Say Goodbye To My Old Love

I was about to take my boyfriend to my parents and had already bought the gifts for my parents on his behalf.

But he blurted out the words "break up" with a guilty look on his face.

I clapped my hands and said, "I bought these gifts for my parents on your behalf. I'll keep them, but you still owe me the money. You have to pay me 3200 dollars, including the errand fee."

He was stunned.

1.

A month ago, Katherine Burton posted a photo on her social media. It was a selfie of her and my boyfriend, Sean Brown.

The caption read, "You warm me in the coldest day."

Katherine might have felt warm, but I felt like my heart was frozen. I was heartbroken.

I stared at Katherine's face and then looked at mine in the mirror. It looked familiar but a little unfamiliar. Now I realized why Sean never showed me his ex-girlfriend's photo and why he preferred me in a white dress. I had been Katherine's unwitting substitute for seven years.

Finally, I received a message from Sean. "I am not going back tonight."

It was my birthday that day. I kept telling myself that there was still hope for him and me as long as he remembered my birthday.

But after I waited a day, I got such a cold message.

The cake on the table blurred before my eyes as I stuffed it into my mouth in a fit of revenge. It was so sweet, but I still felt bitter.

I had known about Sean and Katherine before.

Ever since Katherine returned from abroad a few months ago, my role as an unwitting substitute had lost its value.

I didn't bring an umbrella with me that afternoon and called Sean to bring one for me. He told me that he was busy, but he had time to pick up Katherine.

Late at night, I had a fever and called Sean. But he just told me to drink more warm water.

But when Katherine was a little unwell, Sean would rush out at midnight to get her medicine.

Sean put the scarf I knitted for him somewhere casually while he kept the gifts from Katherine in a special box.

I was stupid enough to comfort Sean when he had a breakup.

I would run out early from school to buy his favorite cakes to please him.

He drank to drown his sorrows, and I stayed up with him and made him hangover soup.

He liked short hair, so I cut off my beloved long hair.

Finally, after he was drunk, he asked if I had feelings for him, and I nodded.

He chuckled, "You have feelings for me. Right?"

Then he kissed me.

That confession was not romantic at all, but we started dating since then.

2.

After that, he seemed to have indeed forgotten his ex-girlfriend.

He gave me all sorts of gifts and took me to the zoo.

But he never knew that I couldn't eat spicy food, didn't like fluffy toys, and wasn't interested in the zoo.

But I was delighted as long as Seam took me there or gave me a gift.

He would occasionally drink, but when drunk, he affectionately called me "sweetheart."

At that moment, the affection in his eyes was something I never saw normally.

Just when I thought he truly fell for me, I got a heavy blow from reality.

During a game of truth or dare, my friends let me use Sean's phone to call a random number from his contact list while he was away.

If it were an acquaintance, it would be easy to explain the situation. So I chose the number he dialed most frequently.

"Sean, we really have a connection. I was just thinking of calling you and letting you pick me up." The syrupy voice on the speaker was particularly grating.

My hand trembled, and the phone was nearly dropped to the floor.

"Who are you?" I asked in a trembling voice.

The woman was silent on the other end of the line for a while. Then she laughed and said, "I'm Sean's sister. Don't misunderstand us."

One of my friends around me said in a joking tone, "Oh, you called his family! Isn't this like meeting Sean's family now?"

I breathed a sigh of relief. But Marc Reed, Brody Mason's friend, said, "She sounds a bit like Sean's ex-girlfriend."

My heart skipped a beat.

"Meeting my family now? What are you talking about?" Sean stood in front of me, and his smile vanished instantly.

He snatched the phone from my hand and said unhappily, "Why are you holding my phone?"

My heart seemed to be dropped into a pit.

I remembered Marc's muttering, and my heart sank.

I asked Marc in a low voice, "It's impossible. Didn't Brody say Sean had moved on from his ex-girlfriend, Katherine?"

Marc tilted his head and shrugged. "Who knows?"

Once I had doubt in my mind, I could easily notice something unusual.

