His Real Anniversary Is With Her

On our fifth anniversary, Jerome Walsh's childhood friend, Nora Blunt, comes back from overseas. "I'm back! Happy anniversary!" she laughs. Jerome's face lights up. He slips an arm around her waist and fusses over her, taking her coat, fetching her slippers, and pouring her a glass of juice. Meanwhile, the candles sit forgotten beside our fifth anniversary cake. After dinner, Jerome hands Nora a gift. It's a giant stuffed toy with "Happy Ten Years, Nora and Jerome" stitched across the front. That's when it hits me that the anniversary he's celebrating isn't ours. It's theirs. Nora teases him with a smile. "I can't believe you still remember. I thought you'd forgotten all about us now that you have a girlfriend." Jerome wipes some icing from her cheek and glances at me. "Of course I remember. Cece and I have been together for five years. You and I have known each other for ten. I know who matters more." Later that night, he lets Nora stay in the guest room, which is decorated exactly to her taste. I look around the room, then at our cake, with the number five sitting lonely on top. Suddenly, I feel drained. I lower my head and type out a message. "I've decided to accept your job offer. Please send me the address and onboarding details. I can start within two days." Chapter 1 Cecelia's POV Before bed, Nora Blunt, my boyfriend's childhood friend, said she couldn't find her contact lens case. My boyfriend, Jerome Walsh, immediately took one out of a drawer for her. In our five years together, I never even knew we had one in the house. I sat alone in our bedroom, lost in my thoughts. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, and a sparkling necklace appeared before my eyes. "Happy fifth anniversary." Jerome gently fastened it around my neck. I looked in the mirror across from us. The necklace fit me perfectly. Jerome's eyes were fixed on mine. I froze for a moment. He'd always been gentle, thoughtful, and attentive—the kind of boyfriend most girls dream of. But he treated another woman the exact same way without a second thought. I pressed my lips together and gently pushed him away. "Jerome, about our anniversary today…" Before I could finish, there was a knock at the door. Nora's voice came through the door. "Jerome, I'm sorry to bother you. But I keep hearing something in the corner of my room, and I'm a little scared. Could you come take a look?" Jerome immediately withdrew his arms from my waist. The AC was running full blast, and I suddenly shuddered. "Let me go check. The guest room's been empty for a while. It's probably just a bug or something." Jerome walked out of the bedroom without looking back. I heard them talking softly by the door. Their voices gradually faded until I could no longer make out what they were saying. Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a message from the studio confirming the job offer. "Ms. Sheldon, your flight has already been booked. Please check your departure time." I opened the app. An electronic ticket appeared on the screen. When I saw that the flight was the next day, I let out a quiet breath. "Why are you sighing?" Jerome's voice suddenly came from behind me. Startled, I dropped my phone at his feet. He bent down to pick it up and tried to unlock it. "Did you change your password?" His brow furrowed. We had always shared our passwords with each other, so I could check his phone whenever I wanted. That was the sense of security Jerome had always given me. Back when I was most insecure, I had snuck a look through his phone. But there was nothing suspicious at all. His chat history with Nora was shockingly sparse, with just a few holiday greetings and the occasional check-in. Yet none of that stopped him from openly celebrating their anniversary on the very day we were supposed to be celebrating ours. "Why did you change it?" Jerome's question pulled me back to the present. Chapter 2 Cecelia's POV I looked away and said quietly, "I was tired of using the old password." "You're lying." The two quiet words made my nose sting. Jerome had always been quick to notice even the smallest changes in me. I closed my eyes for a moment. Just as I was about to speak, there was another knock at the door. Nora poked her head inside. "Sorry, could I wear the pajamas in the bathroom? I accidentally got my clothes wet." She meant the matching set I'd just washed, the one that paired with what Jerome was already wearing. I frowned, ready to point out that there were brand-new ones in the living room. But Jerome simply brushed it off. "Sure. They're just pajamas." He brought Nora into the bedroom and picked up a throw blanket from the bed, draping it over her shoulders. Then he said to me casually, "Nora gets cold