Love That Wasn't Meant to Last

After shouting those words, I felt a bit shocked at myself. While I was not exactly known for being gentle, people generally saw me as calm and composed.

Looking at Selena's stunned expression, I suddenly felt guilty. "I didn't mean it like that, but I just can't get past this," I said, shaking my head, at a loss for words.

I glanced at my phone and sighed. "Anyway, I need to go to work." I stared at her for a few seconds before turning to leave.

"I'm sorry for everything," Selena mumbled from behind me. The words stung, but I did not look back.

Instead of going to work that day, I bought several bottles of liquor and went home after requesting a week off. I knew I was throwing away my perfect attendance bonus and a week's salary, but I did not care about the financial hit.

I just needed to find some way to let it all out, or I would not know how to cope. That night, I drank eight bottles straight, one after another, until my stomach was on fire and my gut was churning.

I spent that night running between my bed and the bathroom. The next seven days passed in a blur-three days of drinking myself into oblivion, followed by three days of confused, endless sleep.

I wanted to end it all a few times, thinking if this was what life had come to, what was the point? On the last day, I finally snapped out of it. I found an old photo of myself when I was younger and looked at my phone, where a bucket list I had once written stared back at me.

I realized this was not how I wanted to live. So, I shaved off my scruffy beard, changed out of my alcohol-stained clothes, and went downstairs to get some real food.

...

When my colleagues saw me, they were surprised.

"You've lost weight in these two weeks. Is the stress getting to you? Don't worry too much. This too shall pass, and you'll find someone better."

I just smiled and changed the subject to work. I had no idea how Selena was doing. After deciding on divorce, I deleted all her contact information and limited my phone and work accounts to client communication only.

While I was not typically a cold person, I believed that you should make a clean break when you decide to end things. What was the point of leaving loose ends? The idea of rekindling old flames seemed ridiculous to me.

Someone told me that Selena had cried for hours that day. I did not know if she was crying over our years together or because she could not let me go. However, it did not matter anymore.

I was selfish and could not accept sharing my love with someone else. After a week, I gradually moved on from the divorce. I threw myself into work and tried to keep things professional with everyone around me.noveldrama

Though they looked at me with doubt and were probably wondering if I was just putting on a brave face, none of that mattered anymore.