Where Love Is More Desolate Than Life

On Conrad's birthday, I'd given him the limited-edition watch he'd been eyeing for ages.

The very next day, he put it on and had a chance encounter with Izzy. And when he took a selfie of himself at the cafe, he "accidentally" included her in the frame.

He also took a photo of the two of them secretly holding hands when the three of us went to watch a movie together.

On the day Izzy agreed to marry me, Conrad posted a long outpouring of his anguish and frustration.

"I'm going to get an answer today," he wrote. "If she loves me too, we shouldn't miss out on our chance to be together."

Well, he did it.

That very night, Izzy didn't push him away when he kissed her.

They planned to take a trip together before the wedding, to indulge in all their fantasies without a care in the world. Thus, Izzy told me she had to go on a week-long business trip.

My stomach churned at this revelation. Their so-called claims about having to work overtime and attending company gatherings were just excuses to go on dates.

Throughout that seven-day trip, Conrad uploaded countless videos.

He said he wanted to replace all the memories that Izzy and I shared, so that her life and her future would be filled with memories of him in every corner.

Like some masochistic fool, I watched every single one of his videos. I saw the two of them go everywhere, from the restaurants to the hotels, from the boat trips to the mountain hikes. These were all places I'd been to with Izzy, but now, someone else was beside her.

As I watched it all, my heart went from being racked with pain to being completely numb. Toward the end, it even felt ludicrous to me.

It turned out that once a person's heart lost all feelings for another, even hatred felt like a waste of time.

By now, the sun was starting to rise. I'd made my decision.

The wedding had to be called off.

I turned on my laptop and typed an email to the guests. Every single word cut me like a knife.

Ten years of love and 20 years of friendship had vanished in an instant.

Before I could send the email, I received a call from Conrad. He was returning my previous call.

"What's up, Jamie? Why did you call me so early?" he asked breezily. "You shouldn't be missing out on your sleep, you know. You need to look your best for your wedding day!"

My mouth opened, but no words came out.

Seemingly sensing that I was out of sorts, Conrad immediately asked in concern, "Are you alright, Jamie? Did you have a hard time sleeping because you're too nervous about the wedding? Where's that rotten Izzy anyway? Why isn't she with you?

"Did she miss your calls because she was too busy with work? I've had it with her, you know. If you guys weren't getting married tomorrow, I would've called her up right now to give her a piece of my mind!"

It was all a bitter mockery to me.

Just moments ago, Conrad had uploaded that firm and heartfelt post about the finality of it all. And now he could calmly reassure me.

Eventually, I squeezed out, "It's nothing. I was just feeling a little nervous and suddenly got the urge to hear your voice."

"You're so silly," he remarked with an exasperated chuckle. "Relax. Tomorrow will be perfect. I promise. All you need to do now is go back to sleep and get more rest. Leave everything else to me."

All of a sudden, I heard a muffled exclamation. It was Izzy's voice.

Holding back my tears, I asked, "Are you hiding anything from me, Conrad?"

He was silent for a moment before exclaiming in a flustered voice, "What are you even talking about, Jamie? What on earth is going on with you?"

"Put your phone on speaker mode," I said.

Conrad was confused, but he did it anyway.

"Conrad, Izzy," I called out in a firm, determined voice. "I've decided to call off the wedding. I hope you two will get to be together and live happily ever after."