My boyfriend’s mother was in a car accident. He said he was away on a business trip and couldn’t come back. I gave up a concert of my favorite idol to take care of her. Only to then see a new post from his secretary on social media. In the photo, the two of them were beaming under dazzling lights, and my boyfriend’s gaze at her held an undeniable tenderness. The caption read: “Want to hold your hand, from first blush to old age, and to the very end.” I quietly liked and commented: “Humans have sorrow and joy, separation and reunion. Cattle and horses adorn life.” 1. When I caught Karl Miller taking another woman to a concert, I was still diligently taking care of his mother in the hospital. All because, before he left for his trip, he had said, “When I get back, we’ll go get our marriage license. Our life is our own; if we don’t get blessings, so be it.” Our families were vastly different. His was an intellectual, high-society family, with parents who looked down on humble backgrounds like mine. They always thought I was with Karl for his money, so they disliked everything about me. This time, his mother had an unexpected car accident and was hospitalized, with no one around to care for her. Karl saw this as a good opportunity for me to prove myself, so he specifically told me about it. At the time, I thought that no matter what, she was still Karl’s mother. After marriage, we’d see each other often, so helping to take care of her was no big deal. But I never imagined that the man who had solemnly promised to marry me would now use a business trip as an excuse to accompany another woman to a concert. It was truly ironic. “Autumn, given your excellent performance recently, I’ve decided to grant you and Karl my blessing. You two aren’t getting any younger, don’t keep waiting. Go get your license when he comes back.” Karl’s mother said this with an arrogant air, her words implying it was a great favor. My thoughts snapped back, and I composed myself. I stared at her unblinkingly. “No need, ma’am.” “What?” She gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief, apparently not expecting my immediate refusal. “Didn’t you come to care for me recently just to earn my favor? Now I’ve given my approval…” My initial intention was indeed to gain her acceptance. But now, none of that mattered. I slowly stood up, took a deep breath, “Because I broke up with him. On second thought, we truly weren’t a good match. I’m sorry, we’re broken up now, and I can’t continue to care for you. You should hire a caregiver as soon as possible.” With that, I grabbed my bag and left. Walking out of the hospital room, I pulled out my phone. My messages with Karl stopped at my query from half an hour ago, asking when he would return. He still hadn't replied. My heart felt like it was blocked by a large stone, neither rising nor falling. After two seconds of daze, I sent another message. Brief and to the point, I said we were breaking up. And this time, he replied instantly. But it was only a question mark. I glanced at it, ignoring it. Since I had broken up with him, there was no reason for me to stay at his place. I quickly packed my bags and moved out. The apartment he lived in alone was bought only after we started dating, and the interior decoration was all according to my preferences. No exaggeration, every corner of that home bore my personal touch. It was just a shame, if it wasn’t mine, it wasn’t mine in the end. I couldn’t find an apartment to rent temporarily, so I decided to move in with my single best friend. Seeing my sudden arrival, her eyes flashed with surprise. “Are you moving?” “Yes, Karl and I broke up.” I stated the fact calmly. Candy Vance sighed, about to ask something. Karl suddenly called. 2. As soon as I answered the phone, his accusing words came through from the other end. “Autumn, what on earth is wrong with you? You just left my mother alone. She’s all alone in the hospital, isolated and helpless. If anything happens, can you take responsibility?” I don't know if it was because my idealized image of him had shattered, but hearing those words felt incredibly grating. My face turned cold, and I said nonchalantly, “Are you dead? Why should I, an outsider, take care of her?” Karl froze. A moment later, he softened his tone and gently appeased, “I know you’ve been wronged by my mother. You’ve worked hard these past few days. I’ll compensate you well when I get back. Can you please go back to the hospital to take care of your future mother-in-law?” In the past, hearing the term ‘future mother-in-law’ would make me shy. But now, it only disgusted me. “Are you illiterate? If so, let me remind you again: we’re broken up. Do you understand what ‘broken up’ means?” My words were laced with cold sarcasm. Karl heard the