Love Lost: No Chance of Reunion

I hesitated for a second before calling my best friend Stella Cooper on video chat. I needed some advice.

She picked up in less than three seconds.

The moment Stella appeared, all the hurt I'd been holding back just came spilling out.

I immediately burst into tears, and she frantically asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I just missed you," I managed between sobs.

"Come on, what's really going on? Did Jayden mess with you?" Stella pressed.

She was my bestie for a reason. I hadn't even gotten into it, and she already had a hunch.

I nodded and spilled the beans about everything that went down tonight.

Stella's face grew more serious as I talked.

She said, "Wait, he chewed you out in public over a hundred-dollar durian?

Michelle, are you kidding me? Your family's loaded. It's not like you can't afford a durian. Hell, even if it was 1,300 dollars, you could handle it.

If your mom heard about this, she'd be so upset to know you got scolded over pocket change."

When I thought of my mother's face, the tears that had just stopped flowed again.

I'd never been treated like this before.

"Do you think I should break up with him?" I asked.

Stella nodded vigorously, looking almost relieved. "Definitely. You guys see money differently. It's just not sustainable long term. You're bound to break up eventually. Think about it, has he ever really splurged on you during your whole relationship?"

Her words clicked, and I took a hard look back. Over our four years, Jayden and I always took turns paying.

When it was his turn, he'd opt for cheap eats or the school dining hall. When it was mine, suddenly he'd want to dine at nicer places.

Jayden barely ever bought me gifts. The priciest was a 180 dollars skincare set for last Valentine's Day.

That set included two toners, two lotions, and a face cream.

Frankly, the products were so cheap I never dared to apply them.

They'd been sitting unopened in my cabinet, collecting dust.

Jayden was always going on about saving for our future marriage, a house, a car, so I didn't push for pricey gifts.

And every time we hit the supermarket, he'd fill the cart with his necessities and then dodge the bill by pretending to make a call or texting.

But when it came to himself, he didn't hesitate to drop thousands on basketball shoes for himself or grab the latest iPhone.

The more I thought about it, the more everything made sense. Relationships couldn't stand up well to hard looks.

I decided it was time to break up with Jayden.

However, I still hadn't received my internship certification. I was worried that breaking up now might prompt him to retaliate by withholding the document.

If it came to that, I'd have to approach the general manager, Julia Thomson, for help.

Just the thought of Julia's always stern face made me uneasy.