After I Let Her Go, She Regrets It1

In the fifth year of our relationship, my girlfriend and I were ready to get engaged.

But on the day of the engagement, she was kissing her travel companion in a foreign country thousands of miles away.

She made a post on Instagram saying, "To Freedom."

I calmly broke up with her.

But she said over the phone, "Don't be silly. It's just a kiss."

I didn't make a fuss. I decided to move on.

1

[I'm back. Come pick me up at the airport.]

The message from my girlfriend arrived just as I finished cleaning up the mess from our wedding banquet.

Yesterday was supposed to be our wedding day, one I had spent three months preparing for.

Two months ago, she went on a solo trip abroad, giving me the silent treatment out of spite.

We only managed to reconnect three days ago, when she promised me that she'd be back for the wedding.

But on the day of the wedding, I waited from dawn until late into the night, facing our family and friends alone. I called her countless times, but never got through.

It wasn't until midnight that she updated her social media.

In the nine-square grid of photos, she was on a foreign street, her cheek kissed by a young man I didn't know.

The caption read: "To freedom."

After tidying up the house, I still went to the airport.

My girlfriend walked up to me with her suitcase, gave me a big hug, and was as cheerful as if nothing had happened.

"Did you miss me? I've been exhausted for the past two months!"

In the past, I would've smiled, hugged her back, and let the issue slide.

But now, all I felt was resistance.

I gently pushed her away and asked in a hoarse voice, "Do you even remember what day it was yesterday?"

...

"Of course." She took off her sunglasses and nodded indifferently.

...

Then she said, matter-of-factly, "It was just a wedding banquet, wasn't it? You've got money. We can always throw another one.

"You made me so angry before, so you deserved a lesson. Don't you agree?"

She was referring to the argument we had two months ago, after we took her mother to a follow-up appointment at the hospital.

Her mother had accidentally seen photos of her hugging and even kissing another man in her album. She had cautioned her daughter, saying that since she had a boyfriend, she shouldn't be getting so close to other men.

Her mother wasn't in good health, so she didn't argue back. But once we got home, she blamed me for not standing up for her.