The Day He Called Off Our Engagement, I Bought Iceland Tickets Chapter 05
He paused slightly, as if he had heard a joke.
“Are you ever going to stop? Lily, Sophia’s parents are out of town. There’s no one at home. Of course I should take care of her.”
After a pause, Michael gave a soft scoff.
“You’ve been with me since you were nineteen. For the past eight years, everything you have has come from me.”
“If you leave me, do you really think you can find someone better?”
I looked at him, and it felt as if something had been carved straight out of my chest.
So he was certain I would never leave.
He was also certain I could not leave.
I said nothing and opened the car door.
When he saw that I was not making a scene, he seemed relieved. Then he hit the gas and drove away.
When I got home, my phone lit up.
It was a reminder from Delta Air Lines.
[Your flight tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. to…]
I stared at that line for a few seconds, then walked into the bedroom.
It was only when I truly started packing that I realized how little I had.
A few pieces of clothing I wore often, one laptop, and a few sets of skincare products.
They did not even fill one suitcase.
But Michael’s closet was full of custom designer shirts I had helped pay for by scrimping and saving.
On Mrs. Whitmore’s vanity sat expensive supplements I had bought with money earned from staying up all night finishing design drafts.
At two in the morning, Michael still had not come home.
That couple’s account updated again.
In the photo, he was sitting by the bed, lowering his head as he wiped Sophia’s face.
The caption read, [No matter how late it is, he always stays when I need him most.]
After reading it, I locked my phone.
My heart was strangely calm.
Maybe when pain reached its limit, it turned into numbness instead.
The next morning, I made breakfast as usual, frying eggs, toasting bread, and warming milk.
When Michael came back, the chill from outside still clung to him.
As he changed his shoes, he explained, “Sophia wasn’t feeling well last night and couldn’t be left alone, so I stayed a little longer.”
I set the plate on the table. “Mm.”
My reaction seemed to throw him off instead, and his expression softened a little.
“After we finish the wedding photos this afternoon, we’ll settle the wedding date. Then we’ll invite your parents over to meet with mine. Happy now?”
I looked at the face I had loved for eight years.
“Michael, have you ever loved me in all these years?”
Michael’s expression stiffened, and his brows immediately knitted together.
“If I didn’t love you, would I marry you?”
Eight years ago, when he first pursued me, he would stand outside my dorm every day and tell me he liked me.
Every day, there were different flowers. He even planned surprises for tiny milestones, like our fifty-second day together.
But year after year, he became more and more dismissive.
Just then, his phone began vibrating wildly.
It was an incoming voice call from Sophia.
“Michael, I’m so cold… I think I have a fever…”
Michael’s expression changed. He grabbed his car keys and was about to leave.
For some reason, I reached out and grabbed his wrist.
“Sophia has a housekeeper at home. She doesn’t need you to go in person. Weren’t you supposed to take our wedding photos today? Can you stay, just this once?”
Michael lowered his head and looked at me. For a moment, he hesitated, but in the end, impatience took over.
“Lily, be reasonable. Sophia is sick.”
“I’ll have the driver take you to the wedding photo shoot location. You go get your makeup done first. I’ll come later.”
With that, he shook off my hand and left without looking back.
I lowered my head and looked at my empty hand, and my tears suddenly fell.
I took a breath and placed the note I had already written on the dining table.
[Michael, I canceled the wedding photos, and the wedding is off. These eight years end here.]
Then I opened my laptop and posted the screenshots, chat logs, photos, and that couple’s account all at once.
The caption was only one sentence.
[Michael and I were together for eight years, and you two documented those same eight years. Since you love each other so much, I’m calling off the wedding. I hope you get exactly what you wanted.]
I picked up my suitcase and went to the airport without looking back.
Meanwhile, Michael was sitting by Sophia’s bed, lowering his head as he peeled an apple for her.
His phone suddenly began vibrating nonstop.
He frowned and answered, only to hear his friend shouting from the other end.
“Michael, Lily found out about that secret couple’s account you and Sophia were running! She exposed everything!”