Chapter 17: Sadness

One freezing night, Daphne decided to end our relationship. It had rained all night. We were out to dinner at a nice restaurant. Daphne was dressed in a little black dress with dark red lipstick. She enjoyed dressing up for occasions. For example, on our dates and other occasions. Her skin was radiant, and the dress emphasized her slim figure. She reminded me of one of the models I fantasized about in (FHM) For Him Magazine. She was smoking hot!

I was consuming sushi. She didn't even touch her food. I asked what was wrong.

"Nothing," she replied.

"Are you certain?” I asked.

"Yes," she confirmed. I kept eating my sushi.

"I have something to tell you,” she said.

"Go ahead," I said.

"I know this is going to be difficult for you, as I've been with you almost your entire life," she sighed. “But there is no easy way to put it—"

"Are you ending your relationship with me?" I asked.

She looked me in the eyes and said the three-letter word that would determine the course of our relationship: "Yes."

I peppered her with questions: "Why? What did I do wrong? Am I not good enough for you? Am I not making you happy?”

"You did nothing wrong," she said calmly. "It's just that I've found someone else who truly makes me happy," she said solemnly.

“Who?” I asked.

Daphne lowered her gaze to the table. "I don't need to tell you who it is," she replied. “If I told you, it would only make things worse." She stood up and drained a glass of water. "I'm sorry," she said as she set the glass down on the table.

She then exited the restaurant. Her shoes' heels echoed on the floor. Her plate remained unfinished. I didn't grab her hand nor beg her not to leave because I didn't want to cause a scene in front of a large crowd. I just sat there crying quietly. Like a moron. I didn't eat all of my sushi.

I'm curious why Daphne ended our relationship. We celebrated our relationship anniversary seven nights ago. We were happy. We made wild and passionate love. I asked her what she wanted me to do to make the experience more pleasurable for her whenever we were making love, and I did it. I even asked her if she was comfortable with the things that I wanted her to do to me. She frequently told me that I was amazing in bed, and I reciprocated. She was also a great kisser.

We slept thousands of times like a couple of rabbits. We were out of control. We enjoyed each other's scents and bodies. I painted tens of thousands of naked portraits of her. She expressed delight when I painted her naked body.

Daphne was skinny at first, but as our relationship progressed, she gained curves in all the right places. Every day, I told her she was beautiful and sexy. And I meant it. I loved her body.

I also complimented her when she dressed nicely, which she did all the time.

I helped her with her problems, and she helped me in mine.

We fought occasionally, which is normal for couples. Besides, we stopped fighting and resolved our problems right away. We never went to bed when we were mad at each other.

We discussed the books and movies we read and watched together, and we shared our thoughts. We also discussed each other's worldviews and political beliefs. I always complimented her on her intelligence and insight. I enjoyed deep conversations with her. I loved her mind.

When we weren't having dates outside or spending time in my or her home, she would join me in donating clothes, food, and other necessities to the poor and those affected by typhoons. She even read stories to the kids. To be honest, I was not an altruistic person before.

But Daphne was benevolent and told me to donate what I had to charity. She even gave away some of her used clothing, old toys, and fresh canned goods to those in need. Despite her lack of wealth, she was generous. I loved her soul.

I frequently surprised her with gifts on her birthdays and monthly anniversaries. Every time she received them, she thanked me, kissed me, and hugged me. She also gave me thoughtful but simple gifts.

We had a lot of fun together. We showered each other with affection. We had faith in one another. We were devoted to each other.

What has changed? What kind of air did she breathe to consider breaking up with me despite the fact that we were obviously happy together? These were the questions that bothered me.

I couldn't fall asleep. For six hours, I overthought a lot. I wondered why Daphne had unexpectedly fallen in love with me. I was perplexed as to why he suddenly thought we weren't meant to be. Was she seeing someone else? Was he better than me if she did? Was he more attractive? Was he significantly smarter? Was he much nicer? Was he more appealing in bed? I was devoted to Daphne. Was she unfaithful to me in secret? There were over eight billion people on the planet. There were allegedly more women than men. I'd be a fool if I thought no guy was better than me.

However, Daphne's circle was too small. She didn't have many friends. She was a shy person. She preferred to spend most of her time alone. She never went to any parties without me. And, if she did go to a few, did she still have time to flirt and entertain a guy? Especially given how frequently we were together? Or had she met a celebrity-looking guy on the street and been swept off her feet by his good looks? That was not possible. Daphne was not like that at all. She did not choose to date someone based solely on their appearance. Daphne was a wise and insightful individual.