easily. Let her use this thicker blanket. You can just grab a new one." I looked into his eyes. "Jerome, those are my pajamas." The room fell silent for a moment. Nora lowered her head and mumbled, "It's okay. My clothes aren't that wet. I can just sleep in them." She sounded hurt, as if I were the unreasonable one. Jerome pressed his lips into a thin line, his expression turning cold. "Cece, Nora isn't a stranger. She just got back, so cut her some slack. I don't want to fight with you on our anniversary." In the end, the matching pajamas went to Nora. I couldn't sleep that night. Around midnight, I got up and decided to finish up the last of my work handover in the study. As I passed through the living room, I saw our anniversary cake still sitting on the table with the candles unlit. My birthday was also the anniversary of my parents' deaths. After they passed away, I stopped celebrating my birthday. When Jerome and I first got together, he surprised me with a huge two-tier cake on our first anniversary. He smiled and said, "Cece, from now on, our anniversary is your birthday, too. I'll buy you a huge cake every single year." He'd kept that promise for the first four years, and this was our fifth. I'd bought the cake myself this year, hoping to celebrate with him. But in the end, he didn't even spare it a glance. He even forgot our yearly tradition of making a wish together. I snapped back to reality, picked up the untouched cake, and threw it into the trash. When I opened the door to the study, I found Nora sitting in front of my computer. She jumped to her feet, her face turning pale. "I'm sorry, Cece. I couldn't sleep, so I came in to find something to watch. But I accidentally deleted one of your folders." For a second, I just stood there. The next thing I knew, I was at the computer. The folder containing all my design files was gone. I needed them for my handover. If I couldn't recover them, I'd have to redo every single piece of work from scratch. I anxiously opened the recycle bin. It was empty too. I whipped around to look at Nora. "How could you accidentally delete a folder while looking for something to watch? And why is the recycle bin empty too?" "Cece, I'm sorry..." "Answer me," I demanded. Nora's eyes turned red as she reached for my sleeve. I instinctively stepped back. Her hand missed, and she lost her balance and fell to the floor. Her knee hit the corner of the desk, scraping the skin and leaving a red mark. "What's going on?" Hearing the commotion, Jerome rushed in and found Nora on the floor. He immediately strode over to her and helped her up. After carefully checking her knee, he furrowed his brows. Once, I accidentally twisted my ankle, and he frowned in that exact same way while checking it. I laughed and told him it didn't hurt that badly, but he carried me straight to the hospital, looking worried. He said, "Cece, you don't have to act tough when I'm around." Chapter 3 Cecelia's POV Jerome was still just as quick to worry, only now it was for someone else. Nora's tears kept falling. "Cece, I really didn't mean to delete your files. Please forgive me." Jerome's expression faltered when he heard that she'd deleted my files, but the hesitation disappeared the moment he saw Nora crying. He frowned at me. "Cece, it's not that big a deal." Apparently, it was just a small thing to him. I said quietly, "I need to submit those files tomorrow morning. If they're gone, I'll have to redo everything from scratch." His voice hardened. "Then redo them. Cece, enough. You've been targeting Nora all night." I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. Jerome didn't look at me again. He simply scooped Nora into his arms and headed for the door. Nestled in his arms, Nora said softly, "Jerome, maybe you should stay with Cece. I'm fine." He didn't even look back. "She can handle herself. Getting you to the hospital is more important." Then they were gone. I stood alone in the silent room until my legs went numb. A moment later, my phone vibrated in my pocket. It was a message from the overseas studio. "Due to changes in the work arrangement, please sign your employment contract. Please note that once you sign, you'll be required to work in Voris for at least two years. Do you accept?" I stared at the screen for a long time before typing my reply. "Yes, I accept." Jerome didn't come home that night, and I didn't call him either. I stayed up all night and finally finished recreating every single sketch from scratch. The next morning, after handing over the last of my files, I walked out of the office and spotted Jerome's car parked by the curb. When he saw me, he put his phone away and smiled. "All done?" He walked over and opened the passenger door for me. "I've booked a