I knew my dad well enough. He had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. He liked to criticize me, but deep down, he cared. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have secretly invested in Emily’s company just to support me.
That evening, my mom had the chef prepare a full table of food, specifically asking for lighter dishes since she knew my stomach couldn’t handle spice.
Back when I was with Emily, every meal was a battle. She loved spicy food and always ordered dishes loaded with chili.
I told her countless times that my stomach couldn’t handle it, but she never listened. During our startup days, my stomach issues got so bad that I started cooking for myself at home.
Even then, she’d complain if there wasn’t enough spice.
One time, I forgot to add chill to a dish. She took one bite, set down her chopsticks, and left the table without a word. After that, I was too scared to forget again. I double–checked every meal I cooked, making sure it was exactly how she liked it.
For six years, my stomach suffered in silence.
But now, sitting at the dinner table with my family, I devoured every dish, savoring the flavors. No chili. No extra stress. And for the first time in years, I didn’t need to chase my meal with antacids.
After dinner, I showered and climbed into bed. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I could finally get a good night’s sleep.
But just as I was drifting off my phone rang
1:03 PM
<
But just as I was drifting off, my phone rang.
I hesitated for a moment before answering.
“Jake, Emily’s voice came through, hoarse and strained. “Why didn’t you come back? Where are you?”
- 7.
I found it strange.
Emily had never called me when I wasn’t home. In fact, it was usually the other way around–me anxiously waiting for her, calling her if she was even a little late.
“We’ve already broken up,” I said calmly. “I’m back at my own place now. What’s wrong? Do you need something?”
There was a hint of tension in her voice. “But… I didn’t agree to break up.”
“Does that really matter?”
“Our relationship is broken, Emily. Whether you agree or not, does it change anything?”
I thought back to the way everyone at the office reacted when I announced the breakup. For a moment, it felt redundant–like breaking up was just a formality.
“But you said you’d never leave me,” Emily’s voice cracked, wavering as though she were on the verge of tears. “You promised me, Jake. Was
that all just a lie?”
I didn’t respond immediately.
Because she was right–I had said those words once.
It was years ago, back when I first met her. She had been cornered by a group of relatives demanding money, and after I helped her pay them off, she sat alone on a rooftop, looking utterly defeated.
I was worried she might do something reckless, so I stayed nearby, talking to her, trying to lift her spirits.
She told me about her family, about her struggles, about how she felt like she had no place in the world.
At the time, I was furious at the injustice of it all–furious that someone like her could be so abandoned by the world.
So I told her, “Come be with me. As long as you love me, I’ll never leave you.”
But she only remembered half of that promise.
She forgot the part about loving me.
For years, I made excuses for her. I told myself that she was just too busy, too overwhelmed. But eventually, I couldn’t lie to myself anymore.
Because I noticed how she always remembered Ryan’s birthday, Ryan’s preferences, even Ryan’s dietary restrictions.
On the other end of the line, Emily stayed silent, waiting for my answer.
“Just think of it as me breaking my promise,” I said softly, not bothering to explain further.
She was quiet for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Is it because of that woman in the Rolls–Royce who picked you up yesterday?”
Her words caught me off guard.
It took me a second to realize she had misunderstood.
“There is no woman,” I replied.
“Don’t lie to me,” she snapped, her tone sharp.
1:03 PM
<
Then, with a bitter laugh, she added, “Ryan was right. All this talk about being upset or having a misunderstanding–it’s just a cover for you falling for someone else.”
“Jake, just remember this: don’t come crying to me when you regret it.”
And with that, she hung up.
I stared at the phone for a moment before letting out a quiet laugh.
As always, she chose to believe Ryan.
I didn’t bother chasing after her to explain. I just put my phone down and went back to bed.
I thought I might have trouble falling asleep–after all, every time Emily and I fought in the past, I’d spend the whole night wide awake, tossing
and turning.
But this time, the moment my head hit the pillow, I fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.
And when I woke up the next morning, the sunlight streaming through the windows felt unusually bright and warm.
Later, I heard that Emily was in complete chaos, scrambling to handle the company’s crisis.
After some thought, I went to my dad’s study to talk to him.
But it seemed he already knew what I wanted to say. Without a word, he handed me a folder.
I opened it, and the contents made me freeze in place.
It was a set of financial statements for Emily’s company. But they didn’t match the ones I’d seen before.
“The company’s finances have been a mess for a while,” my dad said calmly. “To attract investors, she created two sets of books. The ones she shows the public are fake. These are the real numbers.”
He pointed at a line on the report. “The funding gap is over three hundred million. Even if I withdrew the lawsuit, the company wouldn’t survive
much longer.
I flipped through the pages, my chest growing heavier with each one.
The more I read, the colder I felt.
- 8.
The company’s financial troubles started about a year ago, right around the time Ryan had been working there for a while.
I remember it clearly–Emily had rushed into my office one day, asking me to hand over control of the company’s finances.
When I asked her why, she explained that she wanted me to focus entirely on investments and projects.
I didn’t give it much thought at the time and told her I’d need to clean up the financial records first.
But she said I was moving too slow and insisted I hand everything over to Ryan.
I could’ve never guessed back then that she was doing it to cover for Ryan, giving him access to misuse company funds.
Even the recent transfer of company shares–it had to be connected to all of this, didn’t it?
I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
While I spent sleepless nights over the past year securing investors and managing projects, what was she thinking?
Was she figuring out ways to hide Ryan’s tracks behind my back? Or was she already planning how to leave me and be with him openly?
I didn’t say anything else. I left my dad’s study in silence.
1:03 PM
<
D
Maybe my dad noticed how much everything was weighing on me, because that evening, he suggested we attend a welcome banquet for one of his friends to take my mind off things.
I didn’t expect to run into Emily and Ryan there.
The banquet hadn’t officially started yet. While my dad stayed in the lounge chatting with his friend, I went into the main hall with my mom.
We were catching up on everything that had happened over the years when I spotted them.
Emily and Ryan were mingling with the other guests, clinking glasses and laughing.
Ryan was wearing the custom suit Emily had once ordered specifically for him. When he saw me, he smirked and adjusted the collar of his jacket.
