Chapter 2

The voice on the other end sounded excited. "Really, Mr. Armer? When will you be coming?"

The owner of this company had taken a strong interest in me. He had sent multiple invitations, trying to recruit me.

Because of childhood trauma, Paisley didn't want to live abroad. Time and again, I turned down those offers, giving up promising career opportunities. All of it was just to stay with her in our home country.

I thought sincerity would be met with sincerity.

In the end, I lost completely. I had spent my youth with Paisley, weathering five years of highs and lows, only to be humiliated by her like this.

If that was how it was, then it was time I started thinking about myself.

"The day after tomorrow," I replied. "I still need some time to resign."

The other party agreed immediately. After hanging up, he even transferred the money for my plane ticket.

After ending the call, I noticed Paisley had just updated her social feed. In the photo, she and Jude were enjoying a candlelit dinner at a fancy restaurant. The caption read, "With you by my side, even the air feels sweet."

I was a little surprised. In my memory, she hated foreign food the most. It all began when her father left her and her mother behind, running off overseas with another woman.

That left her with psychological scars, and she resisted almost anything from abroad.

Early in our relationship, before I knew about this, I took her to a restaurant serving international dishes. The result was a thorough scolding from her. After that, she gave me the silent treatment for an entire week.

But now, for Jude, she was happily eating at that restaurant with a relaxed smile. There wasn't a hint of disgust on her face.

Looking at it this way, love truly was a miracle; it could even soothe old psychological scars.

Colleagues were flooding the comments with congratulations. Usually, it was Jude posting vague, suggestive updates. Everyone had a sense of what was going on, but nobody said it outright.

Now, with Paisley posting it herself, it was basically an official announcement. She thanked everyone for their congratulations and even sent a few cash gifts in the group chat.

I knew she was doing all of this to get under my skin, to make me cave in and apologize first. But this time, not a single ripple of emotion stirred inside me.

I immediately sent a text to my good friend, Wyatt Barker. "Wanna grab some food?"

He replied instantly, "Hell yeah!"

At the food truck, Wyatt was chowing down on tacos while teasing me. "Hey, doesn't your girlfriend keep you on a tight leash with that 10:00 pm curfew?"

It was laughable, really. Paisley was afraid I might cheat, so she set strict rules for me.

Yet she played by a completely different set of rules, often staying out all night. She thought she was keeping it hidden. I had already figured everything out from the photos Jude had sent me of the two of them.

What a joke. I'd been playing the fool, sticking to that curfew so rigidly. I even turned down hangouts with friends more than once. Slowly, they stopped reaching out. For almost a year, my entire life had revolved around Paisley.

Looking back, I couldn't believe how stupid I had been. I took a big gulp of beer. "We broke up."

Wyatt's eyes went wide, and he patted me on the shoulder. "About time! She never deserved how good you were to her. Enough about that. Tonight's on me. You're not leaving until you've eaten and drank your fill!"

I ordered two more cases of beer from the vendor. We ate and drank until the early hours before I finally headed home.

As soon as I opened the door, an ashtray came flying straight at me.

Paisley's icy voice followed. "Do you know what time it is? You finally decided to come home!"

I was caught off guard. I hadn't expected her to be home. After all, she usually spent the whole night with Jude.

Stunned, I couldn't dodge in time. The ashtray smashed into my forehead, and blood poured down my face.

A flicker of panic flashed in her eyes, but it quickly faded, replaced by cold indifference. She demanded sharply, "Why are you home so late? Curfew was hours ago!"

I let out a cold laugh and fired back, "What about you? Why are you back all of a sudden? Aren't you supposed to be with Jude tonight?

Paisley froze and clicked her tongue in annoyance. "What are you talking about? I didn't have any work dinners today. I just finished helping Jude and came straight home. All those times with him were just work trips and business meetings. Stop reading too much into it.

"I came back early to keep you company because you seemed down. And this is how you repay me? By throwing shade the moment you walk in?"

I glanced at the cold dinner on the table, a little surprised. Had I really misunderstood her?

She ignored my reaction and kept talking. "Oh, right. Earlier, Jude mentioned that his parents are hard to convince. They won't back off until they see wedding photos. So tomorrow I still have to go with him to get some taken.

"I remember you know your way around this stuff. Could you recommend a studio that works quickly, or one with nicer wedding outfits?"