In the end, my girlfriend only left me with one sentence. “You’re a grown man. Go home by yourself. I’ll take Luigi first—I’ll be back soon.”
And then, they sped away.
I saw Eugene reach for the back of Zelda’s head and kiss her.
Just then, my phone vibrated. With stiff fingers, I answered the call.
“Cy, have you seen Allie’s photos?”
Allie, short for Alouette Somerset—my arranged fiancée.
A delicate and elegant woman.
On the other end, Mom’s voice carried relief.
“Finally, Cy, you’ve come to your senses. Your dad’s getting old, you know. He’s been furious about you running away all these years. I’m glad you’re coming home, son. Just have a child with Miss Somerset, and everything will be perfect.”
I looked up at the tiny moths fluttering under the streetlights, memories colliding in my mind.
Back then, I ran away because I didn’t want this kind of life.
Then I met Zelda, and I thought I was incredibly lucky.
Seven years together—I watched her grow.
I proposed multiple times, only for her to brush me off with three words. “It’s too soon.”
Deep down, I knew something was wrong. But I kept deceiving myself.
I was such a fool, thinking she was as devoted as I was.
But now, I realize I was wrong—so completely, utterly wrong.
In the end, I took a cab home by myself.
No matter how I acted, Zelda still felt a little guilty.
So it wasn’t long before she came back too—just in time to see me throwing things away.
The models I once treasured were all taken out and casually tossed into a bag.
“Aren’t these your favorite little toys? Why did you throw them away?” Zelda looked at me in disbelief.
“Decluttering,” I replied casually, just hoping she’d hurry up and take a shower.
Eugene didn’t wear cologne, but I could always smell his scent on Zelda.
It made me want to throw up.
She paused for a moment, not noticing anything unusual, and continued talking to herself.
“Well, getting rid of them is fine. You can always buy the new models when they come out. Or we could put them in our future house together—it’s the same thing, don’t you think?”
Her sweet, delicate voice reached my ears as if she were truly seeing our future.
She was watching me, trying to gauge my reaction. I knew that, but I pretended not to notice.
Normally, I would’ve already pulled her into my arms and kissed her.
But now, every time I thought about kissing her, all I could see was her flirting with Eugene.