On the eve of our wedding, Daniel Harrison finally posted something on his social media at my insistence. The caption read: "If it's her, I'd go through hell and back." Everyone's stares at me grew stranger and stranger until I overheard conversations in the company break room. "Did you see Daniel Harrison's post? Oh my god, I can't believe Chloe Jensen is like that." "I saw it, I saw it! Chloe Jensen must be desperate, picking up men of any age. I heard that old man was practically ancient, right?" "The slideshow was dozens of pages long; you couldn't even count how many people there were. But Daniel Harrison clearly knows Chloe Jensen isn't exactly a saint and still marries her? That's true love, I guess?" My blood ran cold. I snatched their phone and opened the post. Only to find that the slideshow Daniel Harrison had posted showed that the so-called old men supporting me were my dad and my grandpa, and a "client" was my brother... The air was thick with awkward silence as the women quickly grabbed their phone and scurried away. I stood there stunned, unable to shake off the images I'd seen on the screen. The slideshow was stark and simple, filled with text and timelines, painting a picture of me as someone who loved to party, obsessed with money, devoid of morals, and willing to do anything for enough cash. The only person he'd blocked from seeing that post was me. I had been slandered, and by my boyfriend of six years, who I was about to marry. Before I could even text Daniel Harrison to confront him, his message popped up. "I'm taking Holly for a trip these two days. We can talk about the wedding later." Holly Davies was a student he'd sponsored for four years. She'd just graduated college this year, and Daniel Harrison said he wanted to treat her to some experiences, which was why he hadn't been home much lately. It wasn't that I hadn't argued. Holly was the reason we'd fought countless times. In the end, it always came down to a few standard lines: "Chloe, what do you want? Why do you have to see everyone in such a dark light? Holly's a girl I sponsored; I just see her as a little sister." "Can you stop being so jealous? I don't know what's wrong with you. She's just a young girl, fresh out of college, frail and vulnerable, with no one to rely on. What's wrong with me helping her out?" "Look at you, always moping around like a perpetual grump, no energy at all. I'm embarrassed to be seen with you. Why can't you be more like Holly?" A pang of melancholy hit me. I couldn't understand why someone I'd loved for six years had changed so drastically. I opened his social media profile. The slideshow wasn't there. The top post was from three days ago, captioned "If it's her, I'd go through hell and back," with a picture of me, drunk, asleep on the couch from behind. Other than that, there was nothing else related to me. These past few days, I’d been swamped with wedding planning, barely breathing, with no time to check my phone, so I naturally hadn't seen that post. Scrolling down, I saw only pictures of Holly. "Took her snowboarding. So clumsy, she kept holding onto me and couldn't learn." "Originally wanted to take her to Japan to see cherry blossoms, but the visa didn't come through. Had to settle for a trip to [substitute for Wuhan, e.g., a lesser-known city known for something specific, or just a generic city] for now." "Woke me up wanting lobster at midnight. My hands are still sore from peeling them for her, but at least she blew on them for me. Little rascal." I felt a mix of absurdity and bitter amusement. Six years of a relationship, and I'd never appeared on his feed. The only post about me was one I had begged for, and even that was a disgusting caption. Turns out, Daniel Harrison wasn't bad at posting. He was just bad at posting me. My phone screen went black automatically. I took a deep breath, pushing down my emotions, and prepared to go home and cancel the wedding. Pushing open the apartment door, the air was cold and empty. I looked around, hoping to see my familiar cat, but Muffin was nowhere in sight. Strange, why wasn't Muffin here to greet me today? Feeling puzzled, I put down my bag, when suddenly, I heard movement from the bathroom. "Daniel, I got soaked! This cat is so annoying!" My heart tightened. I rushed over. Holly stood by the bathtub, looking delicately at Daniel Harrison, who was carefully drying her with a towel. They both looked up at me when they heard the commotion. "Oh, Chloe's back." Holly seemed to flinch, a hint of guilt on her face as she hid behind Daniel Harrison. I looked at the messy puddles on the floor, the cat hair clinging to the edge of the bathtub, and a terrible answer I didn't want to believe formed in my mind. My hands trembled uncontrollably as I rushed forward and pushed them apart. In the bathtub, a small ginger cat floated motionlessly. It was my Muffin. Daniel Harrison steadied Holly, then turned to yell at me. "Are you crazy, pushing people around like that?! Are you blind? What if she got hurt?!" My eyes welled up. Looking at the man in front of me, he felt like a terrifying stranger. People really do change. "Daniel Harrison! Are you kidding me? That was our cat, the one we adopted together!" Holly's eyes brimmed with tears. She bit her lip and tugged on Daniel Harrison's arm. "Don't yell at Chloe. It's my fault for wanting to play with the cat, but I got scratched by accident. Daniel was just trying to get back at it for me... I'm so sorry, Chloe." Daniel Harrison patted her head, seemingly to soothe her. "It's not your fault. It's just an animal. Don't blame yourself." They walked out of the bathroom hand in hand, leaving me standing there numbly. So, because Muffin accidentally scratched Holly, they drowned him. Six years of my life meant less than a girl he sponsored? Tears streamed down my face, and I collapsed onto the floor in agony. After tending to Muffin, I went back to my room, unable to accept what I had witnessed today. Opening the door, I found my nightstand drawers pulled open, things scattered everywhere. I didn't even have to guess who had done it. I felt physically and emotionally drained, pushing myself to tidy up, when I noticed something familiar discarded in a corner. My mom passed away three years ago, and many of her things were gone, but that white T-shirt, a prize from my high school writing competition, she had kept. It was