After Nine Years Together, an Algorithm Exposed Him

The next morning, I reached out to Luke Gilbert's other shareholders and arranged the transfer of my shares. On my way past, I stopped by the company to collect the things I'd left there long ago. What I didn't expect was to be stopped at the office door by a round-faced girl, bristling with righteous indignation. "Office hours start at nine. Showing up now means you're late!" "And this is Mr. Gilbert's office. You can't just walk in." I rarely interfered with Luke's work, but everyone in the company knew I was the firm's other founder. Half of Luke's office had always belonged to me. Since when was I not even allowed inside? Theo Fox, the assistant standing nearby, hurried over to smooth things over. "Vice President, please don't take offense. This is Lola Bennett, the secretary Mr. Gilbert hired recently." "She doesn't know who you are, that's why she stopped you." Lola. Little Moon. The realization of who stood in front of me shifted something in my expression. At my words, Lola stuck out her tongue. "So you're the legendary Vice President big sister." With that, she went bouncing into the office like a rabbit. "Sunshine, the Vice President big sister came to work! But her spot's already taken up by my stuff. Should I give it back?" Inside, Luke was in the middle of a video conference. Interrupted like that, he didn't get angry at all. Instead, he gave a helpless little laugh. "Why are you still so loud about everything? I've told you, an office isn't the great outdoors. Mind your manners." Lola immediately wrapped herself around his arm, voice dripping with affection. "I didn't mean to." The way they leaned into each other, as if no one else existed, sent a sharp pain through my chest. I drew a deep breath and walked in. Sure enough, my spot was buried completely under Lola's collection of figurines. Yet years ago, when all I wanted was a single little doll on my desk, Luke had called me childish. Seeing me come in, Luke smoothly slid his arm out of Lola's hold. "Maya, what brings you here? You haven't come by in so long. Little Moon... Lola didn't have anywhere to sit, so I let her use your spot for now." I looked at him quietly. So he'd kept the other woman right under his own nose all along, while I, his fiancée, knew nothing. I said nothing. I simply swept everything off the desk that didn't belong to me. Lola's face shifted at that, but she quickly broke into a grin and added me on social media. "Vice President big sister, I'm Mr. Gilbert's personal secretary now. If you ever need anything, just come to me." With a probing curiosity, I accepted her request and opened Lola's feed. And what I saw made my pupils tremble. On my mother's death anniversary, when I'd stayed alone at the cemetery until late into the night, Lola had posted a photo of Tokyo Tower. "Met up with my online guy. He's so good-looking. One look and you can tell he's my man." While I was simmering stomach-soothing porridge for Luke, Lola posted a photo of herself sleeping in a tent. "Unlocked a new memory: spending the night on a mountaintop with the person I love. Honestly so blissful." When I was doubled over in agony from appendicitis, lying on the operating table at the hospital. Lola posted a photo from the summit of Mount Everest. "He says he feels lucky to have met someone who fits him so perfectly in this lifetime. Such a shame I came along a little too late." Something churned in my stomach, and the pain stole the breath from my lungs. None of these posts showed Luke's face. Anyone who didn't know would never connect them to him. But I knew exactly who she was talking about. Everything matched that forum thread. And Lola's most recent post read: "The man I love is about to get married. He says he owes her too much, so he has no choice but to marry her." "He promised that before the wedding, he'd take me to Iceland first, for a wedding that belongs only to us. One last bit of madness." The photo showed two hands with fingers laced together, both wearing wedding bands. And that man's hand, I recognized in a single glance. It was Luke's, because of the unmistakable scar across the web of his thumb. That scar came from the day a pane of glass had suddenly fallen in the school hallway, and Luke had shielded me, the shards slicing his hand. Beneath the post, coworkers who knew nothing of the truth were actually mourning the tragedy of their love story. An employee I got along with secretly messaged me. "Vice President, are you really not going to do something about Lola? She's just a secretary, but she struts around like she owns the place. When Theo commented 'knowingly being the other woman' on her post, she went crying to Mr. Gilbert, and he actually took her side and chewed Theo out!" I tugged weakly at the corner of my mouth and typed back: "There's nothing I can do." After all, this company would soon have nothing to do with me. Lola went out to make coffee, leaving only Luke and me in the office. He came over and wrapped his arms around me from behind, his voice low and intimate. "Baby, you haven't come to keep me company in so long. I've missed you." Back when the company had just been founded, we'd shared a single office. In the most passionate days of our relationship, we could never hold ourselves back. He'd press me against the one-way floor-to-ceiling window, pin my hands to the glass, force me to look out at the world below, telling me he'd love me for the rest of his life while moving against me with a fierce hunger. And I had never been able to resist his closeness, coaxed into it again and again, time after time. But this time, I reached out and pushed him away. Luke frowned. His gaze fell on Lola's desk, and understanding dawned on his face. "So you're upset?" When I didn't answer, he pulled me back into his arms. "Baby, don't read too much into it. She's the daughter of a business partner. She insisted on tagging along to inspect a project." "I had no other option, so I gave her a secretary position. She's young, doesn't know any better. Don't stoop to her level." As he spoke, he gently stroked my ring finger, his tone tender. "You know that in ten more days, it's our wedding." "I'll give you the grandest wedding, build a happy home with you. There'll be nothing between me and any other woman." The office heating was running, yet my hands grew colder and colder. The man in front of me suddenly felt terrifyingly like a stranger. If I hadn't seen those posts, I might have truly believed him, and walked foolishly into that wedding hall. Never knowing that the man making these promises was planning another wedding, with another woman.

