Our Love Is Gone

My girlfriend, Natalie Whitcombe, was the heiress to a wealthy family. Yet, she still took my salary and insisted that we save every penny together so we could eventually run away and start a new life. She bought me only discounted items close to their expiration dates, picked up clothes her neighbors no longer wanted for me to wear, and bought me the cheapest version of everything. Meanwhile, I turned down a high-paying out-of-town job assignment just to stay by her side. I even secretly worked part-time at a restaurant after my regular shifts, hoping to earn a little extra just to save more money. Unfortunately, I eventually ran into Natalie at that very restaurant. The woman who was always telling me we needed to save money had just spent tens of millions to reserve the entire restaurant for her childhood sweetheart, Ewan Somerset, to celebrate his birthday. Then, she even announced that Ewan was her fiancé in front of everyone. Ewan smiled. "If I'm your fiance, what does that make Sylvan Joffre? I heard he's been working himself to the bone at all sorts of part-time jobs every day, saving money so he can elope with you." "I'm just fooling around with him," Natalie said nonchalantly while withdrawing every last cent from my salary account. "It's not my fault that he was stupid enough to take it seriously. This is everything he saved over five years. Consider this a tip and split it among everyone." I received a hundred dollars from my own savings before the cheering crowd pushed me aside. Then, my phone pinged with a text notification from Natalie. "Babe, I'm standing in line to buy discounted goods right now. I'm sorry you've had to struggle alongside me. Once we've saved a million, we'll run away together." However, I would never believe her lies ever again. So, I texted my supervisor, "I'll accept the assignment. I don't care if I never come back." Chapter 1 Just a Game Just a game? What game? I was still clutching the 100 dollars in my hand as the crowd shoved me farther and farther away from the seemingly happy couple. Natalie was sitting beside Ewan in a custom-made evening gown. The two of them looked immaculate together, practically the picture of a perfect couple. Natalie and I had been together for seven years. Our relationship spanned throughout college, graduation, and into our working lives. She had given up the opportunity to study abroad for my sake. She had been born into a life of wealth and privilege. Yet, she had chosen to live with me in a filthy, cramped rental apartment. She had worked hard to save money with me, determined to give up her comfortable life and run away with me. She had been so sincere when she swore we would lead happy lives. How could any of it have been a lie? I couldn't bring myself to accept what I had just heard. So, I forced my way back through the crowd. That was when Ewan spoke up with a mocking smile. "Natalie, you really went all out. I heard there was 700,000 dollars in that account, and it was everything he worked so hard to save over the past five years. Yet, you threw it all away as a tip just like that. Aren't you afraid he'll be heartbroken when he finds out?" Natalie lightly punched him on the arm, feigning annoyance. "You know perfectly well that me making him save money was just an excuse to string him along. Did you really think I was going to elope with some poor nobody like him? "He's just a toy that's meant to entertain me whenever I'm bored." Their mutual friends immediately burst out in jeers as they chimed in. "Come on, Ewan, stop being so sarcastic. Everyone in our circle knows that Natalie is only dating that guy because she's using him as your substitute." "After all, you did leave Natalie behind and go to Westoria for college. Natalie's a homebody and has never wanted to study abroad. She didn't want to be so far away from her family. She cried and begged you, but she still couldn't make you stay. "So, she took revenge for your abandonment and found someone at school who looked like you and used him as your replacement." Ewan raised his wineglass and apologized profusely, "Alright, alright. It's my bad. I regretted it. I shouldn't have left you alone. I'll make it up to you with three shots." The others immediately started cheering, egging him on. "What are three shots supposed to do? Ewan, you should drink at least ten times more than that. You really were heartless back then. Natalie might have technically been dating that guy all these years, but she never once stopped sending you birthday presents." "I remember she got you a private jet last year. And what did she give that guy? A single origami crane. Hahaha! What a pitiful substitute he is. Even his gifts were the bargain-bin version of yours!" Chapter 2 The Game Ends Here "Natalie got Ewan a Maserati this year, right? What are you planning to give your boyfriend, Natalie? A miniature model car?" "A model car costs money, too. Aren't you two supposed to be saving, Natalie? Why not give him this instead?" Ewan said. He pulled out a restaurant napkin, took out a pen, and doodled a car on it. "Just tell him you drew it yourself. It's the thought that counts. I'm sure he'll love it!" So… Natalie hadn't given up studying abroad for me. She simply hadn't wanted to go abroad in the first place. All those years of her living in that shabby rental with me and enduring all those hardships? Well, that had only been a game to her. She was just a spoiled little rich girl trying to experience life as a commoner. And to top it all off, I had been nothing more than Ewan's substitute. Even the