Chapter 11

I spent the entire afternoon in a daze.

Amelia, overwhelmed by her emotions, took half a day off.

I stared absentmindedly at her desk, my mind repeatedly chewing over her last words:

“I know he was with another woman just to spite me. As of today, my family no longer holds the same attitude towards my love life as before, so when he asked me out a few days ago, I genuinely wanted to reconcile. But…”

Then, she abruptly stopped and asked me, “Bella, what do you think I should do?”

The more she spoke, the quieter her voice became.

Yet, I remembered every single word.

…I didn’t give her an answer.

Because, faced with her hesitant “but,” I inexplicably broke into a cold sweat.

After work, I sat in my car, not driving home as usual.

I spaced out for about half an hour, and then Thomas called me.

I picked up the phone, waiting for it to go silent.

He called twice in a row, and I took off my watch, mindlessly recalling those two wedding rings, then dialed Alex’s number.

“Alex, talk to me.”

…

Alex is a mutual friend of Thomas and me.

It was he who brought us together back then.

He owns a quiet bar in a deep alley.

I went straight to find him; it wasn’t business hours yet, so the place was empty and silent, without any music.

Alex looked behind me, “Where’s Thomas?”

“Just me.”

I put down my bag and took two bottles of whiskey from the fridge.

Alex sat down next to me, looking at me uncertainly, “Did you have a fight?”

“No.”

I glanced at his hand reaching for the phone, “Don’t tip off Thomas; he doesn’t know I’m here.”

However, I thought Thomas would soon call him.

Before coming over, I had turned off my phone.

Alex awkwardly put down his phone, “What’s going on… Don’t be like this, it’s kind of scary.”

In our circle of friends, I’m known for my good temper.

Being with Thomas, we’ve never really had a serious argument. The occasional minor tiffs, which could even be considered playful, were just to add some spice to our relationship.

In this relationship, I pride myself on knowing when to advance and retreat, never questioning Thomas’s past, focusing only on our future together.

Because I felt it was meaningless to dwell on that.

But today, I suddenly started doubting whether I was wrong.

I said, “If you still consider me a friend, for the questions I’m about to ask, you have to tell me everything you know.”

Alex sat up straight.

After a while, he nodded.

“I ask you, when did you meet Thomas?”

“You know, we were college classmates.”

“What was his social circle like in college?”

“…Honestly, not great, he rarely participated in group activities.”

“Then how come you two are so close?”

“No choice, we were bunkmates.”

“He said he often brought you meals.”

Alex gradually relaxed, laughing, “I often fetched hot water for him, okay?”

“Oh, so he often skipped group activities to be with Amelia.”

“How do you know?” Alex blurted out.

“…”

My heart sank completely.