《I Left My Girlfriend the Night Before She Proposed》全部章節：第 1 章 - 第 9 章

I had known Claire for ten years.I fell for her the moment I saw her during my junior year of college. I spent three years pursuing her and poured everything I had into winning her over before she finally agreed to be with me.For the next seven years, I loved her with everything in me.In return, I got lies and betrayal.What a joke.I returned to our apartment, numb with disappointment.I had barely sat down when my mother called.“Ethan, your father is preparing to step back from the company’s day-to-day operations. The board is discussing succession next month. He’d like you to come home to Boston and sit in on a few meetings, at least.”My father ran an energy and mining investment group. For the past several years, every time I visited Boston, he left a stack of company reports waiting in his study. But I was always in such a hurry to get back to Claire in New York that I never opened a single one.“There’s something else,” my mother said after a pause. “Do you remember the Benn

I went to the office and handed in my resignation.When my coworkers heard I was leaving, they asked if I was finally moving back to Boston.“Something like that.” I gave them a faint smile. “Claire and I broke up too.”“What? I thought you two were about to get married.”They all looked stunned, but I didn’t explain.It was after nine that night by the time I finished handing over my work.On the way home, I came across a spectacular fireworks display by the river.People nearby were saying that the founder of a tech company had spent a fortune putting it together for the person she loved.The sky blazed with brilliant color.I made my way through the crowd, only to find two familiar faces at the center of it.Claire and Noah stood beneath the fireworks, wrapped in each other’s arms.“Do you like your birthday surprise?” Claire asked.Noah’s eyes filled with tears as he nodded. “I love it. I can’t believe you remembered me saying I wanted to see fireworks set off just for me.”Then he

Three months later, Evelyn and I were married.Along with our friends and family in Boston, I invited a few people I knew from New York.They had watched my relationship with Claire unfold over the years. Now that I was marrying someone else, they couldn’t help feeling a little wistful.“You loved Claire so much, Ethan. We all thought she was the only woman you’d ever marry. I can’t believe you ended up being the one to move on first.”“I was shocked when I got the invitation too. But this worked out for the best. Evelyn is beautiful, classy, and so much better suited to you.”“Honestly, I never thought you and Claire were right for each other. She got so used to you giving in that she stopped appreciating anything you did. Evelyn is different. You two look great together. I hope you’ll be very happy.”I raised my glass and smiled as we toasted. “Thank you. The past is behind me. I’m ready to move forward.”Surrounded by the people we loved, Evelyn and I began the ceremony.We stood be

Noah left in the end.Claire had the movers throw out everything he had brought over, then restored the apartment to the way it had looked before I left.She put away the extra shoes by the door, threw Noah’s glasses into the trash, and straightened a framed photo the movers had knocked out of place.The picture had been taken seven years earlier. I stood behind her with my arms around her, and she leaned against my shoulder, smiling without a care in the world.She stared at it for a long time before the tears began to fall.Only after I was gone did she realize how much she had come to depend on me.Seven years of my love and care had worked their way into every corner of her life. She couldn’t simply cut them out.My usual coffee mug still sat in the kitchen. A grocery list in my handwriting was still stuck to the refrigerator.She had never paid attention to those things before. Now every one of them reminded her that I was never coming back.She thought about the hardest years of