gifts I had treasured were nothing but embarrassingly cheap knockoffs of the gifts she gave him. I couldn't stand hearing any more of this. So, I fled the restaurant in a panic, feeling waves of pain choking the breath out of me. I handed in my resignation to the shift manager before dragging my numb body home one step at a time. As I stood outside the cheap rental building, my eyes were hollow as they swept across rows of food trucks lined up the street. Then, I walked over to the burrito truck I often visited and ordered one. "You're getting off work pretty early today," the owner greeted me. "The usual—no beans, no meat, extra of the free toppings, right?" I shook my head. "No. I'll have the carnitas today. And I'll add…" I'd once been so determined to save money that I couldn't even bring myself to spend two dollars on meat. Yet, all the money I'd worked so hard to save had been nothing more than pocket change for Natalie to blow on a whim. So, what was the point of depriving myself anymore? I might as well start taking better care of myself. I added everything I'd always been too reluctant to order. I took bite after bite, but tears slipped from the corners of my eyes. I raised a hand to wipe them away, only to find that the tears wouldn't stop coming no matter how many times I brushed my palms across my face. For the rich, my struggles had been nothing more than a game. For someone like me, who had spent his entire life struggling just to get by, these past few years had been pill after pill of bitterness. 'Natalie, I'm done being a pawn in your game.' I pulled up my supervisor's WhatsApp and accepted the company's out-of-town assignment. From now on, I would live only for myself. My supervisor was delighted. "Sylvan, you've always been hardworking and responsible. I'm confident you'll be able to handle this assignment!" I thanked him. Then, I opened my laptop and started going through the materials again. I would do my best to live my own life. I wasn't a substitute or a toy. I was a human being. … It wasn't until 3 a.m. that Natalie finally pushed open the door and came home. She had already changed out of the glamorous evening gown she'd been wearing earlier. Now, she was wearing the cheap T-shirt I'd bought her, as though everything I'd seen earlier had been nothing more than an illusion. She came over and began massaging my shoulders. "You're still working this late? You work so hard, babe. Look, I brought you a present. I drew this especially for you while I was working my part-time job. "I'll buy you a luxury car once we make it big someday. Lots and lots of luxury cars. I'll even build you a huge garage to keep them all…" She held out the doodle car Ewan had drawn and placed it in front of me. The napkin was soft, but the ridiculous drawing on it looked almost laughable. That wasn't a future car. Instead, it was an empty check. I casually tossed it aside. Natalie didn't notice. She didn't give my reaction a second thought. Instead, she opened the large bag of groceries she'd bought and showed me what was inside. "I got so lucky today. One of the discounted baked goods was your favorite cinnamon roll. I didn't even allow myself to eat it. I saved it especially for you." As she spoke, she tore open the package herself and brought the cinnamon roll to my lips. However, I instinctively leaned back in revulsion, avoiding her attempt to feed me. I'd already heard enough to piece together the truth. All those discounted products that were close to expiring weren't things she had happened to find by chance. She had specifically hired people to buy them. Chapter 3 Love Was Never Supposed to Hurt Like This Natalie barely ate anything at the restaurant, saving her appetite so she could come home and eat with me just to keep up the act. I had to admit, the dedication she had to this game was admirable in a twisted sense. In a way, it was quite an achievement for a poor man like me to have a wealthy heiress going to all that trouble just to play me like a fiddle. "Forget it. I already had dinner. I'm not hungry." Natalie didn't think much of it. Instead, she sighed wearily, wrapped her arms around me, and started apologizing again. "It's all my fault for working so late just to earn a little extra overtime pay. But you… You got off work so early today. You went to pick up another day job, didn't you? "Why didn't you hand the money over right away? What, getting brave enough to start keeping a little secret stash?" She said it teasingly, as though it were nothing more than a joke. I held out the hundred dollars I'd gotten from the restaurant and handed it to her. "Here. This was my last part-time job, and it's the last money I'll ever give you." It was also the last time I would ever love her. Natalie's smile froze, and she immediately frowned. "What are you talking about? Are you refusing to work part-time because you're afraid of hardship? You're still so young. Why can't you endure even a little hardship? "Besides, I'm working overtime and taking all kinds of part-time jobs, too. We'll only be able to save enough money to run away together if we both keep working like this. I'm doing all of this for our future." She said it with such a straight face, as though the 700 thousand dollars I'd spent five years working and saving for was nothing more than the cost of a single tip in her eyes. As if that wasn't infuriating enough, the million dollars we'd supposedly been saving for was only one-tenth of what she'd spent on Ewan's birthday banquet. "Why do we have to save a million dollars?" I looked at Natalie, giving her one