrets that had piled up over the years.She buried her face in my shoulder, her voice shook uncontrollably.Over and over again, she mumbled, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Emery, I'm sorry…"It wasn't until I went through all of this that I realized how good you were to me. Can we still…?""There’s no 'us' anymore."I calmly cut her off."From now on, it's just you and me."Gently but firmly, I pushed her away from my embrace, looking down at her tear-smeared makeup and her humbled, broken face."I hope you're happy in your new marriage, but that's where it ends."I won't stay for the banquet reception; I've got places to be. Goodbye."With that, I loosened my grip and turned to walk away.Just as I took a few steps, a familiar voice called out from behind me."Emery."It was Adrian.Maya let go of
For my next travel destination, I told no one.I went to Tibet.In that place closest to the sky, I witnessed the most devout prostrations and gazed at the towering, endless snow-capped mountains. Under the heavy red walls of the Potala Palace, I listened to the deep, resonant chanting and the turning prayer wheels.I suddenly felt that those lingering grudges over jealousy and betrayal were as insignificant as dust.I knew what I needed to do when I got back.Instead of returning to my hometown for a safe, steady job as my parents expected, I reorganized my resume and applied to cities much further away.About two years later, during an industry collaboration exhibition, I ran into an ex-colleague, Nicholas West, from my former company.We exchanged a few pleasantries and chatted about our current work.He suddenly brought up Maya."Do you remember that vendor complaint right before you left? The one Maya handled."I paused for a second, somewhat surprised.To be honest, I
"I've been crushed under your thumb for eighteen years! Eighteen years! Am I not allowed to fight for myself even once?"Maya pointed straight at my face, her tears mixing with spit."You've always had it so easy, always one-upping me at everything. But I'm doing pretty well for myself now, too! I've got a decent job, I've worked my way up to management, and I know how to dress. I can even recognize all those luxury designer brands you used to have lying around, the ones I couldn’t even name back then!"Why does everyone always like you instead of me?"I looked at her and didn't bother pulling any punches.I fired back. "Still don't get it? Because you're an ungrateful leech."Maya choked up, completely speechless.I didn't plan on stopping, pressing right on."You've been clinging to my back like a parasite, living off my blood and flesh. After taking all my help, you don't even remember a single good thing I did for you, and instead, you're always plotting to stab me in the
I never thought Adrian and Maya would actually track me down, probably after pressuring my parents to tell them where I was. When I pushed open the courtyard gate and saw the two of them standing there, I let out a heavy, helpless sigh, but still led them over to sit at the wooden table under the veranda.Adrian spoke up first."I'm sorry, Emery. I know I did a lot of things that upset you, and I've really done some reflecting."With that, he pulled a key out of his pants pocket and slid it across the wooden table toward me."I got this key back from Maya, and now it's yours."I'm going to keep a proper distance from her from now on and stop crossing any lines. Take the key, and when this trip is over, let's head back and get married and make it official. Okay?"As soon as he finished, Adrian turned sideways and gave a sharp nudge with his elbow to Maya, who had been sitting in dead silence beside him.Maya's complexion was awful, clearly showing how reluctant she was to have


















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