Her Homecoming Is Our Farewell

The rain fell steadily all through the night, and Charlie never came home.

Yuliana stayed in, pulling out a thick, heavy sketchbook from her college days. Inside were hundreds of drawings, each page featuring the same face.

One by one, she tore the portraits to shreds, severing the last of her lingering attachments.

By the time the floor was buried under a layer of paper scraps, her phone chimed with a notification—Alyssa had posted something new on Twitter.

The photo was taken at a high-end restaurant, the table set for a romantic dinner with roses and champagne. In the bottom-left corner, the slender, elegant hand of a man was just visible.

A comment underneath read, "So sweet! Out for another romantic dinner with your boyfriend?"

Alyssa had replied, "Don't be silly. He isn't my boyfriend. He's just a friend who knew I was scared of thunder and came all this way to keep me company."

"Just a friend". The audacity of saying that out loud.

Yuliana knew Alyssa was doing it on purpose, but strangely, she was past the point of caring.

She turned off her phone and went to the bathroom for a hot shower.

When she stepped out, her skin still damp and steaming, she found Charlie sitting in the living room. On the coffee table in front of him lay a bouquet of fresh flowers and a strawberry cake.

Yuliana froze for a moment. "I thought you hated sweets. Why the cake?"

Charlie walked over and pulled a small box from his pocket, revealing a necklace.

"Happy birthday."

Yuliana went numb.

Since she had grown up in an orphanage, birthdays had always felt foreign to her. She had never had a party, never received a gift, and until she met Charlie, she hadn't even known what birthday cake tasted like.

But in the three years of their marriage, no matter how demanding his schedule was, Charlie had always made it home to celebrate her birthday with her.

He had once promised her, "I'll be with you for every birthday from now on. I'll spend the rest of our lives making up for everything you missed out on as a kid."

Back then, when she looked into his eyes—so earnest and sincere—she let herself believe, if only for a heartbeat, that he had truly fallen for her.

She remembered how he would care for her devotedly when she was sick, staying by her side even when he was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. He had showered her with expensive gifts and taken her on beautiful vacations.

Yuliana allowed herself to believe that maybe, just maybe, she had carved out a small place in Charlie's heart.

Then, Alyssa came back, and reality crashed down all at once.

This year, on Valentine's Day, Charlie claimed he had to work unexpected overtime. Yuliana sat alone at home, eating the candlelit dinner she had meticulously prepared.

Just as the weight of her disappointment bore down on her, a photo from Madelyn popped up on Yuliana's phone.

In the photo, a woman—clearly intoxicated—was draped over a man's shoulder. Their posture was suggestively intimate.

That man was undeniably Charlie.

"Yuliana, isn't this your husband? I just saw him at the park with another woman."

Yuliana's mind went blank, a dull ringing echoing in her ears.

By the time she rushed to the park Madelyn had mentioned, she found the man who was supposedly working overtime locked in a desperate embrace with Alyssa.

Charlie's expression was dark with rage as he tried to shove Alyssa away.

"Alyssa, what do you take me for?" he snarled. "A dog you can whistle for whenever you feel like it? I'm a married man!"

But Alyssa wasn't listening. She lunged forward, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist as she sobbed. "I'm not leaving! I won't! I'm the one who was supposed to be your wife!"

Charlie let out a frustrated growl through gritted teeth. "Have you lost your mind?"

Alyssa released him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Fine. If you don't want me, then there's no point in living anyway. I swear I'll never show up again. You'll never see me for the rest of your life!"

With that, she bolted toward the edge of the lake.

Charlie's face went deathly pale. He lunged after her, catching her around the waist just in time to haul her back.

"Let go, Charlie! You're married! Why do you care whether your ex lives or dies?" she screamed.

"Alyssa, calm down! I didn't mean it like that! You've always been in my heart!"

In his panic, his true feelings had finally slipped out.

At that moment, Yuliana's entire world collapsed. The dream she had so carefully woven for herself shattered into pieces.

A flurry of memories flashed through her mind. The boy kneeling on one knee before the entire school on the track, the way he always angled his umbrella toward Alyssa in the rain, and his silhouette standing motionless for three hours in the freezing snow…

Each memory was proof of how deeply Charlie loved Alyssa.

Yuliana had known it all along, yet she had still clung to a pitiful sliver of hope.

What if he felt something for her? What if her devotion finally moved him? What if he forgot Alyssa? What if…

But there were no what-ifs.

Charlie's heart had never budged an inch toward her. Every kindness he showed her was nothing but borrowed affection, salvaged from the years Alyssa had been gone.

He tossed her scraps of warmth whenever his mood allowed, and she had been foolish enough to believe she was receiving the whole world.

Yuliana touched the necklace, but her heart didn't flutter at all. She simply gave him a polite nod. "Thank you."

Charlie lit the candles, a gentle smile playing at his lips. "There's no need to be so formal with me. Come on, make a wish."

Yuliana nodded. But just as she was about to blow out the candles, Charlie's phone rang.

She caught the brief shift in his gaze and didn't need to see the screen to know who was calling.

Sure enough, the call ended a minute later, and Charlie walked out the door, leaving his promise behind.

As Yuliana watched his car disappear into the rainy night, a bitter smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

The living room window was still open. A cold draft whipped the candle flames, their frantic flickering reflected in her eyes.

She brought her hands together, fingers intertwined, and made her 24th birthday wish.

"From now on, let there be nothing between Yuliana and Charlie."