Chapter 5

The next morning, when I got up, Nathan was already sitting at the dining table, waiting for me. "My mother wasn't happy with how you behaved yesterday, Serena."

I poured myself a glass of warm water and took a few sips. "And?"

"Don't you think you should reflect on your behavior?" he said.

"Reflect on what?"

"The fact that you were late, didn't bother to get along with everyone, and the way you treated Zoey."

I set down my glass and looked at him.

"So?"

Nathan met my gaze, his expression tinged with displeasure.

"Serena, there's a limit to how much I will tolerate. Don't wait until we've actually broken up to start crying over it. I won't be the one trying to appease you."

My eyes narrowed. "I won't cry about it, and I won't need you to appease me."

He let out an angry snort. "After all these years, you're still as stubborn as ever. Are you so certain I'll never break up with you?"

I stared straight into his eyes, as if trying to see right through him.

"Well? Would you?"

He looked away, his voice barely above a whisper as he replied, "I don't know."

Did he really not know, or was he simply afraid to say it?

But I no longer cared. I walked right past him and headed into the kitchen.

"Have you eaten?" I asked.

He paused before answering, "No."

"Then I'll make something for the two of us."

I made us some pasta, even taking great care to wipe the bit of sauce that had dripped onto the rim of the plate before serving it to him.

He took a big mouthful of the spaghetti before letting out a contented hum.

"If you'd behaved like this yesterday, I might have already given you the ring."

I paused, confused by what he meant.

"I was actually planning to propose to you last night. I'd already bought the ring and everything," Nathan said.

He pushed a black velvet box toward me.

I opened it and saw a ring inside. It had a rose-shaped setting with a large yellow diamond in the center.

It was beautiful.

I picked it up and tried to slide it onto my finger, but no matter how hard I tried, it wouldn't go on. It wasn't my size.

A chuckle escaped me. I was laughing at myself for having held on to even the tiniest bit of hope.

Nathan and I had been together for ten years, yet I couldn't even wear the ring he'd supposedly bought for me.

"Why didn't you propose, then?"

He set down his fork and said coolly, "Zoey was right. You needed to be taught a lesson. Only then will you stop making these mistakes."

I placed the ring back in its box. "Did she know you were going to propose?"

"She did. She helped me pick out the ring."

So the ring was actually in Zoey's size, then?

I let out another laugh and pushed the box back toward him.

"Take it back."

Nathan frowned. "Are you rejecting my proposal?"

I raised my eyes to meet his. "Are you proposing?"

He snatched up the ring and shoved it into his pocket before turning to leave.

"Serena, if you let this opportunity pass, there's no telling when you'll get it again."

Well, I knew for certain there wouldn't be next time.

I asked him, "Nathan, are you going to propose to me?"

He shook his head. "You're the one who doesn't want it. I have to work late for the next few days. I won't be coming home."

Nathan walked straight out of the house. The silence that settled over the place was almost unbearable.

Fortunately, I'd already grown accustomed to being alone.

…

At 5:30 pm, right in the middle of rush-hour traffic, the ride-hailing car I was in pulled up to an intersection. The traffic light had just turned red.

I stared at the familiar corner of the street, a little lost in thought. Nathan's company was right there.

I turned to look at the building and spotted him standing at the entrance of the lobby. He seemed to be waiting for someone.

Just then, a car pulled up in front of him.

Zoey stepped out and slipped coquettishly into his arms. The yellow diamond ring on her left ring finger caught the last rays of the setting sun, flashing so brightly it almost hurt my eyes.

The driver, a local, watched the scene and whistled in admiration.

"See that? That's Nathan Crane, the chairman of that company. And the woman beside him is his girlfriend.

"A few days ago, that video of Mr. Crane ringing the opening bell at the stock exchange with that woman went viral online. Just look at that enormous diamond ring! I wouldn't be surprised if she becomes Mrs. Crane soon."

It suddenly hit me just how ridiculous this whole situation was. The ring had been meant for Zoey all along, yet Nathan lied to me anyway, pretending that he loved me.

I brought up the window and said quietly, "The light's turning green soon."

Once the traffic light turned green, the car sped off.

Before long, I was on a plane that was soaring high above the clouds.

Nathan had his new business empire, and I had my own life to live. From now on, I wasn't going to be the one by his side.