The Night Before Our Wedding, My Girlfriend Chose Her Childhood Sweetheart—So I Asked the System to Let Me Leave, and She Begged Me to Stay

By the time Claire woke up the next day, I had already packed all my belongings. She slept until late morning and didn’t notice that the wedding time had long since passed. Out of habit, she demanded, “Why didn’t you make breakfast?” Claire had a weak stomach, yet she loved drinking. I always made her hangover soup myself and prepared stomach-soothing porridge for her the next morning. She had long since grown used to everything I did, taking it all for granted. I said coldly, “There’s a delivery number on the table. Order something yourself.” Claire froze for a moment before realizing what I meant. She irritably ran a hand through her hair. “Is this because of what happened last night?” “Last night was just a bachelorette party some friends threw for me. Ethan and I have been like family for years. Can you stop being so suspicious all the time?” Claire had said things like that countless times before. She and Ethan had grown up together, and they had always been inseparable. They had fought for each other, skipped school together, and after starting work at the same company, they even introduced dates to each other while bickering and fooling around for more than twenty years. Naturally, I wasn’t someone who could easily force my way into that bond. A trace of bitterness rose in my heart as I opened Ethan’s Instagram. “Is this what you call a platonic friendship?” An entire night had passed, yet Ethan hadn’t deleted the post. He had even pinned it to the top of his profile. It hung there like a deliberate boast and provocation. The comments were filled with Claire’s friends egging him on. Some said he and Claire were a better match. Others told him to confess his feelings directly, and a few even urged him to crash our wedding and steal her away. But Ethan replied with only one sentence: “I hope she finds happiness.” That short sentence sounded as though he had swallowed a thousand kinds of bitterness and countless grievances. Yet I was clearly Claire’s official boyfriend. Claire and I had been together for seven years. I had proposed three times, always believing that if I kept holding on, we would eventually make it to the altar. Instead, I had become the third person in someone else’s love story. How ridiculous. A flicker of avoidance appeared in Claire’s eyes before she said impatiently, “What can one Instagram post prove? Don’t be so petty.” “Besides, didn’t I already agree to marry you? What more do you want?” Her lofty tone made it sound as if agreeing to marry me were some kind of favor. I gave a self-mocking smile, and the last trace of attachment inside me vanished. Claire walked over and wrapped her arms around my waist, speaking in a slightly submissive tone. “Enough. Ethan is a simple person. He isn’t as dirty-minded as you think. Stop making a scene.” The same old trick. Whenever I had been unhappy about her relationship with Ethan, Claire would lower her head just a little and defend him like this. Every time, I would accept the way out she offered. But this time, I was tired. I couldn’t even bring myself to get angry anymore. I was leaving anyway.When I first arrived in this world, the system told me that I could only leave after winning Claire over. So I began approaching her, researching her interests, and finding every possible excuse to appear in front of her. But at the time, Claire was the campus queen of Northbridge University, with countless guys chasing after her. Even though I was one of the strongest among her many admirers, I still failed to earn any special attention from her. All kinds of men constantly surrounded her, but Ethan was the only one who had never changed. Ethan loved hiking, so Claire joined the outdoor club with him. Despite having no hiking experience at all, she still dared to follow him deep into the mountains. Then a storm rolled in. Claire took a wrong turn, became separated from the main group, and discovered that her phone had no signal. In her panic, she fell and injured her leg, leaving her stranded in the mountains with no one coming to rescue her. The weather was so dangerous that the other club members didn’t dare to search for her. Even Ethan gave up and suggested that everyone leave first before contacting a professional search-and-rescue team to find Claire. I was the only one who went to look for her alone, ignoring the danger. When I found Claire, she was nearly suffering from hypothermia. I gave her everything I had that could keep her warm and stayed with her in a cave all night until the rescue team finally arrived. The medical staff said that if I hadn’t found her and treated her in time, Claire wouldn’t have made it through the night. After she woke up, Claire was deeply moved, and her attitude toward me improved considerably. At the time, I was so consumed by happiness that I completely failed to notice that even though Ethan had been the one to put her in such a dangerous situation, she never blamed him even once. Even after learning that