Tickets to Regret

I called Jules 18 times, but he still did not answer.

The crowd outside the VIP entrance was in an uproar, with screams echoing one after another. However, all I could hear was the cold, mechanical female voice. "Sorry, the number you dialed is currently unavailable."

I had already vaguely figured it out. Jules had stood me up again.

However, I stubbornly wanted an answer. I kept dialing the phone over and over.

As the familiar prompt sounded again and again, my heart sank little by little.

The music festival was probably at its climax, and deafening cheers could be heard inside the venue. The bass vibrations could be felt even from behind the fence, which made the ground tremble.

The atmosphere inside the venue infected the spectators outside who had no tickets. Everyone waved their glow sticks and screamed along.

I was the only one standing there, clutching my phone, feeling out of place. Glancing at the 27 missed calls I had made on my phone screen, I suddenly realized that whether or not he came did not seem so important anymore.

The glimmer of hope that the month-long silent treatment was about to end had long been worn away by these 27 phone calls.

Even if Jules came right now, I had already given up on making up.

I took a few deep breaths, composed myself, and opened my bag, ready to go in alone.

Although Jules had ruined my good mood, the headlining act for this Coachella concert was a band I had loved for over a decade. I had looked forward to seeing them since I was a child. After finally managing to snag VIP wristbands, I was determined to go in, even if I was alone.

When I opened the hidden compartment in my bag, my mind went blank — it was empty.

The two wristbands I had carefully put away a few days ago were gone.

As I racked my brain trying to remember if I had kept them somewhere else, my phone chimed.

I checked it and saw a social media post published by Jules' childhood sweetheart, Maddie Washington.

In the photo, Jules was solemnly holding a pink marshmallow with a stiff expression — completely different from his usual composed persona of a Wall Street elite.

Maddie captioned: [Finally seeing Domi Dora. Thank you to the person who always responds to my every request.]

Thinking about all the unreachable phone calls and the missing wristbands, I instantly realized what had happened.

In Jules' childhood friends' group chat named "Old School Gang", a mutual friend shared a screenshot.

Trippe van der Meer commented: [Wait, Jules really went to Coachella?]

Chase Whitmore replied: [Maddie’s got him completely wrapped around her little finger.]

Another person added: [Didn’t he say he had plans with his wife this weekend? Oh...]

These people were all talking about how special Jules was to Maddie and how close they had been since childhood.

Not one of them mentioned me — Jules’ legal wife of five years.

When I saw Trippe say that Jules had turned down the invitation to the party in the Hamptons, saying he was "too busy", I was momentarily stunned.

I remembered a few days ago, Jules was on the phone on the balcony, and I vaguely heard words like "not going" and "something to do this weekend" from the living room.

I smugly thought that Jules valued this date. He always said he disliked music festivals, but he specifically turned down his friends’ invitations to accompany me.

As such, I booked a restaurant well in advance for that evening, planning to apologize to Jules after the show and finally put an end to our month-long silent treatment.

Unexpectedly, Jules really valued this date. It was just that the date was not with me; it was with Maddie.

To get Maddie into the concert, he even secretly took the wristbands that had already been given to me.

I suddenly found the whole thing ridiculous.

While I was anxiously pacing outside the VIP entrance waiting for him, he had already gone in with Maddie. All I was left with was an empty bag and phone calls that would not go through.

I could not help but wonder if he had never intended to go with me in the first place and was just putting on a show to appease me. I had thought he was taking the initiative to make amends, which was unprecedented for him.

With this in mind, I suddenly felt something on my face. I raised my hand to wipe it and found my palm wet.

Just then, the two girls next to me, watching a livestream, suddenly screamed.

"Gosh, so sweet! Other people’s boyfriends are always the sweetest!"

"He's solemnly holding cotton candy while accompanying his girlfriend to see her idol — the contrast is so adorable!"

I involuntarily turned my head to look. On the screen, Maddie was nestled shyly in Jules' arms, while Jules' hands were tightly around her waist. The two of them were like a couple deeply in love, inseparable.

I heard something inside me shatter. The shards pierced my heart, leaving it riddled with holes.

I think it was time to end this five-year mistake.