last chance to come clean. "Why can't we just leave now?" I'd seen what she and Ewan had done. I'd seen how little she truly cared about me. However, I also couldn't forget how she'd donated two full pints of blood just to save me back when I'd been in a car accident and was suffering from severe hemorrhage. I could still fondly remember the Natalie who had stood behind me and pushed me forward every time I lost my nerve. I'd held on to those good memories for seven years. That was why I would always believe her without question regardless of how bizarre or dubious her actions could get. Natalie paused before answering, "No. We're saving money so we can lead a better life. Do you really want me to follow you around, struggling just to get by? We're going to get married. We're going to have children. "Maybe we adults can endure hardship, but do you really want our children to suffer alongside us?" She would always give me the same answer whenever I was close to my breaking point, whenever I asked her why we couldn't just up and leave. She would always, always say that it was for the sake of our future children. I'd always believed her without question, but I'd also seen how she'd announced her engagement to Ewan earlier that day. Now, I couldn't help but wonder… Would we still have a future together? The answer was no. Everything she had done for the past seven years had all been nothing more than a ploy meant to fool an idiot like me. "Is that so?" I murmured, letting out a self-deprecating laugh. When she saw how dejected I was, she softened her tone and tried to persuade me again. "Of course. Babe, maybe you're just stressed from working too hard lately. Why are you suddenly doubting me? Everything I'm doing is for your sake. "Otherwise, why would I give up being a wealthy heiress just to struggle alongside you? I'm doing this because I love you. We're almost there. Just hang in there a little longer, okay? Do it for me." She did all this because she loved me, huh? I used to be so full of life and optimism. Yet, years of scrimping and sacrificing my plans just for her had turned me into a hollowed-out version of myself. How could her love feel so much like poison, leaving me battered and bruised from head to toe? Natalie was about to say something else when her phone rang. I glanced up. The name "Ewan Somerset" appeared on the screen. "You still need to keep working part-time. You have to keep working hard alongside me. I promise you, we won't have to live like this for much longer. Once we get to the finish line, I swear I'll make it up to you." It was obvious that Natalie had suddenly lost all interest in lecturing me because of Ewan as she tossed out those words almost absentmindedly. Then, she picked up her phone and went into the bathroom to take the call. Chapter 4 Face-To-Face With Ewan The apartment walls were so thin that I could hear Natalie's hearty laughter from the other room every so often. I had completely lost any desire to dig deeper into what was going on, so I returned to my room and focused on dealing with my work. My supervisor called to ask about the details, and I answered each question in detail. "Yes, understood. The plane ticket's been booked." It wasn't until I hung up that I noticed Natalie standing in the doorway. She anxiously pressed me for an explanation, asking, "Why did you buy a plane ticket? Where are you going?" I quirked a brow at her and walked out of the room, casually making up an excuse. "I bought it for my supervisor." Only then did Natalie sigh in relief. "I misunderstood you. I thought you were leaving. Of course… I was just being silly. We've been together for seven years, and our relationship has always been so good. How could you possibly leave me here alone?" Natalie slipped her arm through mine, her smile sweet and radiant. For a moment there, that smile on her face brought me back to the memories we had created together back when we were in college. There had been a time when simply thinking about the happy memories of us walking beneath the dogwood trees on campus had been enough to make me forget all my pain. However, that was no longer the case. Now, I only felt sick to my guts whenever I thought about how my relationship with Natalie had been a lie from the very beginning, about how I had only ever been a substitute for Ewan. Were those moments when she had seemed genuinely moved because of me, or because seeing this familiar face had made her think of someone else? The answer was obvious in hindsight. It had never been because of me. Natalie tugged and coaxed me back toward the bedroom, but I no longer wanted to be anyone's substitute. So, I coldly refused. "I still have work to finish." Her coquettish smile immediately slipped from her face. "Sylvan, you know what I'm implying, and you still want to work?" I didn't even spare her a glance as I sat down at the dining table and opened my laptop. "Of course. Work comes first. Isn't that what you've always been preaching? "You've been telling me over and over that we had to work hard, make money, and get away from here someday. Remember?" Natalie was left speechless by my blunt retort. In the end, she could only stomp her foot before storming back to the bedroom to sleep. … Natalie left for work early the next morning. Perhaps it was because my supervisor was aware of my upcoming assignment away from town, so he had given me some time off to pack. The company had also advanced me part of my relocation allowance so that I could make proper arrangements. I went to the mall intending to buy myself a few decent outfits, but