Ethan hadn’t chosen to rescue her right away, she merely said, “He was the team leader. He had to consider the other members. I understand.” That accident increased Claire’s affection for me by thirty points, but it was still only thirty points. After that, her affection didn’t increase for a very long time. It wasn’t until after graduation, when I was almost ready to give up on the mission, that Claire suddenly called me and said in a choked voice, “Alex, can you help me?” At the time, Claire’s attempt to start a business had hit rock bottom. She had created her own brand, but it had received little attention and even left her buried in debt. Meanwhile, I was working as the chief designer at an internationally renowned company, with a promising future ahead of me. Claire cried as she begged me for help. Without even thinking, I rushed over, only to find her drunk and sobbing about how difficult her life had been all these years. The very next day, I quit my job without hesitation and joined Claire’s company. Under my leadership, Claire’s company quickly got back on track and became one of the leading names in the industry. On the day the company went public, Claire excitedly threw her arms around me and kissed me. The system told me that Claire’s affection for me had reached one hundred. I could leave. But Claire held me in her arms, her eyes sparkling as she pouted like a kitten. “Alex, you’re my lucky star. You have to stay by my side for the rest of my life, okay?” As if possessed, I agreed. The price of refusing the system was that it vanished in a fit of anger. After that, no matter how many times I called out to it, I never received a response. At the time, I didn’t care. Staying in this world seemed fine too. Until Ethan’s reappearance changed everything.“I’m not making a scene.” I spoke calmly. Even now, Claire still hadn’t realized that the wedding had been canceled. Her mind was completely occupied with defending Ethan. When she heard me say that, she assumed she had successfully soothed me and casually continued, “All right, I know you tend to have mood problems. Do you want me to go with you to the hospital and get you checked out?” Looking at Claire’s indifferent expression, I felt a wave of bitterness in my heart. Back then, I had ignored my old employer’s objections, quit my job, and joined Claire’s company to lead her team. The intense workload combined with enormous pressure left me suffering from severe insomnia. Then Ethan appeared again, further destabilizing my already fragile mental state, and I was diagnosed with depression. At that time, Claire put all her work aside to take me to doctors, attend counseling sessions with me, and do everything she could to make me happy again. Watching her act that way, I silently accepted every treatment, hoping I could recover as soon as possible. Even when I was unhappy, I would force a smile just to give her peace of mind. At work, I never allowed myself to make a mistake. But at some point, Claire’s attitude began to grow impatient, and the time she spent with me became less and less. She was either working overtime or attending meetings. Yet several times, I saw photos and vlogs of her traveling with Ethan on his Instagram. In those videos, Claire wore a smile I had never seen her show me. She held Ethan’s hand as they ran across the grass, shouting like a couple deep in love. But whenever I called Claire, all I received was an impatient scolding. “Alex, can you stop using your depression as an excuse all the time? I think you’re pretending.” “What do you even have to be depressed about? Who are you putting on this act for?” Those words pierced my heart like knives. After that, whenever I lay awake at night, I stopped messaging Claire. Whenever my whole body trembled during an episode, I no longer waited for Claire to appear beside me. I never told her anything about my illness again. Yet today, she suddenly brought it up, as if everything I had done just now was nothing more than me throwing a tantrum because of another episode. I gave a bitter laugh and said to Claire, “I recovered a long time ago. Did you know that?” A flash of astonishment crossed Claire’s eyes. She stared at me blankly and asked, “When? Why didn’t you tell me?” I said self-deprecatingly, “The last time I had an episode, I called you while you were at a music festival with Ethan. Do you remember what you said?” That time, something urgent had come up at the company, and Claire was out of town with Ethan. I worked overtime for three straight days to deal with it. After work, I suddenly suffered a panic attack. I was alone in a dim office, trembling all over and struggling to breathe, unable even to make an emergency call. The only call I made was to Claire. After hearing me ask for help, she didn’t offer even a single word of comfort. She merely said coldly, “If you’re sick, go see a doctor. I’m not a doctor. What good does calling me do?” That night, I curled up alone on the cold office floor as endless loneliness closed in around me. I genuinely considered jumping from the thirtieth floor. After that day, I stopped