04
55%
Leo had been avoiding me for two days after that disastrous marriage proposal. He replied to my messages vaguely, always hung up when I called, and still wasn’t coming home. Meanwhile, my mother kept pressuring us about getting married.
“Anna, what’s the latest with you and Leo? When is he planning to arrange for our families to
meet?” Mom asked anxiously over the phone.
Wiping the tears from my face, I tried to sound calm: “Mom, he’s been swamped with work
lately. He took on a huge project, so we’ll arrange it soon.”
Mom sighed on the other end of the line: “Anna, be honest with me, does he even want to
marry you? Don’t be a fool, you’ve been with him for so long. Don’t let it all be for nothing.”
“Mom, please don’t worry. I’ve just been busy with work lately. I know what I’m doing.” I tried to reassure Mom, but after hanging up, I curled up in bed, clutching Leo’s pillow. Looking at the pile
of cigarette butts on the nightstand, my heart ached with so many conflicting emotions.
In my chat window with Leo, I typed and deleted, deleted and typed again, never finding the courage to send anything. Finally, I clicked on Cherry’s profile and sent a message: [Who are you? And why did you add me?]
The reply came quickly: [Oh, nothing. Just wanted to show you how happy I am. Unlike you, no one would want you even if you paid them to.]
Seeing that, I was shaking with rage, and I typed back: [You’re his mistress, aren’t you? Let’s meet.]
The reply came quickly: [Okay, at the Warm Light cafe on the corner.]
When I got to the cafe, I saw Leo smiling at that woman with such tenderness. It was a smile
I’d never seen before, so radiant, so full of affection. Back in school, Leo was always the aloof, top student, rarely smiling. He only really showed his emotions around me. I stood outside the
window, watching Leo feed her cake, her leaning sweetly against his shoulder. And on the table,
of course, was mango mousse cake.
So, it turns out Leo isn’t the one who likes mango mousse cake; it’s her.
In that instant, all my anger and resentment dissolved, leaving only a bottomless ache in
my heart. I wanted to burst in and confront them, but when I reached the door, all my courage
evaporated. All I could do was turn and flee, hiding behind a big tree outside the cafe, crying
silently.
They stayed in the cafe for a full hour before finally leaving. I walked home in a daze, my
mind haunted by images of Leo and that woman being intimate.
When I got home, I saw Leo packing his suitcase. He saw my red, swollen eyes and asked, all fake concern, “Baby, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”
–
I didn’t answer him, just stared at him, cold. Leo’s smile faded. He kept packing, saying, “T” company’s sending me on a business trip for a week. I made dinner, remember to eat it.”
Looking at him, the scene from the cafe flashed in my mind, and my heart ached.
“Don’t go…” I rushed to him, grabbing his wrist. I was still wearing the ring I’d planned to use for
20:15 Fri, 9 May .
the marriage proposal.
“Could you stay with me a little longer and leave tomorrow?”
* 55%
Leo frowned, shaking off my hand impatiently. “Enough! I’m exhausted from work, and then I have to come home and coddle you. Can’t you be more mature and stop being so
unreasonable?”
Anger and sadness washed over me, and I sneered, “Coddleme? Like you were coddling those other women at the coffee shop this afternoon?”
Leo yanked his hand back, shoved me aside, and walked out, dragging his suitcase. “You’re just looking for a fight. All you do is overthink things.”
The second he started to close the door, I instinctively reached out to stop him, and my hand got caught in the jamb. Leo reacted quickly and released the door, but he completely lost it, yelling at me: “Brianna, are you crazy?”
Tears streamed down my face, and I cried out, “Just tell me, who is that woman? After all
these years together, don’t you love me anymore?”
Leo just sneered, pried my hand away, and slammed the door in my face. There i was in my pajamas, standing outside the door with him, his eyes blazing, jabbing his finger into my shoulder, forcing me to stumble back.
“Look at you, acting like a shrew. How could you ever compare to Luna
Clutching his suitcase, I cried, “Are you breaking up with me?”
Leo pursed his lips, his eyes like ice. He didn’t answer, just shoved me aside and walked out.
20:15 Fri, 9 May
