International Affair

"Ryan, let's break up."

That definitely wasn't what I wanted to hear from my girlfriend after coming home for the first time in a few months, but I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't expecting it. The writings were on the wall for a while now; waning enthusiasm, lack of communication, rumours of cheating behind my back, it felt like my relationship with Julia had long been in tatters.

We had been together for almost a decade, since our second year of highschool, but somehow, her words didn't hurt me as much as I had dreaded. There was a bit of sadness of course, a bit of regret even, but no despair, no anger, mostly because, well, I could fully understand where she was coming from.

Dating a pilot was hard. Even more when said pilot worked for an international company halfway across the globe, and hence was rarely if ever home. I still did my best to see her whenever I was back in the US, to call her whenever I had time, to send her gifts whenever I could. But all that could never replace the warmth and physical touch that she craved and that I couldn't give her anymore, like back in our highschool days when we spent every single day together.

And so, we broke up just like that, no messiness, no hard feelings, we just went our own ways, wishing the best for each other.

The only regret I had was not doing it sooner. I could have fully concentrated on my career and Julia could have found another man who could've satisfied her sexual appetite better than me(although, it seemed like she already did, if the rumours were to be believed), instead of clinging on to a relationship that clearly wasn't working anymore.

Oh well, better late than never, I thought to myself as I left her building one last time, already thinking of the new opportunities that would open up for me now that I was single again.