No More Birthdays Together

On Frankie Sutton's birthday banquet in the tenth year of us being together, all of our family, friends, and relatives were confident that I'd propose to him again.

After all, I gave up on my family's assets that are worth tens of millions of dollars back in Glufford just so I can travel all the way to Arkvine with Frankie in order to start a pig-rearing business. I've been clinging to him for ten long years so that I can marry him.

But even when the clock hits 5:00 am, I'm still nowhere to be seen in my wedding gown. All Frankie receives is a text from me, stating that I'm breaking up with him.

In ten years, I've reared countless batches of piglets and watched them grow into full-fledged pigs. Alas, I can never warm Frankie's heart up with my love.

Now, I choose to abandon him and the piglets I'm forced to rear.

After ten years of wasted time, I felt surprisingly light once I made the decision to leave.

I booked the next flight back to Glufford.

Before I left, I contacted the lawyer to handle the company Mom and Dad had set up for me here.

They were worried I'd struggle when I came here, so they set up this new company for me. Dad hand-picked every project, so it was a guaranteed success.

At the time, my boyfriend, Frankie Sutton—who had the title of top graduate—was all proud and insisted he'd never rely on handouts.

To spare his fragile ego, I ended up living with him in a rural cave-like house where even the toilet was open-air. We scraped by and made a living by raising and selling pigs.

Now that I was finally leaving, there was no point in keeping the company running anymore.

I used the gold card Mom and Dad gave me and contacted the lawyer. Things went smoothly.

Looking back, I realized how foolish I'd been. I could've used money to solve my problems, but instead, I stuck it out to protect Frankie's fragile, sensitive feelings. I was barely in my 30s, yet I had turned myself into a common village woman.

As I grabbed my documents and prepared to leave, I ran into Frankie, who looked exhausted as he walked in.

"Oh, now you're looking for me? It's too late! Renee, don't blame me for not giving you a chance to marry me. I waited all day yesterday, and you didn't show up. Don't come crying to me asking me to marry you now!"

Frankie's tone was as self-righteous as ever, like he was doing me a huge favor by even thinking about marrying me.

If it weren't for the lipstick marks on his shirt, I might've actually believed he'd waited for me all night.

"I know you were with Evie. Were you looking for me to bring you contraception? And Frankie, we're already broken up. You don't deserve to marry me!"

I looked up at him. My eyes were