‘Darling! Guess what? I’ve landed the job at Beta,’ I told Liam the minute I got back to the apartment. ‘Finally, after all these years of struggle, we can build our dream life together! Chicago is cheaper than New York, so getting a nicer apartment will be easy! You can also enrol for your PhD there! I’m so glad that this is happening, Liam! Let’s go someplace fancy and celebrate.’

‘Congratulations, Kiana,’ Liam said, hugging me.

I made a dinner reservation at La Pristine in the downtown area for that evening and wore my fanciest dress.

‘Do you think we should get married?’ We were halfway through dinner when I asked Liam this question jokingly.

‘Do you want to become an American citizen now?’ he asked sarcastically. It was so unlike him that I was stunned.

‘Why would you say that?’

‘Because everything is going fine. What difference would marriage make to us?’ he asked.

‘I see it as a lifelong commitment, Liam. We value marriage in our culture a lot.’

‘I need time to think about this. I just feel like things have been moving way too fast. Plus, I don’t have a job right now,’ he said.

‘We’ll figure it out together. Besides, I’m here to take care of you,’ I reassured him.

‘Let’s talk about something else,’ he said, looking unusually distracted. He picked up his phone and began scrolling through his messages.

But I couldn’t let it go. ‘You’ve been a little off these last few days. You’re almost always on your phone. Is everything okay?’

‘Yes, all’s well,’ he replied and put away his phone.

‘Okay, if you say so.’

For the rest of the evening, we spoke about many other things, but it was a forced conversation. We came back home a little tipsy, and unlike all the other times in the past, Liam didn’t get intimate with me. That worried me. I’d been sensing a growing lack of warmth in our relationship, but I couldn’t understand the reason behind it. What was drawing Liam away from me? I was the perfect girlfriend, wasn’t I? I was looking after him both emotionally and financially. I was invested in his life and dreams. Then what was wrong?

Unwilling to give up, I pushed and coaxed a little harder until Liam came to me with reluctance. We made love, but it felt empty, as if the entire act was devoid of emotions. Like a song without any music. Like we were professional actors being paid to shoot a love scene for a film. He didn’t kiss me or look into my eyes even once. He just did his thing and went to sleep. I had to pleasure myself to reach a half-satisfactory orgasm.