placing my hopes in Claire. I turned down all my work and went to the hospital for treatment. Everyone around me, including my coworkers and friends, knew that I was actively recovering. The only person who didn’t know was my closest girlfriend. How ridiculous. Now, as Claire looked at my casual expression, a trace of guilt flashed across her face. Clearly, she remembered what she had said. “I only said that in the heat of the moment. It’s a good thing you’re better now.” “The wedding time has passed, right? Is the hotel calling to hurry us along? Let’s get over there.” I pulled up the suitcase I had packed long ago, without a trace of attachment left on my face. “I canceled the wedding. There’s no need to go.” Claire opened her mouth in shock. She stood there staring at me, looking almost helpless, as if she had finally realized that this time was different and I truly meant to leave. Her lips moved twice, as though she wanted to say something. But I no longer wanted to listen, so I grabbed my suitcase and walked away.It would be a lie to say I felt no attachment to the home I had lived in for three years. But what I felt even more strongly was the sensation of being reborn. I didn’t rent another place. I wouldn’t be staying for long anyway. The system would take me away soon. The next day, I went to the company to complete my resignation and handover procedures. Everyone at the company knew about my relationship with Claire. They also knew that we were supposed to have gotten married the day before, but the wedding had never taken place. Many people looked at me with curiosity. Some felt sorry for me, some pitied me, and some mocked me. Everyone knew that I was the fool who had given Claire everything I had. Now that this fool had gotten nothing in return, wasn’t it laughable? I went to Claire’s office and submitted my resignation letter. For the first time, anger appeared on Claire’s face. She hurled my resignation letter into the trash. “Who gave you permission to quit? You canceled the wedding just because you felt like it, and now you don’t even want your job? I won’t let you leave!” I looked at Claire, who had never been this emotional before, and suddenly found myself unable to understand what her attitude meant. “I’m only here to tell you that I won’t be coming to work starting tomorrow. If I remember correctly, being absent for three days counts as voluntarily terminating my employment.” Claire stared at me in surprise. An eerie silence filled the office. After remaining silent for a long time, Claire lowered her head to me for the first time. “All right, Alex. You win. The chief designer position is yours. Is that enough?” I could only give a helpless, bitter smile. Even now, Claire still thought I was throwing a tantrum. When I first joined the company, it was a small team of fewer than ten people working out of a cramped basement office, unable to secure investors. I was the one who led the team step by step into the market and the public eye, built its reputation in the industry, and helped the company achieve what it had today. But Claire wanted Ethan to take over my position as chief designer. Her reason was that a newcomer’s designs were more innovative. Everyone at the company felt that I had been treated unfairly, and for the first time, I stood my ground in front of Claire and firmly opposed the decision. In the end, Claire had no choice but to make me compromise, so she offered to marry me. The condition was that I give up my position as chief designer. To convince me, she even painted a vivid picture of a beautiful future together. She said she wanted to have two children someday. Her work kept her busy, so if I stepped down from my position as chief designer, I would have more time to take care of our family and our babies. Then the four of us could live happily together. I was foolish enough to believe the future she described and agree to her demand. Now she thought I was doing all this just to get my position as chief designer back. She didn’t know that I had never cared about a meaningless title. I had opposed Ethan taking the position only because he didn’t have the ability to handle it. I was simply thinking about what was best for the company. But now, I didn’t want to explain anything anymore. I merely said calmly, “Claire, I’m not throwing another tantrum. We’re really over.” Claire stared at me in disbelief. In the end, she practically screamed, “I don’t agree!” “Alex, who gave you the right to cancel the wedding just because you said so? Who gave you the right to break up with me? I don’t agree!” “If you dare leave this company, don’t even think about taking a single resource with you. I can make sure you never find another job in this industry!” I had never seen Claire like this before. I couldn’t even tell whether her anger came from being afraid of losing me or from being furious that the man who had always obeyed her had suddenly rebelled. Either way, it no longer mattered. I calmly left her with one final sentence: “I hope you’ll be happy.” Then I walked out of the office without the slightest hesitation.