1 "Let's try dating if we're both single at twenty-eight." Because of his first love's drunken promise, he rejected my proposals eight times. When I learned the truth, I gave up. "Dad, Mom... I'll come home. I'll marry him." Their relieved voices crackled through the phone. "Nina! As Tang Corporation's heir, you can't wander forever. How about a January 19th wedding? When can you meet him—" The bedroom door burst open. "Whose wedding?" Nicholas frowned. I hung up, deadpanning: "A friend's. She wants me as bridesmaid." He shrugged. "Go ahead. I'm too busy to join you." "Fine." My quick agreement surprised him. As he showered, his jacket buzzed. I pulled out his phone. A message from "Aria" glowed on the screen. “You still remember what I said back then? Don’t tell me you’re actually planning on marrying me, haha.” My hand froze. I swiped up. The message Nicholas had sent her just minutes before stared back at me. “Aria, in thirty-three days, it will be your twenty-eight birthday. Do you remember what you promised me?” I laughed. A drunken joke, and he had been waiting all these years. In thirty-three days, Aria would turn twenty-eight. It was also the day I had chosen to break up with him, go home, and get married. I hoped he got his wish. The bathroom door opened. Nicholas walked out, toweling his hair, and sat beside me. “Your phone buzzed a few times,” I said calmly. He quickly dried his hands and grabbed the phone, his eyes scanning the screen with an intense focus I rarely saw. “Who is it?” I asked lightly. His usual calm demeanor vanished. He stood up abruptly. “It’s work. I need to take care of this. You go to bed first.” I saw the defensiveness in his eyes, the poorly constructed lie, and a bitter self-mockery welled up inside me. I simply nodded. As he disappeared into the study, I turned off the lights and lay down. Hours later, the faintest of footsteps creaked in the dark room. A softly glowing phone was placed on the nightstand, and an arm gently wrapped around my waist. I waited until his breathing became deep and even before I opened my eyes, reached over, and took his phone. The chat was still open. He had added a single, four-word reply. “Never forgotten, never will.” A simple phrase, yet I could picture him typing it. Lips pressed together, eyes glued to the screen, carefully composing and deleting, weighing each word. Desperate for his feelings to be known, yet terrified of revealing too much. He only ever showed this kind of cautious devotion to Aria. A bitter smile touched my lips. I opened his social media profile. The background was a stark black image. But if you looked closely, you could see a single line of text at the bottom. “What you never forget, you will one day have.” When we first got together, I’d asked him about it. He’d brushed it off, saying it was just a random picture he found online. Now I knew the truth. It wasn't random at all. It was a calculated, heartfelt declaration. He was waiting for her twenty-eighth birthday. Waiting for Aria to finally say yes. I lay awake all night. As dawn broke, he started to stir. I opened my eyes. “Let’s get off work early today.” He paused, fastening his cufflinks. “Why? Is something wrong?” “It’s your birthday,” I said quietly. “Did you forget?” He froze for a second. His mind had been so consumed with Aria’s twenty-eighth birthday promise that he’d forgotten his own. “Let’s just cancel it,” he said. “Keep it simple.” For years, I had been the one to plan his birthdays, pouring my heart into lavish parties just to see him smile. He never appreciated it. So, hearing him say that now, a wave of self-pity washed over me. “It’s already planned. Everyone’s coming. It’s too late to cancel.” I’d started planning this party three months ago, back when I still believed I was the only one. He didn't argue further. He just grabbed his phone and left the room, a slight frown creasing his brow. I looked down, whispering to myself, “Not anymore.” I would never plan another birthday for him again. 2 The first thing I did at the office was hand in my resignation. The news sent a shockwave through the department. “Nina, you’re leaving? Just like that? Do you have another job lined up?” “So sudden! Don’t tell me you’re going home to inherit a billion-dollar fortune!” a coworker joked. I smiled. “I’m going home to get married.” That explanation satisfied most of them, but my closest work friend, Chloe, pulled me aside. “Nina, did he finally propose? I thought he avoided the topic of marriage like the plague.” I didn't want to explain. “Thanks for everything all these years. Dinner’s on me tonight.” After a two-hour dinner with a few colleagues, it was already eight o’clock by the time I reached the hotel for Nicholas’s party. As I approached the private room, I heard voices from within and paused. “It’s freezing out. Who did Nick go to pick up?” “Who else? Aria, of course. She said she was coming back today, and he ran off like an eager puppy.” “So he must be thrilled, right? It’s his twenty-eighth birthday today, and she’ll be twenty-eight in a month. She’s not really back to fulfill that promise, is she?” “But if they get together, what about Nina? It’s been seven years, and she doesn’t even know who Aria is. She’s completely devoted to him.” “What can you do? Nick’s been hung up on Aria forever. If she says yes, Nina’s out. It’s just bad luck. At least she doesn’t come from a powerful family, so it’ll be easy to pay her off.” “I know she’s been great to us and to Nick, but we’re his friends. We have to be on his side. When they break up, we should handle it for him. Give her a car, a condo… a nice severance package.” I listened, feeling a strange sense of detachment. Now that I had a plan, the pain from a few weeks ago was gone, replaced by a dark amusement. He was going to have his friends break up with me on his behalf. What kind of relationship had I been in for seven years? Too bad for them. They wouldn't get to see me humiliated. This time, I was the one leaving first. A waiter pushed a cart of drinks past, and the door swung open, silencing the conversation inside. I walked in, a practiced smile on my face, greeting everyone as if nothing had happened. A few minutes later, Nicholas returned with a woman I’d never met. She looked vaguely familiar, a stranger who shared three or four of my features. He introduced her around the room before finally bringing her to me. “This is my childhood friend, Aria.” Aria extended a hand gracefully. Nicholas hesitated for a beat before introducing me. “And this… is a friend of mine, Nina Collins.” 