I couldn't bear to see her upset, so I always indulged her.
But now, I don't want to do this anymore.
This relationship was like a ship taking on water; it should have been abandoned long ago.
After that day, my girlfriend went on another trip.
I saw her updates on Instagram.
She and her travel companion from the last time went to the snowfields. In a video, the two of them toasted each other, like at a wedding, after being cheered on by a group of locals.
They looked really happy.
In the past, whenever I saw photos of her and her travel companions, I would feel so suffocated that I could hardly breathe.
But today, I was surprisingly calm.
I casually deleted her number and went back to work.
My dad hadn't fully recovered, so after finishing my work, I still had to go to the hospital to take care of him.
A week passed like that.
For these seven days, I was swamped with work, but my mood remained steady.
I thought, if things continued like this, it would be just fine.
Unexpectedly, that evening, as I was leaving the hospital, I got a call from my girlfriend, Jasmine Meyers.
Seeing her familiar number, I felt a bit dazed and only answered after a moment.
As soon as the call connected, she started bombarding me with questions.
"Harvey Keller, what the hell is going on with you?! Why didn't you take my mom to the hospital for her follow-up yesterday?!
"Do you know the hospital called me today to chase it up?!"
Ever since we got together, I had been the one responsible for her mother's illness.
I was the one who took her to the hospital for weekly checkups and paid for her medications.
Jasmine only tagged along when she was free to show some filial piety.
When she was traveling, she hated being bothered by "trivial family matters."
In the past, I was always afraid of worrying and upsetting her, so I handled everything perfectly.
But now...
I said, "Jasmine, we've already broken up."
"You—" Jasmine was at a loss for words, clearly shocked.
After a while, she came back to her senses and asked, "What do you mean? You're serious about this?"
I found it somewhat amusing.
She stood me up on our wedding day, sending my dad to the hospital out of anger.
And she still thought I was joking about breaking up with her?
I didn't bother saying more, hung up the phone, and blocked her number while I was at it.
The next time I saw her was at the hospital.