Chapter 4

In the past, I would have argued endlessly to prove I wasn't as useless as he claimed.

But now I'd lost all desire to communicate with him and just wanted to go back to the bedroom and rest.

I nodded perfunctorily. "I understand. She's a hero. She deserves rewards. I'm not making things difficult for her. I just don't like wearing necklaces."

Tristan studied my expression carefully. Seeing that I genuinely didn't seem angry, he was somewhat surprised and took a while before speaking. "That's good. I'm already exhausted from work every day. I don't want to come home and argue with you. It's best if you can figure it out yourself."

After speaking, his tone shifted and he looked at me with a strange expression. "You didn't think I was proposing when I gave you that ring, did you? And then got so angry at lunch because you realized you'd misunderstood?"

I didn't answer, but he took my silence as confirmation.

His expression immediately turned impatient. He tugged at his tie, his voice irritated. "I've told you so many times—I don't believe in marriage and I won't get married! Don't you understand plain English? You got your hopes up on your own. Who else can you blame? And then you gave me attitude."

Hearing those four words, my expression grew distant.

I remembered when we first started dating, Tristan told me he didn't believe in marriage.

I had struggled with whether to break up with him.

But back then he'd just started his business and had to split every dollar in half.

Even under such tight financial constraints, he still gave me a gold ring for my birthday.

He said that although he didn't believe in marriage, he promised me he would only give a ring to me in this lifetime.

The thin gold ring on my finger made me feel his heavy love.

Back then I naively thought, with a love like this, what difference did it make whether we married or not?

Besides, what if he changed his mind one day and wanted to get married? Wouldn't that be even better?

So I threw myself in wholeheartedly and continued walking with him.

Until today, eight years later.

That ring had made me think that eight years of being together had changed his view on marriage and he was ready to walk down the aisle with me.

I never imagined it was just someone else's unwanted trash.

Thinking back now, though the startup days were hard, they were our sweetest time.

Two people relying on each other squeezed onto a twin bed, with two hearts pressed tightly together.

But I don't know when Tristan started getting impatient with me, belittling me at will.

When I quit my job? When the company went public? When Willow joined the company?

I couldn't remember.

I only remembered telling myself over and over that he wasn't like this before.

Trying to deceive myself with expired love.

Until those two rings shattered all the false filters.

Showing me plainly that he'd long forgotten the promise from eight years ago.

He was no longer the Tristan from eight years ago.

Now, cutting my losses was the best choice.