The farewell dinner was held three days later.

By then, my suitcase was already packed.

My train ticket was inside my coat pocket.

And Nathan Foster had sent me one message.

“I’ll be at the station.”

Only six words.

I read them twice.

Then put my phone away.

At six that evening, Caleb arrived at Zhou Restaurant with Lily and nearly twenty colleagues.

Lily had changed the reservation without telling me.

Private room.

Imported wine.

Extra dishes.

Fresh seafood that cost more than Caleb’s monthly salary.

Apparently, since I had said I would “help,” she assumed money no longer mattered.

When the waiter brought out the cake, Lily clapped happily.

—It’s beautiful!

The cake was exactly what I had promised.

White cream.

Strawberries.

And nothing more.

Caleb looked around.

—Where’s Ivy?

Lily smiled.

—She probably wants to make a dramatic entrance.

Everyone waited.

Ten minutes.

Twenty.

I never appeared.

Finally, a waiter handed Caleb an envelope.

—Miss Carter asked us to give you this.

He opened it.

Inside was the receipt for the amount I had prepaid.

Exactly sixty dollars.

The amount Lily had asked me for.

Nothing more.

Underneath was a note.

“Farewell meal contribution: $60.”

Caleb stared at it.

Then at the table covered with expensive dishes.

—What about the rest?

The waiter answered politely:

—Miss Parker upgraded the menu this afternoon.

Lily’s smile froze.

—I thought Ivy would pay.

—Miss Carter specifically authorized sixty dollars only.

The bill for everything else was placed in front of Lily and Caleb.

Lily went pale.

—Caleb…

He clenched his jaw.

But with all their colleagues watching, he couldn’t refuse.

He paid.

That dinner consumed nearly all the savings he had left.

That was why I had called it the most expensive farewell meal of his life.

Not because I tricked him.

Because for the first time, I refused to pay for choices they made themselves.

While they were eating, I was already on the train.

When Caleb returned to the dormitory, he found my key on the table.

The wardrobe was empty.

My books were gone.

Even the chipped blue mug we had used for years had disappeared.

Only one envelope remained.

Inside was the money he had once lent me when we first arrived in town.

Every cent.

And one sentence:

“From today, we owe each other nothing.”

He called me immediately.

My phone rang as the train entered the city.

I answered.

—Ivy, where are you?

—Going home.

His voice rose.

—Without telling me?

—I told you I was leaving.

—I thought you were angry!

—I’m not.

That answer frightened him more than anger would have.

He lowered his voice.

—Come back tomorrow.

—Lily’s transfer still hasn’t been approved.

—Once you ask your father to help—

I closed my eyes.

Even now.

He still thought I had returned to solve Lily’s problem.

—Caleb.

—What?

—I’m getting married.

Silence.

Complete silence.

Then he laughed.

—Stop joking.

—I’m serious.

—To whom?

I looked through the window.

Nathan was already waiting on the platform.

Tall.

Quiet.

Holding my favorite hot soy milk.

The same Nathan who, in another life, had stood beside my parents when no one else remained.

—Nathan Foster.

Caleb stopped breathing.

—The Nathan Foster?

—Yes.

His voice suddenly turned furious.

—You can’t marry him!

I almost smiled.

—Why not?

—Because you’re with me!

—No, Caleb.

I looked at Nathan through the glass as the train slowed.

—You chose to stay here.

—I’m choosing to leave.

I ended the call.

Nathan didn’t ask why I had changed my mind.

He didn’t ask whether I still loved Caleb.

When I stepped off the train, he simply took my suitcase.

—Hungry?

My throat tightened.

—A little.

—Your mother made dumplings.

He paused.

—And she told me not to let you skip dinner.

Something warm entered my chest.

Three days later, our families met.

A month later, Nathan and I registered our marriage.

There was no grand romance.

No dramatic confession.

Just respect.

He asked before making decisions that affected me.

He remembered my work schedule.

When my father became ill, Nathan didn’t tell me that his family should come first.

He drove me to the hospital himself.

The first time he said:

—Your parents are my family too.

I had to turn my face away so he wouldn’t see my eyes redden.

Back in the town, Caleb’s life did not unfold as he imagined.

Lily’s transfer was rejected.

Without my father’s connections, there was no special channel available.

Caleb stayed because he had promised to accompany her.

Months passed.

Then a year.

He wrote letters to me.

At first arrogant.

“You’re acting impulsively.”

Then confused.

“Why haven’t you answered?”

Then desperate.

“I’ve returned to the city. We need to talk.”

I answered none of them.

Two years later, we met.

Nathan and I attended an education conference where Caleb had recently transferred.

I was standing beside Nathan when Caleb saw me.

His eyes dropped immediately to my hand.

Wedding ring.

Then to Nathan’s hand resting naturally beside mine.

Caleb went pale.

—Ivy.

Nathan looked at me.

I said calmly:

—An old acquaintance.

That phrase hurt Caleb.

I could see it.

Later, he waited for me outside the auditorium.

—You really married him.

—Yes.

—Do you love him?

I looked at Caleb for a long moment.

—Yes.

His expression cracked.

—You used to love me.

—I did.

—Then how could you change so quickly?

I smiled faintly.

—It wasn’t quick.

He didn’t understand.

He never could.

Because he only remembered this life.

He didn’t remember how much I had once sacrificed.

How many times I had been told to understand Lily.

How often my money, family connections and patience were treated as resources they could borrow indefinitely.

He whispered:

—I stayed because Lily had nobody.

I nodded.

—And I left because I finally realized I had myself.

Caleb looked down.

—Lily and I were never together.

—I know.

That surprised him.

—Then why?

—Because betrayal isn’t always kissing another woman.

I continued quietly:

—Sometimes it’s making your partner come second so many times that eventually there is no relationship left to save.

He had no answer.

I walked back toward Nathan.

He didn’t ask what Caleb wanted.

He only handed me a warm drink.

—Cold?

I nodded.

He wrapped his scarf around my neck.

Such a small thing.

But in another life, I had spent years begging for small things.

That was when I finally understood why returning had been worth everything.

Caleb thought I would always wait while he protected Lily.

So I stopped waiting.

He chose to stay in that town for someone he called a sister.

I returned to the city and married the man who never needed me to compete for a place beside him.

And by the time Caleb finally came home—

the woman he expected to find waiting had already become Nathan Foster’s wife.