Cutting Ties and Letting Go

"Your phone's not with you," I pointed to the car, reminding him.

During dinner, Percival kept reaching for his phone to send messages.

This was one of the reasons women were drawn to him. As long as the novelty lasted, he'd shower someone with affection, elevate them to the heavens, and give them whatever they wanted.

When his girlfriend threw a tantrum, he'd enjoy playing along, patiently coaxing her. But once he grew tired, he'd turn as cold as stone, and no matter how much she fussed, he'd refuse to even acknowledge her.

If she really irritated him, he'd have no problem kicking her out of the city.

But clearly, his current girlfriend hadn’t hit that point yet. He kept sending message after message, but his phone remained silent.

It seemed she had a stubborn streak.

Throughout dinner, Percival sulked, wearing a clear "I’m not happy" expression. He was fidgeting, restless, like he had ants in his pants, and it was starting to ruin my appetite too.

When Opal brought over the soup, Percival unlocked his phone again, and with an impatient flick of his long leg, he carelessly stretched it out. His foot accidentally bumped Opal’s leg.

I watched in horror as my favorite fish ball soup wobbled in Opal's hand and spilled all over the floor. The porcelain bowl shattered, and soup splashed everywhere.

"Can you stop already? If you don’t want to eat, just leave!" I took a deep breath.

Percival apologized sincerely. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to ruin your meal. I won’t check my phone anymore."

Seeing the deep furrow in his brow, I couldn’t help but speak up. "My brother’s jewelry company just launched a new collection. It's flying off the shelves. Why don’t you get her the limited edition set? She’s easy to please, and the pink would look great on her—"

Before I could finish, he suddenly looked up, his expression unreadable.

His phone "clattered" to the floor.

I blinked and kept going, "...it would look stunning with her skin tone."

Percival stared at me intently, as though studying my face.

After a long silence, he seemed to believe I was sincere. He scoffed coldly, grinding his teeth. "Rosa, you're something else, aren't you? Trying to sell your brother's products to me."

I shot back defiantly, "Tell me honestly, does Garrett Jewel really need more customers? This new six-pointed star pink limited edition just came out, and there’s only one in the world. Do you know how many people are lining up to pre-order? My brother hasn’t even made a move yet—he’s holding out to stir up more buzz."

"I was trying to help you out by being shameless enough to ask my brother, and this is how you thank me?"

In reality, the jewelry was expensive and flashy, but the value for money wasn’t great. My brother had initially planned to rent it out. Of course, if someone wanted to buy it, that would be even better.

If Percival was willing to buy, it would still be a contribution to Garrett Jewel. Why not buy it from him?

"Fine! Fine!" Percival nodded. "I’ll go to your brother and buy the jewelry right now!"

With that, he stormed out.

As I watched the car’s headlights light up the yard, I felt a strange sense of confusion. I couldn’t understand why he was upset.

When it came to spending money on women, he was always generous, sometimes willing to spend ridiculous amounts just to make a woman happy.

This jewelry didn’t seem expensive at all to him, did it?

After Percival left, I calmly resumed eating. In fact, I ended up eating more than usual.

Once dinner was over, I sat on the couch and turned on the TV. I found myself laughing uncontrollably at a funny scene in a variety show.

Before I knew it, over two hours had passed.

Opal turned off the kitchen light, covered me with a light blanket, and reminded me to get some rest before heading back to her room.

The large living room was now empty, except for me.

As I continued watching the amusing scenes on TV, I laughed so hard that tears started streaming down my face.

The hot, heavy tears rolled down my cheeks.

I covered my face, sobbing uncontrollably. And yet, amidst my tears, I started laughing again.