The Final Party

My mom pulled me into a tight hug when I got home, dragging my suitcase behind me. Her eyes were red.

"That jerk doesn't deserve you."

My dad's face was cold. He had sent a voice message to his business group chat, saying, "Anyone who still works with Edward Charles Kingsley is going against me."

After calming my parents down, I collapsed onto my bed, completely drained.

The house was finally quiet again. I lay there in my room, staring at the ceiling.

Then, my phone buzzed—an Instagram update notification.

I opened it.

Juliet had just posted something—eight photos of her with Edward and his friends at a private club last night. Right in the middle, one shot showed her sitting on Edward's lap, smiling at each other.

It also included a caption.

[Capital Alliance Gaming Night: A fresh start worth celebrating!]

I stared at that photo for a long time. Then, without thinking, I tapped on the Like button.

A few minutes later, Edward called me.

"Come and play poker at the club. Juliet and I will bring you in."

I almost laughed out loud.

Back then, I had begged him to bring me to join his so-called banking social circle events.

He let me play poker once—just once—and when I made a mistake, he snapped at me, saying, "You play like an idiot. Stop wasting my time. Get out."

I wondered why he would want to invite me now.

I was about to hang up when Juliet's voice came through the speaker, all fake and sweet.

"Edward, I feel sick again. That's your fault for going too hard that night! I just wanted to see if I could feel anything with a guy. You drank too much and ruined my back for life!

"Can you stop trying to smooth things over with your fiancée for just one minute? What matters more to you—your baby or her? Pick one."

Edward said, "You know what? Say nothing if you want, but I'm done. You've used up all my patience."

He hung up.

It felt like someone had hit me over the head.

The mistake he made was more like a planned incident.

There were always signs.

He was bored with every date with me. However, he always stayed up all night gaming with Juliet on voice chat.

Juliet was there on every business trip. He claimed that Juliet could make jokes like a guy.

Juliet's chat was always pinned to the top on his Instagram. He set a special notification sound so he would not miss her updates.

Even on Valentine's Day, he got her a gift.

"She's single. It's just sad if no one gives her anything."

Whenever I questioned him, he would scoff and say, "Stop guilt-tripping me all the time. You're always making a big deal out of nothing. Take it or leave it."

I wondered if things would have ended differently if I had stood my ground earlier or if I had told him to draw the line with Juliet.

However, I always felt smaller around him.

When he said I was too sensitive, I blamed myself.

When he said I was paranoid, I forced myself to stay quiet.

When he said I was useless, I worked harder—just to prove that I deserved him.

Even when my dad gave him clients, he acted like it was an insult to his own ability.