finality in my voice and fell silent. Finally, he said stiffly, “You’re unstable right now. Let’s talk after you’ve calmed down.” With that, he directly hung up the call. And I immediately deleted all his contact information. From then on, I completely exited his life. Candy hesitated for a moment, then asked, “You worked so hard for so long, are you really willing to give up?” Karl and I had been together for four years. Couples who’d been together for four years. Either they were already married, or they had long gone their separate ways. But we were still stuck. He always said that if we didn’t have his parents’ approval, I would be easily bullied if I married into his family. So he wanted to try harder, to get the blessings of both parents. It was precisely because of this that he suddenly changed his tune this time. I was overjoyed, even beginning to fantasize about our future together. But after finding out what I did, I started to doubt myself. “What’s there to regret? It’s just like you said before, if he really wanted to marry me, he would have done it already. Why does he always come up with various excuses?” “But didn’t you just say you were going to get your license when he came back from this business trip?” I calmly told her about him taking another woman to the concert. Candy first froze, then became furious. “What does he mean by this? You’re working like a dog for his mother, while he’s out having a blast with someone else? Does he think he’s some kind of emperor, wanting to have his cake and eat it too?” “So, I gave up.” I gave up on this four-year relationship. I gave up on any future involving him. I let out a long, clear sigh. “It’s fine. It’s not like I can’t live without him.” These words sounded more like self-comfort. I stayed at Candy’s place, and that night, we drank to our heart’s content. The next morning, I woke up having thrown all the unpleasantness out of my mind. I fully immersed myself in my work. “Dr. Hayes, I have good news for you. The department’s advanced training spots are out, and you’re one of them! The head of the department should be coming to talk to you soon.” I had just finished my morning rounds when a colleague excitedly brought the news. I wasn’t surprised by this result. But I couldn’t help but feel happy. “That’s indeed good news. Thank you for telling me. Once the official notice comes out, I’ll treat you to dinner.” “Then I’ll be waiting! But if you go for advanced training, won’t you be in a long-distance relationship with your boyfriend? Long-distance relationships are the hardest.” I pursed my lips, shaking my head. “I broke up with him.” 3. “What? You and your boyfriend have been together since college, such an enviable couple, why would you suddenly break up?” “It just suddenly felt like we weren’t a good match…” My words hadn’t even finished when there was a knock on the office door. I looked up to see a tall, elegant figure standing in the doorway. Karl Miller exuded an inherent coolness, with a hint of detachment in his handsome eyes. My colleague gasped, then chuckled awkwardly, “You two chat, I’ll be going now.” She hurried away. Suddenly, only the two of us were left in the office. I composed myself, stating indifferently, “This is my break time. Please make an appointment after 2 PM if you need to see me.” “Autumn, we need to talk.” He walked over with light steps, his deep black eyes fixed on me. “There’s nothing for us to talk about.” I calmly took off my white coat, grabbed my ID badge, and headed for the cafeteria. But as I passed him, he grabbed my arm. Karl’s expression was tense, a flicker of impatience in his eyes. “What exactly are you making a fuss about?” “Let go.” I said coldly, not even bothering to look at him properly. “Autumn, my patience has limits. While I’m not angry yet, speak properly.” Hearing that, I laughed in anger. I cast a cold glance at him. “I’ll just ask one thing: what exactly were you doing the day before yesterday?” Karl’s expression stiffened, a fleeting hint of guilt in his eyes. “I was on a business trip. What else would I be doing besides work?” I clearly caught his guilt, and a coldness seeped into my heart. We used to tell each other everything. But I don’t know when it started. It seemed there was a transparent barrier between us. We began to have our own secrets. “Karl Miller, honestly, you’re quite disappointing.” The four years I invested, because of his words, now felt like a complete joke. I didn’t ask him to be completely transparent about everything. I just asked for a bottom line on such fundamental issues. But he still disappointed me. Karl’s face showed impatience, his brows tightly furrowed. “Just say what you mean, why beat around the bush?” I looked him directly in the eyes, stating each word