I happened to bump into Natalie purchasing a watch for Ewan when I passed a luxury boutique. Natalie walked out of the store right after paying and ran straight into me. She strode over and lowered her voice. "You didn't go to work today? What are you doing here?" "I came out to take care of something for my supervisor." Natalie smiled. "Same here. That guy is one of our company's major clients, so I came to entertain him on my supervisor's behalf." A major client? More like fiancé. "Is that so?" I glanced at the shopping bag in her hand. "Did you use the money I saved?" Natalie froze before awkwardly changing the subject. "Of course not. You barely earn anything… I mean, the gift was charged to the company." She and I had always belonged to two completely different worlds. In her eyes, the money I had painstakingly saved wasn't even enough to buy this watch. How ridiculous. Ewan exchanged a glance with the people around him, and someone immediately stepped forward with a mocking laugh. "Natalie, is this your boyfriend? Why is he dressed like some country bumpkin?" "Don't say that. What do you mean 'looks like'? He is one." "Natalie, since we're already at the mall, why don't you buy your boyfriend a couple of clothes that actually fit him? He looks so shabby. Are you really going to bring someone like this out in public?" Natalie didn't say a single word in my defense. She merely shook her head and said, "The important thing is that he has clothes to wear. Why does he need to look good? Let's focus on work." She tried to pull them away, but he stepped forward and stopped in front of me. It was actually the first time I had ever come face-to-face with him. Chapter 5 The Love That Had Expired "Mr. Joffre, I'm really sorry. My friends were just running their mouths. I apologize on their behalf." As he spoke, Ewan suddenly bowed deeply to me. I instinctively reached out to help him up, but a sinister smile curled at the corner of Ewan's lips. Before my hand could even touch him, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself across the face. A sharp crack echoed through the mall. Natalie's eyes widened. She rushed over and shoved me hard. "How could you hit him?" I stumbled from the force of her push, completely bewildered as I blurted in protest, "I didn't!" He covered his reddened cheek and sighed. "It was my fault. I failed to keep my friends in check and let them say those things about you, which upset you. You had every right to hit me. Here, go ahead and hit this side too." Natalie raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face. "Sylvan, apologize to him!" I felt the burning sting spread across my cheek as I slowly lifted my head. So, this was the woman I had loved for seven years, the girlfriend I had given seven years of my heart to. She had spent years telling me she loved me. Yet, she was quick to believe the worst of me the moment something happened. She couldn't even be bothered to find out what really happened. Even worse, she had also hit me. So, I turned around and walked away. Natalie tried to chase after me, but Ewan raised a hand to stop her. "Natalie, my head really hurts, and my ears are ringing a little. Do you think Sylvan's slap might have given me a concussion?" Natalie stopped chasing me and hurried to take Ewan to the hospital immediately after that. She only sent me a text, saying, "He was injured because of you, and the doctor wants him to stay in the hospital for observation. He's a very important business partner for my company, so I have to stay here with him until he calms down. "I shouldn't have hit you today, but everything I did was for your own good. I had my reasons. You have to believe me." For my own good? I couldn't feel a single hint of her care for me, especially not after that slap. Then again, I didn't care what her reasons were. After all, I didn't want her anymore. … Natalie didn't come home for several days in a row. She didn't send me any more messages either. Instead, an unfamiliar number kept sending me photos to my phone. Natalie was starring in every picture, playing the caring nurse for someone else. It was obvious that the number belonged to Ewan. Therefore, it wasn't exactly a leap to deduce that Natalie had been taking care of Ewan day and night like a full-time nurse. Still, I had already stopped loving Natalie. So, I couldn't be bothered to care just who she was dedicating all her time to. Besides, it was time for me to leave. I didn't take a single thing from the apartment. Natalie had bought everything in that place at a discount anyway, and I didn't want any of it tainting my luggage. The only things that mattered were our photographs and the letters we had written to each other back when we were dating. I threw away the photographs before burning the letters one by one. This false love would end here in this cheap, dreary apartment. I hurried to the airport, dragging the few belongings I had left with me. I was just about to board my flight when I received a text from Natalie. "Babe, Ewan finally agreed to leave the hospital. That means I can come home now. Are you home? I bought you a fresh cinnamon roll this time, not one that was about to expire!" I was finally going to be able to bite into a freshly baked cinnamon roll after seven years of dating a leech like her. Alas, I no longer wanted it. "Thanks, but no thanks. We're through." I didn't want to eat food that was past its prime, and I certainly didn't want a love that had lived well past its shelf life. Then, I blocked Natalie's number and boarded the plane without ever looking back.