After much inquiry, I secretly obtained Katherine's WhatsApp.

After I saw her posts, I could no longer deceive myself.

She loved spicy food, enjoyed visiting zoos, adored plush toys, had short hair, and always favored white clothes. Those were all her preferences.

3

I got another message from Sean. "Go to bed early. I'll pick you up after work tomorrow. I want to talk to you."

The next day, Sean took me to a café.

I saw the conspicuous mark on the back of his neck and felt choked. I almost couldn't breathe.

"Let's break up," Sean finally said.

I nodded and stared at Katherine's latest post on my phone. "Luckily, we didn't miss each other."

"I'm sorry. If you need anything in the future, just let me know," Sean said. He was stunned upon hearing my words, but there was more joy than apology in his eyes.

"You promised to meet my parents during the New Year holiday," I said.

Seam said, "I... I can't go now. I'm sorry."

I nodded, took out my phone, and opened the shopping app. "I bought these gifts for my parents on your behalf. I'll keep them, but you need to pay me the money. You have to pay me 3200 dollars, including the errand fee."

He was stunned. "You switch your roles so quickly."

I took a sip of coffee and said, "What else could I do? Cling to you and plead with you?" I took another sip and said, "Transfer me the money now."

Sean immediately took out his phone and transferred 5, 000 dollars to me. I remembered I once wanted to buy a dress with a price of 800 dollars. Sean advised me to search for a knock-off online. Now he directly transferred so much money to me for Katherine. He was being so generous.

I smiled and thanked him. But my heart couldn't help but ache.

Before I could say more, Sean received a call and left in a hurry.

I took a sip of coffee, and my hands were trembling as I held the cup.

I just wanted to maintain some dignity.

4

"Sweet treats bring joy. Here's your favorite milk tea."

A cup of milk tea appeared in front of me.

I looked up and saw Marc sitting opposite me.

I had no idea when he got there.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

He answered, "I just happened to be here for some business." Marc frowned slightly and pushed the milk tea forward. "I noticed you often buy milk tea and thought you liked it. Did I get it wrong?"

"Thank you." I accepted the milk tea and was surprised by the label. It was 30% sugar.

I had told Sean I didn't like overly sweet drinks, but he always forgot it.

At gatherings, he ordered milk tea with full sugar, which was overwhelmingly sweet.

Marc was surprised and said, "You don't like 30% sugar?"

I nodded my head, and tears fell uncontrollably. Perhaps I was comforted by the milk tea as it was so warm.

After hesitating for a long moment, I finally asked, "What do you think of Katherine?"

"I'm not really familiar with her," Marc said.

He handed me a tissue and sighed, "It's okay. You broke up with Sean, and you still have a chance to choose from many other guys."

I looked up in surprise and said, "Aren't you Sean's friend?"

Marc took a deep breath and said, "Wipe away your tears."

As I reached for the tissue, Marc suddenly grabbed my hand and asked, "What's this? Why do you have bandages? You didn't try to harm yourself, did you?"

I laughed and took my hand back from his. I felt a strange sensation and said, "I just scraped myself in the snow. I won't do that."

I didn't scrape myself. I just almost stepped wrong as I was absent-minded, and my hand happened to land on some glass shards that hadn't been cleaned up on the ground.

Sean hadn't noticed my injury from picking me up to leaving the café, but Marc did.

How oblivious must Sean be not to see it?

I remembered once I rushed out late at night to get him pain relief medication when Sean had a headache.

"Shall I drive you home?"

"No need. I'll take a cab." I waved my phone and indicated that I had already booked a taxi.

5

Standing at the café entrance, and facing the cold wind, I regretted I didn't put on enough clothes that day.

The next moment, a warm coat was draped over me.

"Do you want to even the score with him?"

I turned my head to see Marc wearing only a sweater.

I shook my head and wanted to return the coat to him.

But Marc placed his hand on my back. He clearly didn't want me to give it back to him.

He said, "A few days ago, I took the opportunity from him and got promoted. He's quite hating me now."