too big for me, so I'd left it for her to wear. She always wore that shirt, bragging to everyone that I was her amazing daughter. But now, the shirt was stained with blood, dirty patches making my eyes sting, and a massive anger flared inside me. Daniel Harrison walked in, frowned when he saw me standing still. "Didn't you see the mess? Why aren't you cleaning it up?" "Daniel Harrison, what happened to this shirt?" "Oh, Holly suddenly got her period and messed up the floor. I couldn't find any tissues, so I just grabbed something to wipe it up quickly..." I slapped him across the face, my hand stinging from the immense pain. "Are you out of your mind?!" Daniel Harrison's eyes widened, glaring at me furiously. "Yes, I am out of my mind! Daniel Harrison, how could you? That's my mom's last memento!" He seemed stunned, clutching his face, then he bit his lip and glanced at me. "I didn't know... I'm sure it'll wash out. Just wash it." Wash it? Aside from whether it would wash out, this was my mother's relic, something I had carefully preserved, and he used it to clean up period blood. I had told Daniel Harrison. Three years ago, after my mom passed, I carefully carried that shirt into the apartment, telling him it was my mom's last keepsake, and I wanted to treasure it. So, had he forgotten? Or did he never remember? I knelt on the floor, carefully picking up the shirt and holding it close. A bitter ache rose in my nose, and tears dripped onto it. My voice trembled as I spoke. "Daniel Harrison, we're over." The air was silent for two seconds, then I heard his sneer. "Chloe Jensen, enough already. It's just a shirt. You can buy another one. You were the one who chased me, and now that we're finally getting married, you're going to give up?" "Stop throwing a tantrum. Muffin really did scratch Holly today. Go get another cat, I'll buy it for you." I seemed to see the young man from years ago. We were sitting by the roadside, and a little ginger cat suddenly jumped into my arms. I sat frozen, and he laughed, calling me a robot, then he teased the kitten. That day passed slowly. I watched him smile brightly, the cat purring in my arms, the sunset painting the sky red, even his face flushed pink. "Chloe, let's keep this little cat. It's pretty cute. It'll meow at the door when we get home from work." Their figures blurred, but I couldn't clearly see the person in front of me anymore. Daniel Harrison's phone vibrated. He glanced down, then turned to leave. As he closed the door, his voice reached my ears. "Holly needs a rabies shot. She's a bit scared, so I'm going to stay with her." 3. I packed my bags and moved out of the apartment. Before closing the door, I took one last look at the entire room, only to realize how few traces of myself were left. At some point, the place had filled with Holly's things instead. I guess I wasn't that important. I moved back into the small house my mom left me, cleaned it, and fell into a deep sleep. When I woke up, I found my phone flooded with messages. A junior colleague I’d mentored had called me many times, and my chat box was lit up with 30+ new messages. "Chloe, Daniel posted something in the company chat, tell him to take it down!" "Chloe, I believe you, that can't be true. I told them not to take it seriously, we're all sending messages to push it up." "Are you okay, Chloe??" The company's general messaging group, which I had on do not disturb, also showed a gray icon with 99+ notifications. I gritted my teeth and clicked it open, scrolling all the way to the top, where I saw the video. In the video, I was shown embracing and holding hands with different men, getting into their cars. The accompanying text was sharp and malicious, claiming I had no self-respect. Although many people had kindly sent memes and messages to push the video out of view, there was still a lot of venom in between. "Daniel posted this video, right? What does this mean? Did he catch Chloe red-handed and cancel the wedding?" "Haha, Chloe acts so serious at work, but secretly she's...?" "Wonder if she has anything, Daniel should be careful." A wave of terror washed over me. I recognized the men in the video as my brother, my dad, and my grandpa. The video had been doctored to obscure the men's faces, but my own face was perfectly clear. From yesterday's slideshow to this video, the targeting of me was blatant. A new message popped up in the group chat. I steadied myself and saw it was from Daniel Harrison. "Chloe Jensen, I need you to give me an explanation. Otherwise, the wedding is off, and I'll go to the media to expose you." I clicked on his profile picture and saw that yesterday's slideshow post was gone. Was it because fewer people saw it on his social media feed compared to the company chat, so he moved it? I burst into laughter, tears streaming down my face, feeling the world was absurd. Daniel Harrison had, of course, met my family members before. But he hadn't recognized them in the video, simply believed someone else's malicious words, and trusted them. Six years of a relationship, undone by a single whisper. Who could possibly hold such immense malice towards me? Anyone could guess it was Holly. The girl was young, but cunning. Every time she sent me a message to boast or insult me, she'd immediately deactivate her number and get a new one next time. I had told Daniel Harrison about it, but every time I called the number, it was disconnected. "Chloe Jensen, aren't you disgusted with yourself? Now you're slinging mud too. Not everyone is as calculating as you." Holly's gaze at me held defiance and the scorn of a victor. I blocked Daniel Harrison, tapped a quick message, and sent it to the group chat. "Of course the wedding is off, Daniel Harrison. We're breaking up." "The burden of proof is on you. If you genuinely have evidence that I'm involved with the people in that video, I don't mind apologizing to you publicly. But I'll warn you, the people in that video are my dad, my grandpa, and my brother." "If you don't have evidence to prove those claims, then I'll see you in court. Both you and Holly will face the consequences." After sending it, I left the group. Taking a deep breath, I opened my pinned chat, hesitated for a long time, then sent a message. "Liam, I want to come home." "Also, pull your investment from Daniel Harrison's company."
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