table at that restaurant you've been wanting to try. If we leave now, we'll get there right on time." I stared at the designer bag sitting on the passenger seat without saying a word. Jerome smiled. "It's for you. You've always loved this brand, right?" It was the latest release, with a waitlist that seemed endless. Even with the money to pay for it, getting one wasn't easy. But that was Jerome. Whenever I mentioned I wanted something, he'd always find a way to get it for me. I just put the bag in the back seat after I got in. That was when I noticed a woman's jacket that I'd never seen before. It had probably been left behind when he drove Nora to the hospital the night before. Jerome fastened my seat belt for me, then adjusted the AC to my preferred 78 degrees Fahrenheit. The dashboard in front of me automatically started playing my playlist. Those little things he did without thinking stirred an unexpected bitterness in me. I turned to him and took a deep breath. "Jerome, let's br—" Before I could finish, his phone rang. Nora's tearful voice came through the speaker. "Jerome, what do I do? The glass display case in the study shattered, and my hand hurts so bad..." My heart skipped a beat. Locked inside that glass case were all my mom's design sketches. They were the only things she had left me. I didn't know how I made it home. Just before we went inside, Jerome grabbed my hand and tried to smooth things over. "Nora didn't do it on purpose. Cece, you—" I yanked my hand away and said through gritted teeth, "Those were the last things my mom left me. If anything happened to them, I'd never forgive either of you!" Jerome froze. I sprinted toward the study. The moment I pushed open the door, the last bit of hope I'd been holding onto vanished. Shattered glass covered the floor, and my mom's precious sketches were scattered everywhere. I dropped to my knees amid the wreckage and reached for the sketches with trembling hands. A shard of glass cut my knee, and blood quickly welled from the wound. Chapter 4 Cecelia's POV I stared at the design sketches, torn apart by the shards of glass. My heart sank. My mom had spent 40 years as a housewife in a rural village, and those sketches were the one thing that gave her a sense of purpose and comfort. She had given everything she had to get me out of that village so I could become a designer. When Jerome first learned about the sketches, he immediately hired someone to custom-build an expensive display case to keep them safe. He promised he would take good care of my mom's sketches for me. Now, they were all gone. Jerome hurried over and reached down to pull me up. "Cece, get up first. You're bleeding." Just as he reached for me, Nora let out a soft cry. She was curled up in the corner, her eyes red as she held up her bleeding finger. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to..." Jerome hesitated for a split second, then walked over to her anyway. I pulled out my phone and called the police. "Hello, I'd like to report property damage. My belongings have been destroyed, and I need officers here right—" Before I could finish, Jerome suddenly grabbed my wrist. His grip was painfully tight. I jerked my head up and met his cold gaze. He snatched the phone from my hand. "I'm sorry. We had a fight. My girlfriend is just upset. False alarm." "Just upset?" My voice trembled. "Jerome, those were the last things my mom left me." Jerome hung up the phone and looked down at me. "Nora got hurt, too. Cece, those are just things that belonged to someone who's dead. I can't let Nora end up at the police station over this." I stared at him as if he were a stranger. This was the same man who used to tear up with me whenever I told him stories about my mom. Now, he was telling me those were just things that belonged to someone who was dead. I stared at him without a word, my eyes stinging. Suddenly, Nora let out a weak groan and stumbled. "I… I get dizzy when I see blood…" Jerome immediately pulled her into his arms and covered her eyes. Before carrying Nora out, he looked back at me. "Clean up your cut. We'll talk about this when I get back." I knelt there with my bloodied hands pressed against the floor, barely able to feel the pain anymore. "Jerome, let's break up," I said calmly. He stiffened, but Nora was still whimpering softly in his arms. After a brief hesitation, he said, "Cece, knock it off." Then he walked away. Half an hour later, a notification popped up on my phone. "Your flight departs in less than three hours. Please allow enough time to get to the airport." I stared at the message for a long time before slowly getting to my feet. Looking at the wreckage around me, I thought I would cry. But my heart just felt hollow, as if something had been ripped out of it, leaving nothing but numbness behind. In the end, I called the police anyway. I wasn't going to let the last things my mother left me be destroyed for nothing. 