Pretend to Say You Love Me

　　As I was nearing the end of my workday, I received a call from William.

　　"Are you off work yet? Come over to the east side of town."

　　"No, I have a dentist appointment."

　　I'd been delaying the removal of my wisdom teeth because I didn't want my swollen face to affect my wedding photos, but that wasn't a concern anymore.

　　"Can't you reschedule the dentist? I've arranged a gathering, and you still owe Michelle an apology for last night."

　　I couldn't help but laugh.

　　I wasn't sure whether to first question why I needed to apologize or why I should go out to have dinner with a toothache.

　　"I'm going to the dentist."

　　I hung up, ignoring William's subsequent flurry of texts. After the dental procedure and some painkillers, I took a cab home, arriving past eleven.

　　The living room was empty.

　　I didn't call William to find out where he was. I washed up and planned to apply an ice pack before bed. Since I was leaving the country in a few days, I hadn't moved out yet. Our mismatched work schedules meant we rarely crossed paths, so I didn't worry about running into him.

　　William came back with Michelle by his side. Her hand was on his shoulder, and William's cheeks were flushed, clearly from drinking. Michelle flashed me a bright smile, her eyes gleaming with provocation.

　　"William's not feeling well and drank a bit too much."

　　I didn't respond, nor did I offer to take care of William. Instead, I let go of the doorknob and returned to my room to apply the ice pack.

　　"Stop right there, Anya," William called out drunkenly behind me.

　　Ignoring him, I headed to the bedroom.

　　William abruptly got up and blocked my way.

　　"Anya, what's your problem? Didn't you hear me talking to you?"

　　I looked up at William. His features, once so beloved seven years ago, now seemed unremarkable.

　　My heart was utterly calm.

　　"I have no problem. What do you want to say?"

　　I averted my eyes, my tone indifferent.

　　His face twisted in displeasure.

　　"Why didn't you come to dinner? Are you still upset? You were the one who made that crude comment that upset Michelle. I went through all this trouble to arrange this gathering for you, and you didn't even show up. Since when did you become so petty?"

　　I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

　　"William, have you ever seen Michelle's posts on social media?"

　　William's face brightened with excitement.

　　"Of course, I have. What she wrote wasn't wrong. Michelle said she wanted to avoid any misunderstandings about our relationship, but you still think something's going on between us."

　　I looked at William in disbelief.

　　I wanted to scream at him, to dissect the implications of Michelle's posts for him. But the words got stuck, like a dud firecracker.

　　Forget it. I've explained things to him enough. Has he ever listened?

　　I laughed at myself.

　　"Yes, you're right."

　　But William didn't seem pleased. He frowned deeply.

　　"Anya, do you still not get that there's nothing going on between me and Michelle? There's nothing…"

　　"Whatever's between you two is your business. I don't care."

　　I interrupted him and then turned to Michelle.

　　"I assume my comment made you happy. Don't pretend to be innocent; it's disgusting."

　　Without waiting for a response, I headed to the bedroom.

　　Behind me, Michelle began to cry softly, as if deeply wronged.

　　"You accused me of being a homewrecker, and I was dragged down by rumors to the point of divorce. Now, you misunderstand me again. I'm the landlady and get along well with all my tenants. Is that a crime?"

　　She looked at William.

　　"I'm sorry for causing trouble between you and Anya. You should move out to avoid further arguments."

　　William and I had fought numerous times over this. If he was going to move out, he would have done so long ago.

　　As expected, William said, "Michelle, don't overthink it. It's too late. I'll walk you home."

　　She had walked him home, and he was going to walk her back home now, never mind that Michelle's place was just on the first floor, and William was drunk.

　　He was drunk and alone with a woman. What could possibly happen?

　　It wasn't that I have dirty ideas, but William never adhered to the basic social distance expected of adults.

　　Did he not realize that?

　　No. With his good looks and ambition, William had plenty of women interested in him over the past seven years, some even trying to climb the social ladder through him.

　　But William always handled things well, never getting drunk when he ate out, and if he did, he would call me first. He never went out alone with other women, and even when I occasionally checked his phone, I found nothing but business messages. He remained indifferent to any female colleagues trying to flirt.

　　Because of this, I once wondered if I was overreacting to his relationship with Michelle.

　　However, whether love existed or not, only the person involved truly knew, like a fish knew the temperature of the water it swam in.

　　I was exhausted.

　　Clearing my mind, I turned off the lights and went to sleep.

　　William spoke at my door, saying he'd be back soon after taking Michelle home, but I didn't respond.

　　The next morning, the guest room and the sofa were empty, and there was no sign of William returning on the security footage.

　　My heart sank a little.

　　After getting ready for the day, William came back carrying my favorite waffles.

　　He set the table and gestured for me to sit.

　　I sat at the table, eating the cereal I had made myself.

　　William looked a bit distressed but not angry. He cautiously explained.

　　"Last night, Michelle's place had a power outage. Her ex-husband was upset about the property settlement and was making trouble, so I slept on the sofa while she stayed in the bedroom."

　　William's eyes were dark with circles, and his voice hoarse, clearly from a sleepless night.

　　But that no longer mattered to me.

　　Seeing that I remained silent, William stared at me intently, making me uncomfortable. I nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

　　William immediately smiled, thinking I had forgiven him, and said happily, "You've always said I'm too busy to take you to Hawaii. I've taken a half-month off; you can ask your boss for leave today, and we'll go tomorrow."

　　I declined, "I can't. Too much work. I don't have time."

　　William immediately put down his fork.

　　"Didn't you just transfer positions? How can you still be busy? You're still mad at me, aren't you? Anya, I was planning to take you to get our marriage certificate today. It's just an extra day. Can't you stop being so stubborn?"

　　Our love story began with him courting me.

　　After we got together, he pampered me, even holding me close at night, recounting the hardships of his secret crush.

　　In school, when I fell during a run, and a girl helped me to the infirmary, he pretended to be injured too, just to check on me and bring me food.

　　He would distract the teacher with questions he already knew just to buy time for my deskmate to pass me answers when I was asked to solve a problem in class.

　　These acts of covert affection made me believe William truly loved me, compelling me to love him even more.

　　So, I gradually became obsessive and insecure about him, but in the end, everything I did was dismissed by him as mere capriciousness.

　　I had nothing more to say.

　　I had once seen the love in his eyes for me, but now, it seemed to have faded long ago.

I looked at him calmly, and he seemed to avoid my gaze, clearly uneasy.

　　"Alright, I admit what I did was wrong," William said.

　　I shook my head and replied coolly, "It's not about being wrong; it's just that you don't love me anymore."

　　Was it wrong to stop loving someone? Of course not. There was no rule that said a person had to keep loving another forever.

　　William's face seemed to crack. He stood up and grabbed my shoulders. "Anya, what do you mean?"

　　His hands were trembling. He was scared.