3 The party roared back to life. Aria was an extrovert, easily charming everyone in the room. She held court, playing drinking games and laughing loudly, leaving the few other girlfriends in attendance on the sidelines. At one point, she was holding cards and wanted a piece of watermelon. Without a thought, Nicholas speared a piece with his own fork and fed it to her. She took it just as casually, then grabbed his wine glass and took a long drink, leaving a bright red lipstick stain on the rim. I watched from a few feet away as Nicholas held that glass, his thumb tracing the lipstick mark, and drank from that exact spot, again and again. Finally, it was time for the cake. The room quieted. I rose and pushed the cart forward, lighting the candles. Staring at the number ‘28,’ Nicholas rubbed his temples as if trying to clear his head. His gaze, hazy with alcohol, swept the room and landed on Aria. He held up a finger. “This year, instead of a wish, I have a question.” His finger curled, pointing directly at her. His voice was thick but his eyes were burning. “Aria, you’re almost twenty-eight. I want to ask you… do you have a boyfriend right now?” A stunned silence fell. Then, Aria, after a slight pause, answered. “Right now? No.” A collective “Whoa!” erupted, and the room exploded. His drunk friends mobbed him, singing and dancing. I sat perfectly still, a silent observer playing the part of the clueless “friend.” The party finally ended in the early hours of the morning. I helped a very drunk Nicholas into the car. He collapsed against my shoulder, his inhibitions washed away by alcohol and joy, and poured out his heart. “Aria, don’t go. Stay with me, please?” “Why can they have you, but I can’t, Aria?” “Aria, do you know how much I love you?” “I’ve waited for you for so many years…” The female driver kept glancing at us in the rearview mirror, smirking. As she helped me get him upstairs, she remarked, “Your boyfriend really loves you, Aria.” I smiled faintly. “He does. But I’m not Aria.” The next morning, hungover and remembering the previous night, Nicholas rushed to explain. “Nina, I was so drunk last night. I probably said a lot of stupid things. Don’t take it to heart.” I hadn’t expected him to remember, or to come up with such a flimsy excuse. Still, I played along. “It’s okay. I know.” My placid reaction seemed to unnerve him. He changed the subject. “I’m sorry I ignored you last night. Let’s go on a date after work today, okay? To make it up to you.” “I’m not angry. But I have plans this afternoon. I can’t.” My refusal only made him more insistent. I finally relented. That evening, as I was getting ready, a text from Chloe popped up. “Nina, you didn’t tell your boyfriend you quit? He just came by looking for you. He seems really mad.” Before I could finish reading, his call came through. His voice was laced with fury. “Your colleague told me you quit your job? To get married?” 4 “I told you, I have no plans to get married right now!” he continued, his voice rising. So that’s what this was about. He thought I was trying to force his hand. “It was just a joke with my colleagues,” I explained patiently. “They must have taken it seriously. I quit because I was tired and wanted a break.” His tone softened. “Don’t make jokes like that again.” He asked where I was, offering to pick me up. I was about to give him the address when I heard a faint laugh in the background. It sounded exactly like Aria. I remembered seeing a selfie she’d posted from inside a car just moments before. She was with him. The “okay” on my lips turned into a “no need.” He hung up quickly. Too quickly. If he really wanted to pick me up, he wouldn’t have been in such a rush. It was just an empty gesture. I hailed a cab and went to the restaurant we’d agreed on. The hostess led me to a private room on the top floor. The table was laden with food, but the room was empty. “Mr. Chen called ten minutes ago,” the hostess explained. “He said you should start without him, as he was delayed by an urgent matter.” An urgent matter. Of course. He was with Aria. I suppose it wasn’t a lie. To him, anything involving her was an urgent matter. I sat down. The table was filled with seafood. I’d grown tired of it during my years in Europe. In the past, I would have forced myself to eat it for his sake. Not anymore. I waved the waitress over and had her clear the entire table. “Ma’am,” she hesitated, “Mr. Chen has already paid for this. It’s quite expensive, and we don’t offer refunds.” I handed her my card. “I know. Just charge the new order to this.” He never showed up. I finished my meal, paid, and went home. On the way, he texted. “Nina, can you stay somewhere else tonight?” “Aria’s back suddenly, and her old place isn’t ready. The lights are broken.” “She’s afraid of the dark. I want her to stay here for the night. Is that okay?” Juggling his precious Aria while trying to keep our relationship a secret from her. How amusing. This time, I didn't play along. “Why do you have to hide our relationship from your ‘friend’? How long are you planning on keeping this up?” His reply came much later. No explanation. Just a date. “January 18th.”
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