I didn't answer. Once I'd packed my things, I walked straight out of the office. At the door, I nearly collided with Lola, who was coming back balancing a cup of coffee. "Sis—future VP—will you still be coming in to work after this? Because if you're not, I won't bother tidying up your desk." I gave her a cold look. "I don't have a little sister like you. This is a company. Call me Vice President. Basic professional courtesy—did nobody ever teach you that?" Lola's face went through a quick cycle of green and white. She'd just realized I was the one who'd answered her message the day before. Something venomous flickered in her eyes, and then she simply flung the scalding coffee straight at me. The hot liquid soaked into my blouse. The pain made me wince. "Oh no, I'm so sorry, Vice President. My hand slipped." She didn't bother to hide the taunt on her face. My expression turned to ice. A mistress climbing onto my head like this—who could stomach that? "Smack—" I raised my hand and slapped her across the face without a second's hesitation. I'd been a doted-on only daughter my whole life. I'd never had to swallow anything. The only place I'd ever stumbled was with Luke. For him, I'd unlearned my spoiled temper, taught myself patience, taught myself to forgive. I could write off the past nine years as loving the wrong man. A clean, civil parting should have been the most dignified ending. But if someone insisted on stepping all over me, that didn't mean I was easy to bully. Hearing the commotion, Luke came rushing out of his office. He pulled Lola behind him on instinct, his face dark as he rounded on me. "Maya, what do you think you're doing? Is this workplace bullying?" I almost laughed in his face. So now I was the one bullying people. "Maybe you should ask her what she did first." I dropped the words coldly and turned to leave. After I left the company, I went straight home to pack and moved back to my father's house. Chloe rushed over to help right away, but when she saw my luggage, she froze. "You were with him for nine years and this is all you have? Luke's a boss now, for God's sake. He never bought you anything?" "And what about that two-million-dollar dowry of yours?" The suitcase held only a few changes of clothes and my important documents. Plain to the point of being pitiful. I said nothing. Luke was a textbook engineer—no sense for romance. He never sent flowers, never bought me dresses or makeup. On holidays, though, he would send me a few thousand dollars in a red envelope. As for the two million I'd brought as a dowry, he had actually kept his promise and signed half the company's shares over to me. It was just that all these years, the money had stayed tied up in the business. Afraid of slowing the company's growth, I'd never once brought up dividends. At the end of the day, I was the company's other owner in name only. In practice, apart from the occasional red envelope from Luke, I'd taken almost nothing out of that company. I'd never seen the problem before. I always figured I had no head for business, no talent for management. Owning half a company without lifting a finger already seemed like more than enough. But looking back now, I could finally see how naive I'd been. In the end, it seemed I'd walked away with nothing. Meanwhile Luke could casually buy his mistress a YSL lipstick as a little gift. Chloe touched my cheek, her heart breaking for me. "Nine years of your youth. You really have no regrets?" Regrets? Of course I did. Nine years of standing by him, of giving everything, had only made me cling harder to the idea of marrying Luke. I wanted a home with him. I wanted a child that belonged to the two of us. But however staggering the sunk cost, I was choosing to let it go. Because he was filthy now. Just then, a sharp pain tore through my lower belly. The color drained from my face, and I doubled over, retching, one hand pressed to my stomach. Chloe shot to her feet, terrified. "Maya! Don't tell me you're pregnant. Does Luke know?" I shook my head. My voice came out badly hoarse. "I've scheduled the procedure for tomorrow. This child—I'm not keeping it." Chloe's eyes went red in an instant. Her mouth opened as if to talk me out of it. But in the end she just pulled me into a fierce hug. "Your mom may be gone, but you still have us. Your dad's been working overseas all these years and couldn't be here for you, but there's no way he'd ever want to see you put through something like this." "A child should be born into a family that wants it, that loves it." Her words snuffed out the last flicker of hesitation in me. For nine years I'd imagined that child's arrival more times than I could count. But I wouldn't let it have a traitor for a father. The next day, Chloe came with me to the hospital. After the procedure, I sat in the recovery room, opened my