I Crossed Miles to Say Goodbye

I've been in a long-distance relationship with Xavier Harrington for four years. Every time we meet up with each other, the first thing he says to me is, "You've gotten fatter… and shorter."

When my friend finds out about it, she jokes to me, "Maybe he has another girlfriend who's taller and thinner than you."

It's supposed to be a joke, and yet I take it seriously. It explains why I've decided to travel a span of 1,800 miles just to seek Xavier out at the city he's stationed to.

But that's when I accidentally stumble upon Xavier going on a stroll with a young woman side by side. I trail behind them, only to see them going to a cafe that's filled with people. There, they line up so that they can snap commemorative photos.

However, whenever Xavier's hanging out with me, he often turns my suggestions down impatiently. To him, lining up at such places is a waste of time.

Later on, Xavier and the woman secure a table in a restaurant. There, Xavier pulls out a chair for her before he starts setting out the cutlery for her. Even when the food is served, he will subconsciously push the woman's favorite dish in her direction.

For the first time ever in our relationship of eight years, I find out that Xavier can be caring when he feels like it.

I watch as Xavier chats animatedly with the woman at the table. He shares everything with her, be it the irritating experiences at work or the funny and interesting incidents that have happened to him so far.

Then, I lower my head to look at the short text messages Xavier has sent to me in the past.

"Time for work. It's lunch time. I'm about to nap."

Suddenly, I find my relationship with Xavier extremely boring, so I dig out the invitation sent by my company regarding their outstation request and tap on it.

After all, I no longer want anything to do with this flawed relationship anymore.

Serena's POV

I walked up to Xavier. He'd been smiling when he gave the young woman a helping of the food earlier, but froze when he saw me. His hand paused in midair.

"S-Serena?"

Ignoring him, I turned to face the woman and introduced myself. "Hi, I'm Serena Wilder, Xavier's girlfriend. And you are?"

"H-Hi, I'm Tiffany Lowry. I work for Mr. Harrington." Her voice grew quieter toward the end of her introduction, laced with an imperceptible trace of guilt.

I was about to press further when Xavier interjected, "I think that's enough, Serena."

I watched the rage burning in his eyes and wondered why he was getting all worked up. My boyfriend was dining with another woman, and they seemed suspiciously close, yet I couldn't even question it?

Or was he furious that my unexpected appearance had screwed up his chances with Tiffany?

I said nothing and simply leaned back in my seat as a weariness washed over me.

Xavier saw Tiffany out of the restaurant. It wasn't until he'd seen her get into a cab that he returned and took the seat across from me.

"When did you get here? You could've told me you were coming." He spoke normally, as if nothing had happened. "I could've picked you up."

As he spoke, he made to grab my hand, but I dodged his touch.

"Tell you? If I did, I wouldn't have realized my usually-silent boyfriend could actually be quite the chatterbox!" Before Xavier could argue, I continued with a sneer, "You were always looking out for yourself on the rare days we got to meet up and have a meal together.

"You couldn't care less that there was cilantro in my plate even though you knew I couldn't eat it, or that my glass was empty. And yet, you were fussing over Tiffany like a mother hen just now. You even pulled out the seat for her."

The sarcasm dripped from my words like venom.

Xavier's brows furrowed. He looked a little annoyed. "We were just grabbing a bite as colleagues. Must you get so dramatic?"

"Yes, I must. Because you've never treated me as well as you treat her." I was frank with my grievances, naively believing that Xavier would feel some guilt over it and apologize.

Alas, reality proved that I'd overestimated him. He still rode on his high horse and attempted to gloss things over. "Alright, fine, I'll be more attentive toward you from now on. I'll top off your water and pull out the seat for you, okay?"

Frustration welled up in me. Even my anger seemed impotent.

"Well, since you're here, how about I give you a tour of the area?" Xavier offered a beat later, resuming his normal self like he'd already forgotten about our fight a second ago.

He was doing it again.

Every time we had a fight, he would habitually gloss it over with new, irrelevant questions. Like the time he told me he'd been down with a fever at home, yet his fitness app tracked 30 thousand steps.

I'd grown uneasy and called him for an explanation. "You told me you were at home, but you lied. Where were you, really?"

Xavier had chuckled and humored me with a new subject. "I don't know where you get these wild ideas from. By the way, I heard a new cafe just opened back home. We should check it out when I'm back."

Or the time when he switched his all-black profile picture to one with a cartoon avatar. Worried, I'd called him and joked self-deprecatingly, "Have you really met someone taller, slimmer, and cuter than me?"

Xavier had evaded that question as well, and instead asked me, "Are you working on Memorial Day?"

"Yeah."

"Guess we can't meet up, then. It would be tedious."

When I finally snapped out of my daze, Xavier was no longer looking at me. His gaze was fixed on his phone as his thumbs flew over the keyboard.

I smiled, rose to my feet, and left through the door.