Chapter 2

The clock struck midnight, yet David still hadn't returned. In the past, I would've tossed and turned in bed. That night, however, I slept surprisingly well. It was probably because I had moved on from someone who wasn't worth it and spared myself. The following day, I was woken up by some noise in the kitchen early in the morning. David had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his toned forearms flexing as he stirred the pan, reheating the leftovers from last night. "I'll spend today with you to make up for the Thanksgiving I missed," he said. He tasted a piece of the steak from the pan and added, "You did quite well with this." I looked at him in surprise. David had always been very particular and never had leftovers. He was looking down, waiting for me to respond. Then, it hit me—he was making an exception. It turned out this was his way of cheering me up. He was waiting for me to accept his olive branch and give in. It would've worked in the past. But this time, I shook my head and said, "There's no need for this." There was no need to make up for Thanksgiving, much less to try to make me feel better. David frowned a little before he turned around to grab a slice of cake, shoving it to me casually. "It's the new flavor from Candy Cove, your favorite place," he said. I looked at the remaining slice of cake covered in mango, and my heart ached. I was never fond of sweets much. What had truly made it sweet for me was his thoughtfulness. But after seven years, he had Selene's preferences etched in his memory, yet he couldn't even remember that I was allergic to mango. I stood in silence, slowly realizing what a waste the past seven years had been. David, on the other hand, was gradually losing his patience. Holding back his anger, he said, "Just knock it off already. I've offered you so many olive branches. If you don't take one soon, they're going to be all gone. If Selene hadn't talked me into it, I would never have come back so soon to cheer you up. Don't ever talk about breaking up again. Got it?" I finally understood it—even his efforts to coax me were all for Selene. "David, I mean it," I said slowly. "I really want to—" I wanted to tell him that I wanted to break up with him and go home to get married, but the rest of my sentence was cut off by his special ringtone. "Selene?" His tone became gentle, and his eyes were beaming as he said, "Alright, I'll be right there." His aloof expression returned to his face as he ended the call. "Selene needs me. I'm going to head over." Just like he had done countless times before, he left before I could say anything. But this time, I didn't watch his retreating back with a blank expression. I had nothing to do for the long weekend, so I figured I might as well go to the office. I planned to resign after the holidays and leave, so I organized the documents in advance to ensure a smooth handover later. I left the office in the evening and went to a trendy restaurant nearby. It wasn't just famous for its delicious food. Rumor had it that couples who took photos there were more likely to live happily ever after. That was why I had tried to go with David a few times, but he was always busy. Since I was about to leave the city soon, I decided to pay a visit myself. Unexpectedly, I saw David and Selene in there as soon as I walked in. They were sitting next to each other, almost touching shoulders. The dishes on the table were things David couldn't have, but they were all Selene's favorites. He couldn't take anything spicy, and he didn't like seafood. I had always been the one accommodating him. As it turned out, he also had someone he was willing to accommodate and make compromises for. Neither of them saw me. Smiling, Selene stuffed the remaining bite of her spicy crab boil in his mouth and said, "It's good, so I'm sharing half of it with you." Her finger brushed lightly against the corner of his lips, and David's face gradually turned red. From what I remembered, he had always been calm and composed. It turned out that at the age of 25, he could still look like a bashful teenager falling in love for the first time—and it was all because he was facing the woman he truly liked. "Selene, how about we take a photo together?" he asked, pretending to be casual. But his eyes betrayed his nerves and anticipation. Selene said nothing. She just smiled and gave him a light push. Just then, she suddenly looked up and saw me.