He Said I Was Nothing, So I Left with Everything

Sullivan's company was on the smaller side—about thirty employees in the construction-materials business. So when the college girl showed up, it was only a matter of time before everyone knew exactly who she was. More than half those people knew me; they'd been at my engagement party with Sullivan.

Aliya asked me tentatively over the phone, "Amira, should I keep an eye out for you?"

"No need, Aliya. But thanks."

I hung up and made some frozen dumplings for dinner. I ate half the packet and threw the rest away.

The next day at work, my new coworkers added me to an industry WhatsApp group. That's how I spotted a mutual friend, Indy Perry—someone who knew Sullivan and me well.

That afternoon, she texted me.

"Amira, I heard you and Sullivan are having some issues?"

I didn't answer.

A second message came through: "I had lunch near Sullivan's office today. I saw him with a young girl. She couldn't have been older than twenty-one or twenty-two."

Still nothing from me.

By evening, she called.

"Amira, are you not checking your messages? I have something to tell you, but promise me you'll stay calm."

"All right. Go ahead."

"I saw Sullivan at lunch today. He was shopping with that girl at the mall. He bought her a necklace."

"I saw the price tag. It must have cost close to twenty thousand yuan."

She lowered her voice, like she was letting me in on some huge secret.

"And here's the kicker—Sullivan saw me too. He didn't even try to hide it. He said hi, said she's a new intern at the company and he was just showing her around."

She paused, waiting for me to react.

"Amira? You there?"

"Yeah."

"Why aren't you saying anything? Doesn't this make you mad?"

"Does being mad solve anything?"

"Well, what are you going to do? You can't just let this slide, right?"

"Indy, I know what I'm doing."

"Do you? Listen, Amira, this attitude of yours isn't right. The colder you act, the more he'll think he can manipulate you."

"If you want to win him back, I can arrange for you two to meet and have a proper talk in person."

Win him back?

She thought I should try to win him back.

I didn't take the bait.

"Indy, thanks for your concern, but I have to go."

After I hung up, I scrolled back through my chat history with Indy and felt a nagging sense that something was off.

She claimed running into Sullivan was a coincidence, but her message came in at 12:30 p.m. Sullivan's office was on the west side of town; her workplace was on the east. Why would she go that far for lunch?

Then I remembered what Aliya had said—that the college girl was at the office that day and Sullivan took her out to lunch, with Indy witnessing the whole thing.

It felt orchestrated. As if they wanted Indy to see it and report back to me.

Sullivan wanted me to know he was doing fine, had company, and didn't need me.

He wanted me to be the one to reach out first.

He'd pulled this trick before. During our past fights, he'd post pictures of outings with female colleagues on social media. I'd be the one rushing to call and make up.

He'd answer in that infuriatingly lazy tone: "Come to your senses?"

Then I'd apologize, he'd forgive me, and the same old cycle would start all over again.

But this time was different.

My phone buzzed again. It was Sullivan's mom.

"Amira, Sullivan says you've changed jobs? What kind of company? Do you want me to introduce you to a better one?"

"Aunt Leila, that's not necessary."

"Oh dear, why are you being so stubborn? I'm just worried about you having a hard time out there."

"You're a young woman. Why insist on being so tough?"

"Even if Sullivan messes up now and then, he genuinely cares about you. Think about it—hasn't he given you everything over the past six years?"

I squeezed my phone until my knuckles went white.

Struggle? The biggest struggle of my life has been the mess your family put me through.

Given me everything?

A house I had put eight hundred thousand yuan down on—in his name. An engagement party where his name was twice the size of mine on the invitations. Six years of promises, only for him to father a child with another woman.

"Aunt Leila, what's going on between Sullivan and me is beyond what I can fix on my own."

"What do you mean? Don't say such unsettling things, Amira."

"Aunt Leila, the girl is pregnant with Sullivan's child. You knew that, didn't you?"

Silence stretched on the other end.

Eventually, her warm, composed voice came back.

"Amira, I'll deal with this. You don't need to worry."

"You just need to come back."