"I never dreamt that I would become the third party who would wreck someone else's marriage. What's more, being a home-wrecker would be such a tiresome affair, and the relationship would be doomed to fail.

We were colleagues for many years. But even though Wei Lun and I knew each other for a long time, we hardly spoke of personal matters to each other.

Once, I felt very frustrated at work. Wei Lun invited me to a session of karaoke to de-stress. That night, he listened as I poured my heart out to him and helped me to work through my troubles. From that point, we became more than just colleagues - we became very good friends.

Every time I felt I could not cope, I turned to him for a listening ear. He would always offer comfort and guidance, providing me with companionship as we met for dinners, or just to wind down after work. He would even buy me little gifts to make me happy. We eventually became lovers.

This was not a relationship I wanted. Wei Lun was 17 years older than me. And he had been married for the last 10 years.

Although his relationship with his wife had grown dull and distant, they were still a married couple after all. Six months into our affair, Wei Lun suggested to me that he would divorce his wife. His wife had different ideas though, and was dead set against the idea. She called every day to scold me. I was very hurt, and decided to leave for Taiwan to look for my sister and get away from things in Singapore.

Wei Lun became very distraught after I left. He called me up to ask me to return. I was barely gone for three days, when he turned up in Taiwan too. He insisted that I return with him to Singapore and asked for six months in which to settle the divorce with his wife and marry me.

I don't know what Wei Lun said to his wife after returning to Singapore. On the second day, she turned up at my office, kicking up a big fuss. In front of all my colleagues, she screamed: "I will never give my blessings to the both of you! I will even tell your parents what you have done, so that they will be ashamed of you!"

Wei Lun and I had no choice but to separate for a while after this incident. But he kept in touch with me everyday, even crying to me. I have never known him to do this. I cried too.

Perhaps this was the price to pay for being the third party. The whole affair had sapped the strength and energy from the three of us - Wei Lun, his wife, and I. After a period of six months, Wei Lun's wife finally agreed to the divorce. But we were in no position to celebrate our reunion. Perhaps the past turn of events had sapped whatever happiness we felt.

The divorce left Wei Lun with nothing. He gave up his share of his marital home. Even his car and savings were given to his ex-wife during the divorce settlement. It also affected his career.

Originally slated for a promotion, the bosses decided to transfer Wei Lun to a department to keep us apart and took him off the list for a promotion. The new department he was in was foreign to him, and he had trouble adapting. The burden from his financial status and a hostile work environment left Wei Lun unable to cope and feeling troubled.

He started to drink heavily and we quarrelled often as a result.

Saddened by this change, I once again flew to Taiwan for refuge. This time though, Wei Lun did not come to bring me home.

As we talked over the phone, he said, without the slightest show of emotion: "I have nothing left now, and I can't give you any happiness. Go and find yourself a better man."

After that, he moved away, quit his job and disappeared from my life."

Story translated from u-Weekly, Issue 103, 1 Dec 07.