This year marked my fifth anniversary with Poppy. One evening, while using her laptop in the study, I stumbled upon a document titled “Proposal_Plan.docx.” I opened it. The title inside read in bold letters: “May 20th Proposal Plan.” I froze for a second. Poppy had always turned down my own proposals. Was it because she wanted to be the one to ask? In that instant, a wave of sweetness and anticipation washed over me. On May 20th, I kept checking my phone, my heart pounding with excitement for Poppy’s message. But it was a colleague’s shriek that shattered my fantasy. “Poppy is proposing in the garden! The company garden!” I didn’t wait to hear more. I just ran. When I finally reached the garden, breathless and dizzy, the scene before me stopped my heart. Poppy was on one knee, holding a ring, looking up with adoration at another man. My fists clenched at my sides, but I didn’t rush forward. I didn’t demand an explanation. After a moment of deafening silence, I slowly pulled out my phone, my fingers trembling as I sent a text to my father. “Dad, about that marriage arrangement you mentioned… I’m in.” 1 My father called the second he got my message. He let out a long sigh, then chuckled. “Finally! I’ve been trying to talk you into this for ages, son. I was starting to lose hope.” His voice was warm with relief. “You’re my only son, Bob. Of course, I want you to marry a woman from a family of equal standing. I don’t care who you date, but marriage… marriage is a serious matter. It’s a family decision.” “I know, Dad,” I managed to say. My gaze drifted back to the couple in the garden, now locked in a kiss. A single, hot tear traced a path down my cheek. The people around them were cheering, the air thick with joy and celebration. It felt like I was standing under my own private storm cloud. “What’s all that noise?” my father asked. “When are you free? We need to arrange a dinner with the Sterling family.” “This Saturday,” I said, my voice flat. I ended the call and shoved the phone into my pocket. Perhaps the intensity of my stare finally broke through her bliss, because Poppy turned her head and her eyes met mine. Shock flickered across her face. She hadn’t expected to see me here, to see me witness this. She quickly looked away, leading the man back to a seat at a decorated table. The garden, the enormous cake, the champagne, the crowd of friends… Five years. We had been together for five years, and she had never once formally introduced me to her friends. Yet here they all were, every single one of the close girlfriends from her graduation photo, witnessing her happiness. One of them stood, raising a glass. “I knew it! I always said you two were meant for each other. I’ve been waiting years to toast at your wedding!” Poppy had kept our relationship a secret. Even her best friends didn’t know I existed. But this man… they all knew him. The sun was shining, but a bitter chill seeped into my bones. Wiping my tears, I turned and walked away from the garden, away from the place that had just broken my heart. I thought I was the star of her proposal plan. Turns out I was just an audience member. No, not even that. I returned to our apartment, feeling hollowed out. A courier was standing by the door, waiting. He saw me and walked over. “Mr. Vance?” I nodded. He handed me a bouquet of flowers. “Man, your girlfriend is really something,” he said with a grin. “First time I’ve ever had an order for a woman sending flowers to her guy on a special day.” I forced a weak smile, took the flowers, and unlocked the door. Tucked into the bouquet was a small card. It read: Happy Anniversary, my love. With a sneer, I ripped the card to shreds and threw it in the trash. So, she remembered I was her boyfriend. Then why in the hell did she propose to someone else today? I collapsed onto the sofa, burying my face in the six-foot-long teddy bear she had given me for my birthday. The scented candle on the coffee table was her favorite. This apartment, which we had designed and decorated together, was filled with three years of our shared memories. And just now, I had watched her betray every single one of them. I lay there for a long time, drifting on the edge of sleep, until the sound of a key turning in the lock jolted me awake. 2 Poppy walked in, looking tired. She was holding a collectible figurine. After slipping on her slippers, she came straight to me. She held out the box. “Bob, look. I got you that limited edition figure you wanted.” I took it from her. She seemed to think this was enough, that I had already forgiven her, and sat down beside me. “What were you doing at the garden today?” she asked. I didn’t answer, just turned the box over in my hands. She took my left hand and placed it on her thigh. “His name is Brian. He was my neighbor growing up. We were childhood friends.” “A few days ago, he was diagnosed with leukemia. He doesn’t have much time left. His one last wish… was to marry me.” “I wanted to make that wish come true for him. That’s why I proposed, with our friends there to see it. Can’t you understand how difficult this is for me?” I just stared at her, saying nothing. She squeezed my hand. “I’ve already set a date. The engagement party is on the fifteenth of next month.” Her tone was firm, leaving no room for argument. What a coincidence. That was the same day I was getting engaged. I pulled my hand back and gave a quiet, “Mm.” Poppy used to say I had a possessive streak, that I’d get angry if she ignored me. I’d worked hard to change, to control my emotions. She seemed stunned that I wasn’t screaming, wasn’t throwing things. “I’m just here to pack a few things. I’ll be moving in with Brian tomorrow morning,” she continued. “You’ll be here by yourself for a while. He needs me to take care of him. I’m sorry you have to be the one to make the sacrifice.” I kept my expression neutral, my eyes fixed on the figurine in my lap. Seeing my silence, Poppy seemed to take it as acceptance. She leaned in, her lips aiming for mine. I stood up abruptly, a smooth, deliberate motion that made her kiss hit empty air. I noticed then that her lips were slightly swollen, and there were faint hickeys on her neck. A scent clung to her, the smell of another man’s intimacy. It made my stomach turn. My coldness finally seemed to register. A flash of anger crossed her face. Forgetting all about packing, she spun around, changed her shoes, and stormed out of the apartment. I tossed the figurine aside, walked into the bedroom, and pulled out a suitcase. Anything Poppy had ever given me, I left behind. This home, built with my heart, I was leaving it all behind. The next morning, the first thing I did at the office was print out my resignation letter. Poppy and I had gone to the same university. After graduation, she’d started here. I’d turned down my father’s offer to join the family business just so I could be with her, starting from the bottom together. As our friends started getting married and having kids, I’d hinted to Poppy that I wanted the same. But she always said it was too soon, that she needed to establish her career first. I didn’t want to pressure her, so I told my parents to give us more time. Now, she was a general manager. Her career was stable. When I found that proposal plan on her computer, I thought we were finally going to be a real family. It was all just a delusion. 