Part 3No One’s Waiting for Him Anymore

Leo spent two years abroad. We barely spoke.

The only time we saw each other was during the first year, at Christmas. Both our families decided to visit him and celebrate together. His business partner here was hosting, and when he met me, his admiration was obvious. He asked Leo to set us up.

Leo just smiled. "I can ask for you, but you don't stand a chance."

The partner was indignant. Leo just stuck his hands in his pockets, his tone confident and certain. "She can't accept anyone else."

I had been standing just outside the door and heard everything. A bitter, ridiculous feeling bloomed in my chest. So, he knew. Perhaps Leo had always known how I felt.

Leo introduced me to his partner, then asked me with a glint of amusement in his eyes, "What do you think? Want to give him a shot?"

"My love life is none of your business."

He laughed, as if my reaction was exactly what he expected. "You don't like this one, you don't like that one. What kind of guy do you actually like?"

He leaned in close, his eyes searching mine as if trying to see into my soul. "Or is it that you like guys like me? I mean, we always did have amazing chemistry."

He moved closer and closer, his eyes shimmering.

I turned my face away, my voice cool. "I don't like you, either."

Leo just hummed in response and straightened up. "Alright, then."

"When you do find someone you like, be sure to let me know."

Later, I saw a post from a mutual friend who had visited him. In the photo, Leo was smiling, a beautiful girl beside him looking at him with adoration. His new flame, apparently.

The caption read, "Long time no see. Leo's still got it with the ladies."

I calmly liked the post. I felt none of the old pangs of jealousy, like when I used to search for him on the sports field in high school, watching him surrounded by girls, my heart aching as he charmed them all. None of the bitter disappointment of the time he handed me a pink envelope and asked me to give the love letter to another classmate.

That New Year's Eve, Leo and I confessed to our families that our engagement had been a sham. After a round of scolding us for being so foolish, they finally accepted that there was nothing between us.

Only my mother looked at me, her expression full of unspoken words. She had seen the "Book of Answers" in my room, a popular fad at the time. I had filled an entire page with Leo's name, over and over again.

When he returned from abroad, I tossed the book in the trash without a second thought. I looked at my mother and said, "Don't worry. I'm over him."

Two years passed. At Leo's welcome-home dinner, our parents were chiding us both. "You're not getting any younger. Isn't it time you two settled down?"

And so, Leo casually brought up Marcus's invitation.

He asked me again if I wanted to see Marcus, but his tone suggested he was already prepared for my refusal.

"Fine, if you don't want to go, then don't... Wait, what did you say?"

I had said yes.