Perhaps she had met a bespectacled man who dressed well and seemed to know everything. Perhaps Daphne was reading a book for some reason, and then a male stranger approached her and asked about the book she was reading and she told her about it. That was exactly what happened to us in sixth grade. Remember when I approached her and she told me about the Kurt Vonnegut book she was reading? What if it happened again, but this time with a different book and a different person?

But it was not in Daphne's nature to deliberately repeat history. Furthermore, that occurred a long time ago. We were much more mature now.

Perhaps she met a wealthy man online. Maybe he was an old man pretending to be a young man in his profile, or worse, he was the son of a drug lord. This scenario made me worried sick. But I knew Daphne. She was not a gold digger. Despite her lack of wealth, she was not the type of girl to be dazzled by someone else's money. She was a very hardworking individual. She was not avaricious.

I just couldn't believe Daphne could be cheating on me. It's difficult to believe that someone like her would look for another man while we were still together. Like an angel, she was pure and innocent. I only saw her good side the entire time we were together. She was simply too nice to even consider cheating. A beautiful and kind girl like her would never betray me. It's not in her nature to deceive others.

Daphne is not the type of girl who would kiss or sleep with someone else while dating someone else. It would never happen in a parallel universe. Particularly since she despised cheaters like her first boyfriend, Lance. That prick.

I was furious with myself. I wondered what was wrong with me and why Daphne had decided to leave me. Was I not good enough for her? Perhaps I did something she didn't like. But why didn't she tell me? I should have asked her. I should have seen the signs.

Perhaps the gifts I gave her were insufficient. Perhaps she thought the gifts were cheap. Perhaps she thought my ideas were bad. Maybe I didn't do much to help her with her problems. Maybe I was missing something.

Perhaps she didn't like my clothing. Perhaps she disliked my perfume. Perhaps she didn't find me attractive. To be honest, her ex was more appealing than me. I wish I had simply copied Lance's fashion sense and gone to the gym more frequently so that I could have a better and firmer body. I wish I had purchased a Tesla car.

Did I put any pressure on Daphne? I wish I had told her that she could wear whatever she wanted and that she didn't have to dress nicely for me every time we went out. I should have told her to dress comfortably because I was not Lance. I did not constantly pressure a girl to look like a model and to lose weight, as Lance did with his ex-girlfriends. But Daphne did enjoy dressing up. She used to be the girl who didn't give a damn about her appearance. But it wasn't until she was a teenager that she began to get dolled up. That's how girls are, I think.

Maybe I was boring to talk to at times. Perhaps my beliefs and worldviews were questionable. But when I talked to Daphne, I saw her eyes light up and she listened intently to everything I said. I felt the same way about her. I was listening to what she had to say when she spoke to me. Was she feigning interest in talking, listening, and spending time with me? I didn't believe so.

Lance had enraged me. He was the reason Daphne had such high standards when it came to dating. I was one of the popular guys at school, but Lance was definitely more popular than me because he was more handsome, intelligent, and athletic than me. He was hotter than me, and he was better in every way. Maybe they'd still be together if Lance hadn't cheated on Daphne. Because Lance was so goddamn perfect.

I was angry at myself for not being able to match Lance's perfection in the absence of his terrible attitude. Daphne's first love was Lance. It was extremely difficult to match or even come close to the first person who made your heart skip a beat. Your first love should have been unforgettable. Daphne may have thought about Lance even when we were already together. Perhaps she was thinking about what Lance had that I didn't. Lance was extremely powerful! Despite the fact that I hadn't seen him in a long time, he managed to unknowingly destroy our relationship and my life.

I couldn't believe Daphne had just broken up with me in an instant. I just couldn't accept it. I would go to any length to get her back. I would make certain that she was always content. I'd make a better lover. In fact, I had been reading articles on how to get your ex back and other similar topics in magazines and on the internet. I also researched tricks and positions that would keep a lady satisfied while lovemaking. Yes, I've been reading these articles despite the fact that I had just broken up. Most people would only read these articles if they were horny, in a relationship, or simply seeing someone. How pitiful of me. Disappointed with myself, I placed my palm on my forehead.

I would always compliment Daphne more frequently so that she would be content with me and not seek affection elsewhere. I read an article about the various compliments you can give a lady aside from her appearance and fashion sense. According to the article, there were numerous compliments that could be given to anyone. You could praise her intelligence, hard work, kindness, and many other qualities.

