“I’m done playing around. Let’s get married.” The call came from my ex-fiancé, Adam. I looked down at my daughter’s peaceful, sleeping face, then pulled up the two-year-old digital wedding invitation and the birth announcement I’d posted on social media. I screenshotted both and sent them to him. My phone rang again almost immediately. It was Adam, and he let out a derisive scoff. “When did you learn to pull these kinds of stunts? I already said I’d marry you. Stop playing these ridiculous games, understand?” What was there not to understand? He was the one who didn't get it. “Adam, I’m not joking. I got married six months after we broke up.” 1 A clatter of frantic sounds came through the phone, followed by the dial tone. The memories flooded back, a relentless tide. Adam and I had grown up together, our families a perfect match. Our engagement had been a natural, inevitable step. I’d believed we would get married, have children, and grow old together. That is, until the student intern showed up in his life. Her name was Chloe. I’d gone to find him at his graduate lab one day, bringing a warm cup of homemade soy milk for everyone. When I offered one to Chloe, she didn’t take it. Her eyes, perfectly outlined with a sharp cat-eye, glanced at the cup in my hand. “Thanks, but I don't drink stuff like that. I’m a coffee person.” I flushed, a little embarrassed. I wanted to explain that I’d made it myself from an organic, wellness recipe, that it was good for you. But she just covered her mouth with a delicate hand and giggled. “Sorry, I’m just brutally honest. I didn’t mean your gesture was cheap or anything. I’ve heard from the other grad students that Adam’s girlfriend is very… domestic. And it seems you’re very thrifty, too.” The atmosphere turned instantly awkward. The people holding their soy milk didn’t know whether to keep it or put it down. I didn’t want to make things difficult for everyone, so I just forced a smile. “I’ll just leave them on the table. Help yourselves if you’d like.” I took one out and handed it to Adam. Just as he reached for it, a slender figure pounced, linking her arm intimately through his. “Sorry, ma’am, but Adam’s having coffee with me.” I stared at Adam in disbelief. But his face was a mask of annoyance. He yanked his arm free from her grasp. “Enough.” “I’m drinking the soy milk my fiancée brought me,” he said, his voice cold. “If you want coffee, go drink it alone.” Seeing his frosty expression, Chloe pouted. “I was just joking. Why are you so angry?” Adam ignored her. On the way home, the city sky was a familiar, hazy gray. Chloe’s strange hostility lingered in my mind. “Adam,” I finally asked, “that new girl in your lab… does she have a crush on you?” Adam laughed, ruffling my hair. “Don’t overthink it. She’s just a spoiled brat with no manners. You’re the only one for me. There’s only one future Mrs. Chapman, and it’s you. Okay?” His words melted my anxiety, and a sweet smile spread across my face. I believed we would walk this path together for the rest of our lives. 2 And we should have. But one day, something shifted. At a lab dinner, the first piece of food Adam picked up went straight into Chloe’s bowl. He didn’t even seem to notice. Then, he put a piece of wood ear mushroom on my plate. “Adam, I don’t eat this!” We had known each other since we were children; we knew each other’s tastes inside and out. It was a rookie mistake he should never have made. He turned to me, his voice low and explanatory. “Chloe ordered it. We’re out with everyone, you have to be considerate. Don’t be so picky.” I wasn’t the kind of person who forbade certain foods from the table just because I didn’t like them. What I cared about was that he knew I didn’t eat it, yet he gave it to me anyway. Chloe sipped her juice, a sweet smile on her face. “Sorry about that, Jenna.” “I didn’t realize you had such a temper. But you know, you should really eat more of this stuff. It’s perfect for women… of a certain age. Clears out the system, you know? Cools you down.” My face went cold. “We’re not related, so why do you keep calling me ‘sis’? Besides, you didn’t get into this grad program on your first try. I’m only a few months older than you!” The table fell silent. A senior student who knew us both stood up, trying to smooth things over. But Adam slammed his chopsticks on the table. “Jenna, don’t take it too far. This isn’t your house, you can’t just do whatever you want.” I looked at him as if he were a stranger. Just moments ago, when Chloe was taking jabs at me, he’d said nothing. The second I fought back, he accused me of going too far. I grabbed my bag and stood up to leave. Adam hesitated for a second, then stood and apologized to the table. “Sorry, everyone. I have to go. I’ll treat you all another time.” He followed me out. Behind us, Chloe’s face darkened. After that, I avoided any gathering where Chloe would be present. Adam knew we didn’t get along and mostly kept us apart. But one day, another senior student from the lab sent me a message. “Jenna, you should probably come by. The queen is away, and the court jester is putting on a show.” Attached was a photo. Chloe, her body pliant and soft, was pressed up against Adam, looking at a report with him. I thanked my friend and went to the lab. Chloe was there, wearing shorts so tiny they were completely hidden by her lab coat, leaving her long, pale legs exposed. She was sitting on Adam’s desk, facing him, chatting. I don’t know what was said, but they both burst into laughter. The moment she saw me, her face fell. She hopped off the desk, her calf brushing against his thigh as she did. “Your girlfriend’s here to check up on you. A guy as great as you, she probably wants to keep you on a leash 24/7. I guess it just goes to show, a woman really needs a career. Otherwise, her whole world just revolves around her man.” Then, she looked at me, her smile sickly sweet. “Oh, I’m not talking about you, Jenna. Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s just an observation.” I clenched my fists but ignored her. Adam looked up, surprised. “What are you doing here?” I had no intention of outing my friend. “I came to pick you up from work,” I said coolly. Before Adam could respond, Chloe let out a sharp, mocking laugh. When we both looked at her, she covered her mouth. “Oh, sorry. It just struck me as funny. It’s the first time I’ve seen it in real life… a woman who can’t bear to be away from her man for a single second. It’s… quaint.” A few of the male grad students chuckled along with her. Someone said, “Hey, that’s a good thing. A clingy girlfriend means a strong relationship.” Chloe secretly rolled her eyes, making sure no one saw. She then said, her voice full of meaning, “Jenna, it’s not too late. You should probably head home by yourself.” I frowned. “Why do you care if I go home or not?” Chloe pouted. “I’m just trying to be nice. I helped Adam out with something a while back, and he promised to treat me to dinner tonight. Just the two of us. Right, Adam?” She emphasized the words “just the two of us.” I looked at Adam. He didn't seem to think anything of it. “You’re always so hostile towards Chloe, so I just didn’t tell you.” “Alright, alright,” Chloe said, tilting her chin up. “You should head home. A woman who only stays at home should focus on housework. If you meddle in other things too much, you’ll just become annoying.” “Right, Adam?” She shot him a playful smile. Adam smiled back, a silent affirmation of her words. 3 The other grad students, sensing the tension, started trying to diffuse the situation, insisting on tagging along for the free dinner. Chloe’s face darkened, but she didn’t refuse. In the days that followed, she became even more brazen. When I brought Adam lunch, she’d open the container and start picking at the food. “The flavor is so bland. No taste at all. If you’re going to be a stay-at-home wife, you’d better work on your cooking skills. Otherwise, you won’t have any skills to speak of.” I snatched the lunchbox from her hands, but Adam took it from me and handed it back to her. “Let her have some. Chloe doesn’t eat much anyway. She doesn’t mean any harm; she’s just giving you constructive criticism.” Before leaving, I used a sanitizing wipe to clean Adam’s desk. Chloe pursed her lips. “This is a laboratory. We have very strict hygiene standards, much cleaner than whatever product is in that wipe of yours. Are you implying one of us is dirty?” Her words hung in the air. The other students, who had been awkwardly navigating our bizarre dynamic, now looked at me with unfriendly eyes. I’d rarely encountered such blatant malice in my twenty-odd years of life. For a moment, I didn’t know how to react. I looked to Adam for help. He glanced up at us and said flatly, “That’s just how Jenna is. Always making a fuss over nothing.” Chloe giggled. “Oh, it’s fine. She just needs more practice. See? Her cooking has already improved so much lately. It just goes to show, you have to be open to other people’s opinions.” Adam nodded in agreement. In that instant, a chill ran from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet. I brought Adam lunch every day because he had a sensitive stomach and needed a carefully managed diet of light, soft foods. I carried sanitizing wipes because he’d always been more particular about cleanliness than other boys. Although I often brought homemade cookies and snacks for everyone, he was the only one in the lab who got a personally delivered meal every day. To avoid troubling anyone, I always cleaned up everything before I left, including tidying the office. But now, in his mouth, all of that was just me “making a fuss over nothing.” My face hardened. I turned to leave. Chloe suddenly called out, “Jenna! Remember to make tempura with ketchup tomorrow. I won’t eat anything else.” I spun around in disbelief. “Are you ordering food from me?” She giggled. “What’s the big deal? The last few days, Adam told you what I wanted to eat, and you made it all, didn’t you?” I looked at Adam. It was true, he had started requesting specific dishes lately, which was unusual. He’d never said who they were for. I just thought his appetite was finally improving. Adam just gave me a slight nod. “You’re cooking anyway, so I didn’t see the point in telling you.” “Since Chloe has spoken, just make tempura tomorrow.” “Oh, and one more thing,” Chloe said, waving a hand in front of her nose. “Don’t wear makeup tomorrow. The smell is overpowering. Don’t you know we can’t have strong scents in the lab?” I walked towards them. Adam’s face was blank. He clearly didn’t think anything Chloe was saying was insulting to me. At that thought, I felt something snap inside my chest. A button, suddenly undone. It was my obsession with Adam. My lifelong affection for him. I pulled a large bottle of makeup remover from my bag, twisted the cap off, and violently splashed its contents onto Chloe’s face. “AH!” she shrieked, stumbling backward. The remover dripped from her hair, her makeup streaking into a grotesque mess of red and black. I sneered. “Don’t you know you can’t have foreign substances in the lab? False eyelashes, double-eyelid tape, eyeshadow, eyeliner… you’ve got more products on your face than a beauty blogger.” The other students rushed to separate us. “What’s the big deal? Calm down, calm down.” “Don’t get the professor involved! Adam, you have a girlfriend, you need to be more mindful of your boundaries!” But Adam didn’t hear them. He took a step forward and slapped the bottle out of my hand. “Jenna. Apologize.” I stared at him, my eyes burning red, my voice trembling with suppressed rage. “She insults me, you agree with her. I stand up for myself, and you tell me to apologize?” “What, is she your girlfriend now?” Adam’s face was cold. “Stop changing the subject like a child. When you do something wrong, you apologize!” “In your dreams!” The words had barely left my mouth when a sharp slap landed on my cheek. The others didn’t even have time to intervene. SLAP— My head snapped to the side. I saw Chloe, her makeup ruined but a triumphant, pitying smile on her face. I lifted my head and looked at the man I had grown up with. “Adam,” I said softly. “We’re done.”
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