After Blocking My Boyfriend, He Lost His Mind

At the class reunion, our old homeroom teacher clapped Ryan on the shoulder with a grin. "You two have been together eight years—when are we getting wedding invitations?"

I glanced at him without thinking. He was hunched over the table, peeling shrimp for the woman sitting across from him.

Her name was Rachel Harper. Cream-colored dress, hair loose around her shoulders, seated directly opposite him.

"Come on, Ryan, say something!"

"Tanya's been waiting for you all these years!"

He dropped the peeled shrimp into Rachel's bowl without lifting his head.

The table went quiet, one person at a time.

I gripped my chopsticks. My appetite was gone.

He kept peeling.

I knew those hands too well—long fingers, defined knuckles, no ring on the fourth one.

Eight years, and he'd never bought me a ring.

Every time I brought it up, he'd say, "We don't need that kind of formality."

Another shrimp, placed carefully into Rachel's bowl.

Rachel murmured a quiet thank-you.

Only then did he look up, reaching for a wet wipe to clean his hands.

...

Rachel wasn't in our class.

But Ryan had brought her anyway. Said it was "on the way."

The whole table was waiting for his answer.

So was I.

He tossed the wipe aside, picked up his beer, and took a sip. His tone was impossibly casual.

"Tanya, Rachel's pregnant. I need to take responsibility for the kid first."

The private dining room went dead silent.

The teacher's hand froze mid-air, glass halfway to his lips.

Mindy, sitting next to me, slammed her chopsticks down with a sharp *clack*.

Ryan glanced around the table, and as if he hadn't been clear enough, added one more line.

"Be the bigger person about this."

Four words.

Light as air, tossed out like he was suggesting an extra dish for the table.

Rachel's voice came out thin and nasal, one hand resting on her belly.

"Tanya, I didn't mean for this to happen. The baby's already three months along... Could you just... step aside for me?"

Mindy shot to her feet, palm flat on the table.

"Ryan, what the hell is this? In front of everyone—"

I grabbed her arm.

"Sit down."

Mindy stared at me. "You're still protecting him?"

I didn't answer.

I looked at Rachel's perfectly rehearsed guilt, and suddenly felt how pointless all of this was.

Three months.

Which meant the day he said he had a business trip and couldn't make my birthday—he was at her prenatal appointment.

Last month when my stomach ulcer flared up and he said he couldn't leave because of a project deadline—he was probably with her then too.

I traced every date in my head, one by one.

Crystal clear.

So clear I couldn't even be bothered to confront him.

"Fine."

I spoke.

Every head at the table turned.

Ryan blinked, caught off guard.

He probably hadn't expected me to be this agreeable.

Rachel froze too, hand still on her belly, her expression slipping for just a second.

I picked up my phone, opened my photo album, and found yesterday's picture.

An immigration visa.

Approved. Effective next week.

I set the phone face-up on the table and slid it to the center.

"You want me to be the bigger person? I'm bigger than you can imagine."

The smile on Ryan's face turned to stone.

He reached over and picked up my phone, staring at the screen for a full five seconds.

"What is this supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it looks like."

I took my phone back and opened my banking app, scrolling to the first page of transaction history.

"August 2016. You failed the grad school entrance exam the first time and couldn't afford tuition for your second attempt. I transferred you twelve thousand."

"March 2017. Your internship apartment needed first, last, and deposit. I covered it."

"2018 through 2023. Rent, utilities, your car payment, your credit card bills, plus your mom's two hospital stays. Two hundred thirty-four thousand, seven hundred yuan total."

I placed the phone back on the table.

"The transfer records are all there. Feel free to verify."

No one at the table said a word.

Even the teacher set down his glass.

Ryan stared at the numbers. His Adam's apple bobbed once.

"Tanya, you're really going to nickel-and-dime me now?"

"No." I stood up and grabbed my bag. "There's too much I'll never get back. Consider the money tuition for a lesson learned."

Mindy stood up with me.

Rachel's wounded expression finally cracked. Her lips moved but nothing came out.

Ryan grabbed my wrist. "Sit down. Let's talk about this like adults."

I looked down at his hand.

"Let go."

"Sit down first."

"Ryan. Let go."

He stared at me. He'd probably never heard me use that tone with him before.

Eight years. Every fight, I was always the first to apologize.

His hand slowly released.

I pulled Mindy out of the room. As the door closed behind us, I heard Rachel say something in that wispy voice of hers.

Didn't catch it. Didn't care to.

In the hallway, Mindy grabbed my arm. "Have you lost your mind? You're really leaving?"

I gave her one word.

"Yes."