Chapter 2

That was probably the most normal chapter of our entire relationship.

Back then, we mostly just hung out on campus like any ordinary couple.

After graduation, we started going out on real dates—dinner, movies, the usual.

At first, Aria was painfully reserved. The first couple of times she saw me outside of school, she literally turned around and ran away, only to text me an explanation later.

[I'm sorry, Henry. I like you so much, but I'm terrified of messing this up.]

[I'm such an awful girlfriend. Maybe you should just dump me and find someone better.]

I chalked it up to first-relationship jitters. After all, I used to get nervous before dates, too.

So I comforted her, validated her, and did everything humanly possible to communicate through our issues.

Eventually, after a brief stretch of normal dates, her impatience began to show.

At first, it was just subtle, passive-aggressive digs.

"This is so boring. It feels like every time we hang out, it's just the movies, the mall, or the arcade."

I had felt that way once or twice myself, but I always thought that after a long work week, just spending a quiet day with my girlfriend was nice enough.

Over time, though, Aria's frustration grew blatant, laced with genuine malice.

"Don't you actually find this boring? Are you just pretending?"

"Do guys really spend years leading a girl on like this, or are you secretly texting someone else on the side?"

Whenever she started on that, I'd immediately unlock my phone and hand it straight to her.

"Go through it. Password is your birthday."

Even that never satisfied her. She'd just slap the phone out of my hand with a deadpan glare.

"Dual spaces and hidden apps exist for a reason. Besides, what's the point of checking? Who knows if you have a burner phone somewhere."

"You're only showing me what you want me to see. Don't act like I don't know your game."

I realized with a sinking heart that she simply didn't believe in love.

Still, I spent more time trying to guide her through it, trying to prove myself.

All that effort culminated in the day she finally laid her cards on the table.

"Buying me birthday gifts, always rushing to pick up the tab..."

"Henry, just be real for once. You only want to get into my pants, right?"

"Your next move is dragging me to a hotel and feeding me some sweet-talk like, 'Doing it on your birthday makes it so meaningful.'"

That day, it hit me that our views on love were fundamentally worlds apart.

After that came a cycle of breakups and makeups, every single one initiated and then reversed by Aria.

It was like she had two completely different personalities.

As cold and ruthless as she was when dumping me, she was equally dramatic and poetic in her long apology texts.

Yet I noticed a pattern.

She only ever expressed anything through text messages.

Never once did she talk things through face-to-face or even over a phone call; it was always a one-sided text notification.

When it came to real emotions, the only words she could ever speak out loud were rejections.

Yet around our mutual friends, she always put on that melancholic, wounded act.

To the point where, whenever I seriously contemplated walking away, everyone would jump in to stop me.

"Aria's parents were degenerate gamblers. Whenever they ran out of money, they'd smash up the house and beat her."

"We can all see how much she loves you. You two really belong together; it's just her avoidant personality getting in the way."

"She doesn't know how to express love, but you've been together this long. Just keep teaching her."

Back then, those words moved me every single time, making me re-evaluate everything.

I ended up treating Aria more like a fragile daughter than a partner.

On our dates, if she knocked over a wine glass, I'd give her a warm smile and tell her accidents happen, that everything was fine.

Every night before going to sleep, I'd send her a voice message, firmly telling her "I love you," asking her to send one back.

Even if all I ever got in return was a flat, emotionless "k" or "fine."

I tirelessly maintained that relationship, all the way to our wedding, and all the way to today.

I always figured that eventually, I might just burn out first. But I never imagined this.

Aria had cheated on me. And she was pregnant with someone else's kid.

I didn't sleep a wink that night, but the next morning, my mind was terrifyingly clear. Only one thought remained:

Aria and I should have ended a very long time ago.