3 My colleague Ben, in the next cubicle, leaned over the partition. “Bob, what are you doing? The director is promoting you to project manager next month. Why would you quit now?” “I’m getting engaged soon,” I said with a smile. “Might be moving to a new city.” Another colleague passing by overheard and stopped. “Wow, congrats, man! That’s great news!” He paused. “Speaking of which, I heard from the director’s assistant that Poppy is getting engaged too!” He pulled out his phone and opened up his social media feed. “Look, man. She and her fiancé make a perfect couple. I heard they grew up together. He was her first love.” My smile froze. The post was from last night. I’d checked my feed; there was nothing new from her. She’d hidden the post from me. I opened our chat history. I hadn't noticed when it happened, but most of our recent conversations had been about work. Suddenly, Ben flinched and ducked back into his cubicle. I looked up. Poppy was walking into the office, with Brian trailing right behind her. He looked perfectly healthy, moving with a light step that didn’t suggest a man with only months to live. Poppy clapped her hands for attention. “Everyone, can I have a moment? This is Brian, our new project manager. Please make him feel welcome. I expect you all to cooperate with him moving forward.” Ben’s face went pale, his eyes darting between me and Brian. One by one, my colleagues went up to shake Brian’s hand and introduce themselves. I remained at my desk, the resignation letter still in my hand. Poppy’s gaze fell on me, her expression hardening. “Everyone has greeted the new manager. Why are you just standing there? Come and say hello.” Brian walked over with a smile, extending his hand. “Looking forward to working with you. Hope you’ll cut me some slack while I’m learning the ropes.” I put down my letter and reached out to shake his hand. But Poppy grabbed Brian’s arm, pulling him away. “You don’t need to waste your time on employees who don’t know their place. Let me give you a tour of the office.” My hand was left hanging in the air. Ben came over and gently pulled me back into my chair. “Bob,” he whispered, “that new manager… he’s Poppy’s fiancé. The diamond on his finger? I heard she bought it for him in Paris. Everyone in this office knows how capable you are. How could she just give your promotion to him?” I just shrugged with a hollow smile. It didn’t matter. I was already leaving. If anything, Brian’s appointment just made my decision to walk away from Poppy even easier. I took a deep breath, collected myself, and walked towards Poppy’s office with my resignation and a stack of project files. The door was ajar. I knocked lightly. “Come in,” she said, her voice cold, not even bothering to look up. I walked in and placed the files on her desk. 4 Poppy began flipping through the documents, her brow furrowed, her expression growing darker with every page. Finally, she looked up at me, a mocking sneer on her face. “And here I thought you’d finally learned to control that temper of yours. It didn’t even take a full day for the real you to come out.” “Are you trying to threaten me with your resignation?” she scoffed, then snatched the papers and hurled them at my face. I ducked, the pages fluttering to the floor around me. I knelt and began to pick them up. Leaning back in her chair, Poppy continued her tirade. “Brian has the same degree as I do. I believe he is more than qualified to be project manager. Are you throwing a tantrum because you think he stole your promotion?” I calmly stacked the papers and placed them neatly back on her desk. My face was a mask of indifference. “You’re right,” I said, my voice even. “Brian studied the same thing as you. You know his capabilities. But what about me? What were all the years I spent working beside you?” She gave me a contemptuous glance. “Do you really need me to tell you what your capabilities are? From now on, you’ll be Brian’s assistant. You can learn a thing or two from him about how to do your job properly.” A bitter, weary laugh escaped my lips. “You really think the world revolves around you, don’t you? I’m not throwing a tantrum. I am quitting. And for the record, I think I’m more capable than he is. I don’t need to learn anything from him.” She slammed her hands on the desk and shot to her feet. “Fine! You’ve grown a backbone, have you? We’ll see where you end up after you walk out that door.” The look in her eyes was that of a stranger. I had never seen this side of her. My hands clenched into fists. I turned and walked out of her office. For five years, my entire world had revolved around Poppy. And now, she had not only pushed me away, but she also wanted me to play second fiddle to her new fiancé. Now that I saw her for who she truly was, I wasn’t stupid enough to waste another second of my life on her. Back at my desk, I began packing my personal belongings. My eyes fell on a glass jar filled with paper stars that Poppy had folded for me. With a heavy sigh, I placed it in the box with everything else. Box in hand, I was about to leave for good when Brian rushed into the office, his face a mask of panic. “Excuse me, everyone, could you please stop what you’re doing?” he announced. “My Rolex is missing. I’m going to need everyone to cooperate with a search.” A murmur went through the office. “I saw his watch this morning. I looked it up online—it’s worth a fortune.” “How does something just disappear off your wrist?” “Someone must have taken it when he wasn’t looking.” Poppy stood by Brian’s side as she called security. They started searching everyone, one by one. When they got to me, I put my box down to let them look. Poppy’s eyes locked on the jar of stars. She hesitated for a moment, then tipped the entire box over, sending its contents crashing onto the floor. The jar shattered. The colorful stars scattered across the tiles around my desk. With the sound of shattering glass, something between us broke for good. A security guard knelt, sifting through my things. Poppy nudged my belongings around with the toe of her shoe. Suddenly, Brian grabbed her arm and pointed at the floor. “Poppy, look! Isn’t that my watch?”
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