20 minutes later, I had finished packing up. As I was about to head out, a notification popped up. It was a post Nora had shared three minutes ago. In the photo, Jerome was down on one knee in front of her, carefully checking her injury. The caption read, "Ten years of friendship speaks for itself." I stared at the photo for a long moment. Suddenly, I remembered the day Jerome and I first got together. He held me in his arms and promised, "Starting today, you're the most important person in my life. You'll always come first." And now? I locked my phone screen, but seconds later, he called. His voice was cold as he demanded, "The police just showed up. You actually called them? Cece, what is wrong with you? Do you have to ruin Nora's life?" Surprisingly, I felt completely calm as I listened to him berate me. Chapter 5 Cecelia's POV "She destroyed my belongings. Why can't I call the police?" I shot back. After a brief, muffled exchange on the other end, Jerome's exhausted voice came through. "Come to the hospital right now and clear this up with the police. Tell them you made a false report and that Nora had nothing to do with it." "Why should I?" I asked. Through the phone, I could faintly hear Nora's voice break. "Jerome, are they really going to arrest me? I'm so scared…" Jerome's reply cut back in, his voice hard and uncompromising. "Then I'm taking back your mom's burial plot. Whether you come or not is up to you." My fingers trembled. I had begged Jerome to use his connections to secure that plot for me. It was meant for my mom, but the title and all the paperwork were in Jerome's name. My mom had lived a hard life. That scenic burial plot was the one nice thing I could give her after she was gone. With less than two hours before my flight, I went to the hospital. I told the police that it was all a misunderstanding and that I was willing to settle the damages privately. I said I no longer wanted to press charges against Nora. I kept apologizing as the officer sternly reprimanded me. Nora stayed curled up in Jerome's arms and gave me a subtle smile. There was some pity in it, but more than anything, she was taunting me. Nora was right about one thing. Their ten years of friendship really did outweigh Jerome's five years with me. Once everything was settled, I prepared to leave. Jerome noticed my luggage and frowned. "Where are you going?" I didn't even look back. "None of your business." Jerome rubbed his forehead in exhaustion and said, "Cecelia Sheldon, enough is enough. If you want to keep throwing a fit, go ahead. But I'm done humoring you." I ignored him, dragged my luggage behind me, and left. One minute before boarding, I blocked Jerome and deleted all of his contact information. I thought to myself, "I don't need you to make it up to me anymore, Jerome. After this, we'll have nothing to do with each other ever again." … Third-Person POV Five days after Cecelia left, Jerome's car pulled up outside her company. Nora sat in the passenger seat, holding the smoothie Jerome had bought her. "In the end, you still have to come all the way here to make it up to her. I'm so jealous. Cece is lucky to have such a great boyfriend." Jerome pulled out his phone and opened his chat with Cecelia. Cecelia's last message was from six days ago. She hadn't sent him a single message or called him once since then. He thought five days of silence should have been long enough for her to calm down and reflect on what she'd done. Yet it seemed she was still upset. Jerome dialed Cecelia's number as he stepped out of the car. He smiled helplessly. "She's definitely harder to deal with than you. And yet you still came all the way here to make it up to her." Nora pouted. "You've been together for five years. If you ask me, that must matter a lot more than our ten-year friendship." Jerome walked over to the passenger side and playfully tapped her forehead. "Not really. You don't need to worry about Cece. She's not that petty." He called Cecelia three times, but her phone was still off. When he tried messaging her instead, he realized he'd been blocked. Standing under the harsh sun, Jerome grew increasingly irritated. Just as he was about to try calling her from Nora's phone, one of Cecelia's former coworkers walked past and spotted him. "You're… Cece's boyfriend, right?" Jerome turned around and flashed a polite smile. "Yes. Is Cece off work? I'm here to pick her up." The coworker looked at him in confusion. "Cece quit five days ago. I heard she took a job at a studio overseas. She should have started working there by now. You didn't know?"