The Seven-Year Itch: I Finally Gave Up on Him

[It's over here.] I sent a message to Eason. [There was something wrong with the company. Melody said that a client came temporarily.] [Take a taxi back.] [Okay.] Both of us knew that he wouldn't come to pick me up. Even so, he and I would complete such a routine. Because there was nothing else to say. I flipped through the chat history with him recently. Not a single chat record was more than ten words. What appeared the most was the sentence he had sent. [I won't be back tonight.] And Melody. [Melody and I...] He was on a business trip with Melody, met the client, and went to the airport with Melody. Eason had an advantage. He wouldn't hide it from me. But he had never thought that what I cared about was not whether he reported it or not, nor whether he would come to pick me up or not. Instead, he mentioned Melody seven times out of ten. I minded that a lot. I had lost my temper with him dozens of times over this. I could even memorize his reply. "Just work." "She's my secretary. We work together." "You know that without her, the company can't have been established." "You think too much. Don't be so petty." The taxi driver saw me coming out of the hotel and smelled of alcohol. He told me, "Miss, did you drink? Do you want to call your family to pick you up later?" No one could pick me up. I shook my head and rolled down the window. The night view of the city flashed by one after another. All of a sudden, I wondered if it was because I was too ostentatious back then. I wore a wedding dress too early. So I couldn't get married until now. But what would happen after I married him? Would it always be like this? Looking at the people coming and going outside the car window, for the first time, I wondered if I really wanted to marry Eason.

The next day, I was woken up by phone calls from Bella. "Yvonne, the more I think about it, the more I feel that something is wrong. What did Eason mean yesterday?" "You've been together for seven years. Didn't he dare to give you a definite answer?" I was at a loss for words. Because I didn't know either. Logically speaking, I should have been very angry that he had abandoned me on the spot yesterday. But I didn't this time. Because I was used to it. Suddenly, a message popped up on my phone. [I'll pick you up at the company's dinner party tonight.] I hesitated. Because he hardly took me to see his colleagues. It seemed that he wanted to make it up to me. [Yesterday, something did happen in the company. Don't think too much about it.] Eason was still the same Eason. He would always be able to quickly notice the problem between us and then quickly remedy it. "Every conflict between us will not exceed three days. Because he could always solve it quickly according to the process. In the past, every time I was angry and wanted to make it clear to him, he would bring up that process. After the process was over, whether I agreed or not, he would admit that the problem had been solved. If I made trouble again, he would ignore me. But his eyes were questioning, "What the hell are you doing?" He had never thought that many things couldn’t be solved. Love was not work. Work was about efficiency, but love was not. [Okay.] I went back to the room to put on my clothes and makeup and I was well-dressed from head to toe. I looked at myself in the mirror but couldn't feel happy. I used to be very happy that he was willing to take me to see the people in his company. But now, I suddenly felt troubled.

I waited for him to pick me up. The passers-by secretly glanced at me, who was dressed too delicately. After waiting for a long time, I couldn't get in touch with him on WhatsApp. I had better take a taxi myself. When I arrived at the venue of the dinner party and followed the staff in, it had already begun. The banquet was very lively. Everyone gathered in threes and fives and chatted happily. I didn't know what to do. I couldn't find Eason, nor did I know anyone. I could only sit in a corner. Then I saw Eason walking over slowly with Melody’s arm in his. As soon as he arrived, he became the focus of the banquet. The two of them went around socializing. I looked at Melody, who tacitly handed the wine to Eason, and watched her whisper to him. They looked at each other and smiled. My first reaction was not to get angry. On the contrary, the word ‘comparable’ suddenly appeared in my mind.

Eason and Melody finally came close to me. I could see them, but they didn't notice me in the corner. "Ah, this must be Mrs. Nash. No wonder Mr. Nash is so young and promising. He has such a beautiful wife." No one knew who said this, but the venue became a little quiet. Everyone in the company knew Melody was Eason's secretary. But everyone knew that he had a girlfriend of seven years. The unintentional words made all their colleagues want to hear the follow-up. Melody covered her mouth and giggled while getting closer to Eason. "Mr. Adams, this is Miss Meyer, my secretary. She has connected with you before." Without a trace, Eason changed the topic. But he did not refuse Melody to stick to him. The two of them held hands and walked away. Next to them, there was an uproar from the company. I felt awkward and lowered my head to look for my phone. I took out my phone and found that Eason had just replied to me. [I just went to an emergency meeting with Melody. I was delayed.] [Are you here?] [Where are you? Why didn't you reply?] [Forget it. You don't have to come if you're not here.] I raised up my head and looked at their backs. It was strange that I wasn't angry. I just found myself a little funny.

[Are you free? Come out for a drink.] Bella's unique message came to me. I agreed. At this moment, I just wanted to leave as soon as possible. "Oh, it's uneasy for Eason's girlfriend doesn't have a curfew. You actually promised to come out for a drink at night." As soon as we met, I was teased by Bella. I didn't answer her but took the glass of wine she handed me and drank it in one gulp. "What's wrong with you? You came to the bar as soon as you got married?" Bella was already a little unconscious. She held me and said with a smile, "I'm not you. What's wrong with getting married? I can drink whenever I want, and I can pick up handsome guys whenever I want..." Although I knew that she was bragging, I envied her for no reason. "Well, hurry up and call that stupid Eason to pick you up. I can't stop you if you get drunk." I lowered my head and looked at the empty glass. "He's busy tonight. I'll go back by myself later." Bella, who was already tipsy, did not reply. She stared at me for a while and suddenly said, "I still like your old style of dressing." I looked down at my formal dress, which was indeed out of place in the bar. "Isn't it good-looking?" Bella leaned on me and said, "Yvonne, back then, we were the punks of the Academy of Art." "Look at you now. From head to toe, you're not artistic at all." "You're just a pretty girl without a soul!" Looking at my exquisite curly hair, well-tailored skirt, custom-made high heels, matching jewelry, and meticulous makeup, I hammered Bella. "Come on, is it that exaggerated? This is the makeup of a noble lady that has been popular recently." Bella laughed out loud. "Lady? You look like a resentful woman now!"

I really didn't like to dress up like this. This should be the outfit that Eason liked. At that time, Eason had just started up his company. It was the first time that I had gone out with him to socialize. I had just graduated from college and I think I was wearing the best-looking clothes. But when Melody came over slowly, I found that delicate, bright, flamboyant, and charming could appear on a person at the same time. That day, Melody was wearing a red dress, and her curly hair fell freely. She led Eason around socializing with ease. He would take the wine for her, and she would give him some advice. I, who was with Eason, could only watch them from a corner. I just wanted to wait for Eason to finish and send me back. I didn't expect that one of his colleagues knew me and dragged me to a party. I was forced to drink a lot of wine as they teased me. In the end, I was drunk. It was said that I even behaved irrationally. When I woke up the next day, I saw Eason calling people to apologize one by one. From then on, I rarely went to social events with him. I was afraid that I would cause trouble for him and see Eason and Melody be together again. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to control myself when I saw them. I was afraid that Eason would say, "It's just work. Don't be unreasonable." I was silent for a long time. The drunk Bella said again, "In other words, compared with the style of clothes, I prefer the former you." The former me? I was stunned. Subconsciously, I asked, "Haven't I always been like this?" Bella shook my head. "Stop obsessing over Eason!" "Think about it. Is there anything you do every day just for yourself? I was at a loss for words. After a while, I asked unwillingly, "Didn't I chase after him wholeheartedly before?" "Bullshit!" Bella scolded Eason while saying, "If I had known things would turn out like this, I wouldn't have helped you pursue him back then!"