email, and sent my résumé to that Canadian firm I'd longed to join for so long. For Luke's sake, I'd locked myself at his side for nine years. Loving him, loving his career, loving everything that was his. From now on, I only wanted to love myself, to live for myself. But when I got back to the front door, I found that Luke had shown up at some point. He was crouched outside, like a big dog someone had abandoned. Every time we used to fight and I ran home, he would wait at this door exactly like this. And I always softened the moment he made himself small. But seeing the same scene now, all I felt was disgust. The instant he saw me, Luke jumped up and grabbed my hand. "Maya, I got home and saw all your stuff was gone, so I knew you'd come back here." "Didn't I tell you the day I proposed? Throw your tantrums if you have to, but stop running back to your parents' place over every little thing." "If your dad found out, he'd think I was mistreating you. We're about to get married—how are you still this childish?" "This is all because Lola took your desk, isn't it? I've already had her moved to a different seat." At first there was urgency in his voice, but by the end it had curdled into something closer to blame. I suddenly thought of all ten times I'd brought up breaking up, pushing him toward marriage. The truth was, more than once, I had genuinely wanted to leave. Because over the years Luke had only gotten busier. He forgot my birthday. He forgot our anniversary. But after every fight, he would apologize so earnestly, swearing he'd never do it again. And I always softened because I loved him, because I didn't have the courage to walk away for good. After all, what lay between us was a full nine years. Not nine days. Not nine weeks. Not nine months. But the nine years that carried me from girl to woman, the loneliest nine years after I lost my mother, the nine years of stumbling and growing up in a strange city. And the nine years I was most afraid of being left behind. But now Luke had crossed the one line I had, with his own hands. Again and again I told myself: stop leaning on him. Looking at him in this moment, all that was left in me was nausea, a sick churn in my gut. I didn't want to waste my breath on him, but Luke assumed my anger had blown over. He reached up and ruffled my hair, smiling as he coaxed me. "All right, enough sulking. Come on—haven't you always wanted to try on wedding dresses? I've got time today. Let's go look at gowns."

Watching the way Luke stood there, so certain I could never actually go through with leaving him, I suddenly lost the urge to tell him my decision outright. If the day came when he realized I was truly walking away, what kind of face would he make? So I agreed to go look at wedding dresses with him. Partly to avoid tipping him off, partly to give the woman I'd been for the last nine years some kind of closure. After all, the old me really had waited for this day for so very long. The lighting in the bridal salon was soft and dreamlike. Luke stood beside me in a perfectly tailored suit, slowly merging with the groom I'd pictured in a thousand imagined weddings. He'd booked out the entire salon. At this hour, it was just the two of us. He picked out dresses for me with endless patience, leaning down now and then to ask, “Do you like this one? Or do you want to try that mermaid cut? I think you look beautiful in anything.” His tone was as gentle as it had always been. I studied the line of his profile. Nearly thirty now, and still handsome, still magnetic. No wonder Lola had fallen for him the very day they first met in person. I said nothing. I simply changed into the gown I'd loved for years. Standing before the mirror, I froze for a moment. The woman looking back at me was beautiful in a way that felt almost like a stranger. Luke was clearly struck too. He walked up slowly behind me and wrapped his arms around me from behind. “Baby, I'm finally going to marry you. I'm so happy.” In the mirror, I saw the faint red rimming his eyes. In that instant, he overlapped with the boy from my memory, the one whose heart and eyes held nothing but me. As if nothing had ever changed. But I knew. Some things had changed long ago. Luke looked at me, earnest. “Baby, we're going to be together forever. We'll have our own home, our own children. We'll be happy for the rest of our lives.” “Haven't you always wanted to marry me more than anything? I promise, I will never let you down.” I pulled at the corner of my mouth and said softly, “Mm. Is that so?” But the man I'd wanted to marry was always the Luke who put me first. Not this one, the one whose mouth was full of lies, who had fallen in love with someone else behind my back. I only wanted to leave him. Never to see him again. Just then, the drink Luke had ordered arrived. He handed it to me with a smile. “Your