clearly: “Because of you, I missed my idol’s concert. And you, you took another woman, using tickets I bought, to see it. Karl Miller, if it were you, how would you feel?” Upon hearing this, he seemed to grasp the situation, then looked at me with an unreadable, complex expression. “My business dinner just happened to be near the concert venue. After the dinner, I figured I shouldn’t waste the ticket money, so I just went to watch.” “Such a small matter, and you’re still nitpicking?” I pressed my lips together, not speaking. In his eyes, such a small amount of money was insignificant. But these were front-row tickets I had painfully bought with a month’s salary. Just so I could go to a concert with him. A hint of mockery flashed in my eyes, and I said with disgust, “Karl Miller, sometimes you truly sicken me.” Karl was stung by my words; his breathing grew heavier, and the way he looked at me also changed. He was wondering why I was suddenly being so unreasonable. “Autumn, can you please change this petty, small-minded attitude of yours? It’s just two concert tickets, tell me how much, and I’ll pay you back.” 4. “Four hundred and eighty dollars. PayPal it.” Saying that, I directly pulled out my phone, found my QR code, and handed it over. Karl’s eyes clearly held disbelief, seemingly not expecting me to actually ask him for money. I’m generous with my own people, but that doesn’t mean I’m a pushover. Moreover, we’ve already broken up; there’s no longer any relationship between us. He owed me this money. “Hurry up, I need to go eat.” I gestured with my phone, urging him to be quick. Karl laughed in anger, then, as if in a fit of pique, he transferred a thousand dollars to me. Hearing the PayPal notification. My eyebrows twitched. I did the math and refunded him the excess money. At this, his face flushed with irritation, and he gritted his teeth, looking at me. “Are you really going to draw a line between us?” “We broke up. I won’t take what’s not mine.” “Fine, then you give me back everything I’ve ever given you.” He nearly bit through his teeth, his eyes burning with fury as he glared at me. I said without changing my expression, “Those things are at your place. I didn’t take them. You can go back and count them. As for the money, you can send me the bill, and I’ll repay what’s owed.” Hearing him say that, not a ripple stirred in my heart. I even felt a little relieved that I hadn’t taken those things when I moved out. Otherwise, returning them now would have been incredibly undignified. Karl’s face completely darkened. “Autumn, do you really want to make a scene?” After saying so much, I was also getting impatient. I glanced at the time; if I didn’t go to the cafeteria now, I probably wouldn’t even get soup. I couldn’t be bothered with him, so I pulled my hand free and turned to walk towards the door. Just then, a delicate figure peeked through the doorway. “Mr. Miller, I’ve finished my check-up.” It was his secretary, Maya Vance. Maya’s eyes flashed with surprise when she saw me. Then she straightened up, smiling as she greeted, “Ms. Hayes, long time no see.” Hearing her feigned words, I showed no mercy. “Didn’t I just see you on social media the day before yesterday?” At these words, the smile on her face almost faltered. Her eyes, bright and moving, shifted between Karl and me. She bit her red lip and said, “Ms. Hayes, you seem to be in a bad mood. Am I interrupting you?” “No, I’m interrupting you two. You both take your time.” Saying that, I was about to step away when Karl’s angry voice came through, “Don’t mind her. She’s been acting crazy lately.” As his words fell, he strode quickly to the doorway. After giving me a cold glance, he said in a deep voice, “Autumn, I’ll give you three days. Think it over and then come find me.” With that, he quickly left with Maya. However, I didn’t miss the challenging look she gave me as she departed. He was always like this, never realizing his mistakes. No matter whose fault it was, it was always me who had to swallow my pride, admit I was wrong, and coax him. Because he knew I liked him, that’s why he was so reckless. But now, I was tired. Thinking this, I took a deep breath. I cast aside the unpleasantness and went to the cafeteria for lunch. As soon as I finished getting my food and sat down at an empty table, I pulled out my phone to scroll through social media. I saw Maya’s post from a minute ago. She had posted a photo from Karl’s mother’s hospital room. I don’t know what they talked about, but Karl’s usually stern mother was beaming with a genuine smile. And her caption read: “So happy to be praised by my boss’s mom! She said she wished she had a daughter-in-law like me. Thank you, ma’am, for your recognition.”
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