She Dodged My Parents, I Changed the Bride

"I was even planning to take tomorrow off so I could properly spend time with your parents," Shirley said as if she was doing me a favor.I looked at her calmly. "Shirley, don't force yourself. Let's break up." I threw out that sentence, grabbed a pillow, and left the bedroom for the guest room.She was stunned for a few seconds, then slammed the door hard behind me to show how angry she was.…The next day, just as I was about to ask for a day off to take my parents around the city, Mom texted, "Dad and I are heading back first. Focus on work, and come home when you can."I froze, then quickly called her. "Mom, why are you leaving so soon?"Mom replied gently, "Your dad's in a hurry to get back and go fishing with your uncle. Alright, we're about to board. Talk later."Listening to her hang up, I was filled with shame toward my parents. The city I was working in was barely an hour away by plane from home. But these past few years, I'd revolved my life around Shirley and hardl

"I'm hungry. Make me something to eat. And cook an extra portion of seafood chowder. Josh wants some. I'll bring it over to him later," Shirley demanded."Hey! Are you deaf?"I hadn't slept all night, got soaked in the rain, and my head was spinning. My patience had run out, and I snapped, "Are you out of your mind? We already broke up! You don't get to order me around."Shirley stared at me in disbelief. "What did you say? You're breaking up with me?""Yeah. I told you yesterday. Who's the deaf one now?"Shirley reacted as if I had just told the funniest joke on earth. She actually started laughing, eyes watering. "Chester, did I hear that right? You're breaking up with me? How many days—no, hours—until you come crawling back? I hope you can at least hold out for 24 hours."I looked at her calmly. I didn't even blame her for reacting this way. Because of Joshua, I had broken up with Shirley several times before. But a few hours later, I'd always pathetically apologize to her and

Later, I asked Shirley more than once why she suddenly decided to date me. Every time, she said it was because I was stupid. I thought she was being playful. It turned out she meant it literally.I didn't regret everything I gave up for Shirley, because I loved fiercely. Thinking of that, I let out a bitter laugh and shook my head. For Joshua, Shirley would give up anything, even herself.Just then, my phone suddenly rang. It was Shirley. I hesitated for a second but still answered. A weak voice came through the speaker, "Chester, my stomach hurts. Chester, my stomach hurts. Come back. My stomach hurts. Come massage it for me. I want you to cook for me. When you're not here, there's no one to make me hangover food. No one to…"Annoyed, I cut her off, "Shirley, I'm not your babysitter. If your stomach hurts, go see a doctor. If you want hangover food, cook it yourself. I'm not so pathetic as to learn the truth and still give you another chance to hurt me. That's it. Don't contact m

Shirley took me to a place we used to frequent when we first started dating. I kept watching her, telling myself that if she showed even the slightest hint of guilt, I'd let her off the hook. But she didn't.In the afternoon, a message popped up on her phone. She didn't even look at it before standing up and saying, "Chester, thank you for accompanying me today. The firm needs me for something. I have to go."She hurried off before I could even respond.I knew without a doubt that it was Joshua who had just texted, letting her know the job was done.I took my time finishing my coffee, then headed home. All I had to do now was reel in my catch.…Two days later, a new software hit the industry. And its designer, Joshua, was praised as a prodigy. Leveraging his newfound title, he soon landed a job at Silverstone Tech as the development manager.I watched his interview clip that he had posted to Instagram, a cold smirk tugging on my lips. "Laugh while you can, Joshua. The show's ab