favorite, mango milk. Go on, taste it.” I looked down at the cup, paused, and didn't take it. I set it on the table instead. Luke seemed about to say something when his phone rang. The contact name read Little Moon. He picked up almost instantly. I couldn't hear what was said on the other end, but Luke's brow knotted at once. Already moving toward the door, he said to me in a hurry, “Baby, if you like the dress, keep it. Something urgent just came up at the company. I need to go deal with it.” I nodded, flat. “Understood.” Luke had already reached the doorway. The person on the line seemed to still be crying, and he lowered his voice to soothe them. “Don't do this, don't hurt yourself. We'll go to Iceland, I promise. We'll go right away, all right?” Looking at his retreating back, I don't know why, but I suddenly couldn't stop myself from reaching out and catching the hem of his jacket. Luke turned, reflexively covering the phone's mouthpiece, his brow creasing. “Maya, don't be difficult. There's a real emergency at work. I'll be back soon.” With that, he pushed my hand away without a second of hesitation and left. I stood where I was, still wearing the gown that cost a small fortune, the woman in the mirror like a princess waiting to be wed. I said quietly to the attendant, “Help me out of the dress. We won't be keeping this one.” I pointed at the drink on the table. “I haven't touched this. You can have it.” Once I'd changed back into my own clothes, I left the bridal salon alone. Luke, when was it that you forgot? I'm not the one who likes mango milk. I'm allergic to mango. In the second year we were together, I ended up in the ER after eating mango by mistake. That day Luke kept watch at my bedside, his eyes red from crying, gripping my hand and swearing, “Maya, I'm so afraid of losing you.” For a long time after that, he cared more than anyone about every single thing that passed my lips. So this is what happens once love goes bad. Even the things once carved into the bone get forgotten. The city blazed with light through the lively night, and human feeling was such a small thing inside all of it. My phone buzzed. I looked down. The last shareholder who'd been holding out had finally bought up the rest of the shares in my hands. The two million from back then had turned into ten million. So I hadn't lost out, at least. At the same moment, a message came through from Luke. “Baby, head home first. Things here are a little tricky. I have to take a business trip.” “Don't worry, I'll definitely be back before the wedding in three days.” I looked at the message and thought, Luke, we aren't getting married. I opened that secret online forum trail directly. 【Little Moon】 had just posted an update. Two photos of plane tickets to Iceland. The caption read, “He's taking me to Iceland to hold a wedding that belongs to us. One last selfish wish. I don't want to leave any regrets behind.” “Even if I have to threaten to die for it, I'll carve out a place in his heart that can never be erased.” I wasn't surprised. I simply went home, calm, dragged out my suitcase, said goodbye to Chloe, and then headed to the airport alone. Waiting at the gate late that night, the forum updated again. This time it was a video posted by 【Little Sun】. Maybe they'd never imagined anyone would find it. The video wasn't even blurred out. In the footage, Luke held Lola's hands, one in a tuxedo, one draped in a veil. There, between the vast, pure expanse of Iceland's earth and sky, before a priest as witness, they spoke their wedding vows. They embraced and kissed, and Lola even left an unmistakable bite mark at the corner of Luke's lips. The boarding call came over the speakers. I wiped away the tears that had slipped from my eyes at some point I hadn't noticed. It was all over. Luke. Lola. You don't have to go to all that trouble staging some fake wedding. If you want to be the most unforgettable person in each other's lives, then go and be it. As for whether Luke actually loved Lola, or just craved the thrill before marriage, I no longer cared to dig into it. Whoever it was he truly loved, it had nothing to do with me anymore. From the moment I saw that post, we were already finished. There would be no tenth year for us. I screen-recorded the entire post and saved it, keeping every piece of evidence. Then I deleted every photo on my phone that had anything to do with Luke, and blocked every way of reaching him and Lola. Finally, I screenshotted the last line of the acceptance email from the Canadian firm and posted it to my social media feed. “Ms. Henson, welcome aboard. Here's to the start of a brand-new chapter in your life.” I loved Luke for nine years, and I know he's not someone I can rely on. This time, I'm leaving completely, with no turning back. I will create a better tomorrow through my own efforts.