The Hundredth Departure

Camila even tagged me in her post. She thanked me for giving them my blessing.

Indeed, she should thank me. I was the one who took Arthur to pick out that diamond ring.

I was also the one who bargained tirelessly to get a better price because I did not want him to overspend.

I woke up late the next day.

By the time I rushed to the law firm, the team meeting had already started.

When I entered, everyone gave me pitiful gazes, especially Valeria, who was close to me.

She hesitated for a while and finally handed me an exquisitely wrapped goody bag.

“The receptionist handed these out to celebrate the boss’s marriage.”

The white packaging reminded me of when we first tried to register our marriage.

I was still young then and inexperienced in the ways of the world.

I stayed up all night preparing over thirty boxes of goody bags to share our joy with everyone.

Arthur sneered at the effort.

He said I was being tacky for making a fuss over silly gestures just for a marriage registration.

So, he threw every single bag into the trash.

In the end, we did not go through with the registration. After that, I never stayed up all night wrapping goody bags ever again.

Valeria’s eyes welled up when she saw that I was lost in my thoughts.

She said hurriedly, “Serena, try not to take it to heart. We all know you were his girlfriend.

“You were with him when he had nothing. You built this successful firm together. You endured those awful client dinners until you were sick. You worked cases for days without sleep. When that defendant lunged at him in court, you were the one who jumped in front of him…”

She could not bring herself to finish her sentence.

My other colleagues also fell silent and looked at me with pity.

They all knew how in love I was with Arthur.

They had all seen the news. They knew about the [Serena Xander and Dogs Not Allowed] sign.

In the end, I was the one who changed the subject. “It’s fine,” I said. “It’s all in the past now.”

I was not going to be part of Arthur’s life anymore.

“What’s in the past? What’re you talking about?”

Arthur suddenly appeared.

“Nothing, just casual talk.”

Arthur frowned. His expression instantly turned cold, as if he had thought of something.

“Serena, I know what you’re up to.

“You’re just jealous that I treated Millie well, so you’re playing the victim to make me look bad and get everyone’s sympathy. Isn’t that right?

“For a high-class lawyer, you sure resort to petty tricks.”

He glared at me. He sure must have felt like a knight protecting his princess.

But Camila was no princess.

She was the other woman who had meddled in someone else’s relationship.

I felt somewhat amused but could not be bothered to respond.

Arthur, however, grew even more convinced he was right and lifted his chin arrogantly.

“You know what? Considering the history we have, I’m going to let this one slide.

“But I’m warning you, don’t do this again.”

After he was done talking, he noticed the goody bags on the table.

His mocking expression vanished instantly.

After a moment of silence, he pulled out a concert ticket from his pocket. It was the one concert I had been waiting for a long time to attend.

He looked a little uneasy as he said, “This is the ticket to your favorite singer’s concert. Let’s go together tonight.”

I knew this was his way of making it up to me.

Seeing that I was not accepting his offer, he added, “You have my word. I’ll be at city hall the day after tomorrow. I won’t back out this time.”

All our colleagues gathered around in shock.

Valeria’s jaw dropped in disbelief.

After thinking for a moment, I ended up taking the ticket.

After all, considering the past five years, he owed me far too much.

That evening, I arrived on time at the concert entrance.

A long line stretched all the way to the next street, but there was no sign of Arthur.

I always used to wait for him outside the venue whenever there was an event. I’d always be the very last person to go in.

A few times it had rained, and the ticket gates closed early.

I just sat on the stairs and listened to the entire concert before. I would get soaked in the rain.

Tonight, I would not wait for him.

I could finally enjoy the concert properly.

…

During the audience interaction segment of the concert, the camera panned across the crowd and finally landed on Arthur and Camila.