Leo had forgotten.

About five years ago, whenever we would chat, he would unconsciously bring up his female investor.

He’d talk about how much she supported him, how much she believed in him.

Eventually, I got into a huge fight with him over this investor and I broke up with him.

He panicked.

He ran to her house in the middle of the night and begged her to come and explain things to me.

"She has an adorable baby, and her husband is way more successful than me. Do you believe me now? Please don't talk about breaking up again. It terrifies me."

Back then, Leo held me so tightly, terrified of losing me.

And at the time, I never understood the meaningful smile that woman gave me as she left.

It wasn't until much later that I finally understood what it meant.

Leo was using her to test my boundaries.

If I had acted like I didn't care, or if I had chosen to swallow my pride out of love for him, then his next step would have been to cheat without any guilt, flitting between countless new women.

But after that, he really didn't mention any other women, so I chose to give him another chance.

Until Maya showed up.

He let Maya post pictures on her social media.

He let her wear the wedding dress, put on the ring, and take wedding photos.

He let her provoke me.

I took a deep breath and gave a bitter laugh.

"Leo, do you think I can't live without you? Is that why you feel you can trample all over me without any consequences?"

"I admit, the sunk-cost fallacy is a powerful thing. I'm deep in it, too. But no one is truly indispensable to anyone else. I told you this the first time we broke up: if you can't manage your relationships, then I will manage you out of my life."

Leo was sobbing, kneeling on the floor, clutching my hand desperately.

"Sierra, I was just confused for a moment. I swear I know I was wrong. I promise, I promise this is the last time. You know how hard these ten years have been for us. I admit I was dazzled by something new, but I swear it will never happen again."