When we compliment a girl solely on her looks and fashion sense, she often gets the impression that she must maintain her beauty and good fashion sense in order to keep her partner. She would be very conscious of their outward appearance and would place a high value on it, despite the fact that there are many things that are more important than superficial things. You should compliment her inner beauty in addition to her outer beauty.

I would make every effort to avoid a fight with Daphne. Even if an argument is unavoidable in every relationship, we should try to avoid it as much as possible. We must listen to our partner without passing judgment. Stop always being righteous. It's fine to admit that we weren't always correct. Never argue with your partner to prove that you are correct and she is incorrect. Always listen to and comprehend her point of view. You would then tell her your side of the story and your opinion after listening to her. Then you'll both talk calmly about how to solve your problem. If you'd like, offer a cup of hot tea and talk about it.

I would make an effort to be kinder and more generous. I would give more money, food, and basic necessities to the poor to demonstrate to her that I was still altruistic even though we were not together. I even posted about my charity work for the poor on Facebook and Instagram. Back in the day, people used to judge you if you took pictures of your charity work and posted them on social media. They would call it insincere. People nowadays would applaud you if you did that because we are more accepting and understanding, and we see it as an inspiration to help others as well.

I suppose it's because nations are becoming poorer to the point where we prefer to give rather than judge. It's as if whether you're doing it out of altruism or for clout, it doesn't matter because you're still helping people. Fortunately for me, Daphne never judged those who "show off" their charitable efforts on social media. I imagined she'd be pleased to see me helping others. And yeah, we were still friends on both social media platforms.

I'd been depressed since Daphne left me. I was still puzzled as to why she left me despite the fact that I did everything I could to make her happy. She was making me depressed now. Sometimes I didn't go to school. Because I had been gone for five days, my groupmates got annoyed at me.

When I arrived at university, one of my groupmates, Ely, greeted me sarcastically.

"At long last, the prince has arrived!" exclaimed Ely, the short and pimply guy with a mullet.

"I apologize for being absent for a few days," I told Ely and the rest of the group. "I've recently been dealing with a problem."

"Is that your excuse? How lame." Ely responded. "We all have personal issues, but you are the only one who has been absent for a few days! ‘Prince.’” He made quotation marks with his hands.

"What do you think?" he asked. "Is your problem harder than ours? Is your problem more important than our project?"

"Give Alex a break, Ely! He helped a lot in our project before he became absent," Gavin, my tall and blonde groupmate, said.

“Ugh! But Alex decided to take charge!" Ely yelled, frustrated. “It was irresponsible of him not to show up for work for five days."

"Well, I guess I'm here now, aren't I?" I replied to Ely. "So please stop whining. Our presentation is about to begin."

"Whatever you say, your majesty!" Ely made fun of me.

Our group presented our photography class project. We took photos of Sunset Bay. It was a bay where you could see the big sun set. Above the water, the sun appeared as a massive fireball. If you avoid looking at the murky waters of the bay, this was a lovely view. Passers-by frequently threw trash here. It's a truly repulsive act. This used to be a lovely and clean bay many years later, long before we were born. However, because people were so careless, they threw their garbage here. They were unconcerned about the sea, fish, and other sea creatures. What a pity.

To be honest, I believe that nature is the greatest artist. It's stunning and divine. It is also full of emotions. Nature became happy and rewarded us when we took care of it. When we neglected it, it became enraged and punished us.

I suddenly realized that I had neglected Daphne in some way, and that she was punishing me by ending our relationship.

As the group's leader, I was the one who reported for our presentation. Aside from the bay itself, we photographed the poor kids who swam in the murky waters for our project. Of course, the kids agreed to be photographed. We had conducted interviews with these children. We asked them why they enjoyed showering and playing in the dirty water. They claimed that the weather was too hot and that they needed to cool off. They claimed that the water in Sunset Bay was superior to the water in their impoverished homes. It was heartbreaking to hear. In my presentation, I also discussed the history of Sunset Bay.

The professor admired our photos of Sunset Bay, the poor kids swimming in it, the palm trees, and the spectacular sunset over the water. The beautiful views of the bay, as well as the murky waters and trash, come together here. In a nutshell, Sunset Bay was both beautiful and unappealing. Just like in life. There are beautiful, sunny days in life. It also has bad and depressing days.

I just hope I could get back together with Daphne soon or I might kill myself.