Deciding to Break Up: Start By Understanding All His Lies

It was evening.

When Daniel came back, he was holding a bouquet of pink and white roses. He saw me sitting in the living room and slammed the roses down in front of me.

There was an open card attached, with the words: [Happy Seventh Anniversary of Our Meeting!]

At the end of the message, there was even a heart drawn.

Without needing Daniel to say anything, I knew the flowers were from Brenda.

Brenda always sent pink and white roses.

I, on the other hand, always sent red roses.

I used to send pink and white roses too, but Daniel once told me he hated them and asked me not to send them anymore.

He was even angry with me for a whole day because of it.

But later, when I saw Brenda giving Daniel pink and white roses, he smiled happily.

I questioned Daniel about it, but he denied ever saying he didn't like pink and white roses. He even said they symbolized pure feelings.

At that moment, I was silent and finally understood a simple truth.

The type of flower didn't matter. What matters was the person who gave them.

But now, I didn't feel a trace of anger.

"Put the flowers away for me."

Daniel ordered smugly, tilting his chin up.

"Okay."

I nodded, got up, and threw the previous flowers I had given Daniel into the trash before replacing them with the new pink and white roses.

"What are you doing? Why throw away the red roses instead of using a new vase? Are you throwing a tantrum?"

Daniel crossed his arms and looked at me with that familiar, cold, mocking gaze, continuing, "You're always so petty..."

It was the same old words, the same condescending attitude.

In the past, I would have been furious, my face turning pale, my body trembling, and I would have argued with Daniel until he stormed out.

Then, I would apologize and beg him to come back.

But now, I calmly replied, "You've misunderstood."

Daniel seemed surprised by my calmness, his expression changing to one of disbelief. He furrowed his brows, stopped talking to me, and stormed out.

Without a doubt, Daniel was angry again.

He probably thought I would chase after him with his bag, like before, apologizing and trying to make things right.

He'd continue to ignore me on the street.

I would even skip work just to appease Daniel for hours, which eventually led to me being scolded by my boss, getting my pay docked, or even being fired.

Because of this, I was forced to switch jobs several times.

But this time, I didn't chase after him, nor did I plan to. Instead, I went to the study.

After all, Daniel had Brenda.

I turned on my computer and logged into a design forum. It had been so long since I last used my account that I had to try several times before getting the password right.

As soon as I was online, a friend greeted me: [Hey Arabella, why are you suddenly back? Didn't you quit because of your boyfriend? Did you break up?]

I stared at the screen for a while before replying with a simple: [Yes.]

Actually, I've been interested in drawing since I was a kid, and I even showed some talent for it. Prestigious schools abroad and famous gaming companies offered me opportunities.

But I turned them down for Daniel, choosing instead to work at an ordinary company.

I'd wake up early to make breakfast for Daniel, wash his clothes at night, watch the shows he liked, and help him solve problems at work.

It seemed like everything I did was to cater to Daniel, and I gradually gave up on my own interests, drawing, building aircraft models, all of it.

But in the end, I got nothing. Daniel's attitude toward me was warm and icy, but he was always warm and affectionate with Brenda.

The dream I once had of a lifetime of love with Daniel had long since shattered.

Rather than exhausting myself for others, it was better to love myself more.

Two hours later, I received a call from Brenda.