Chapter 3

After a great night with the guys, I was in high spirits on the drive back.

I tidied up, washed my face, changed into fresh clothes, and got ready to turn in. But when I tried the bedroom handle, the door wouldn't budge. It was locked from the inside.

Aside from Evelyn and me—and the occasional maid cleaning—no one else ever entered this room. There was zero reason to lock it.

Just as confusion set in, a crisp click sounded.

The door cracked open, and someone peered out.

It was Julian.

He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of boxers. He looked at me with innocent, wide eyes:

"Woody... it's you."

"Could you do me a favor and run down to buy a pack of..."

He silently mouthed the word: *condoms*.

My gaze shifted past his shoulder through the gap. I could clearly see Evelyn sprawled across the bed.

What they had been doing was painfully obvious.

The flush of post-coital heat hadn't even faded from Julian's cheeks. It took zero imagination to piece together what just happened.

All I felt was deep, suffocating awkwardness.

Being confronted with such a blunt, brazen demand left me utterly paralyzed. I stood there, frozen for several seconds.

When I first met Julian, I had also been deceived by his harmless, delicate face.

He looked like a pure, sheltered young master.

Those wide, clueless eyes naturally triggered an urge to protect him. Only later did I discover the truth.

He was a vicious, venomous snake disguised as a lamb.

Sure enough.

Capitalizing on my brief hesitation, Julian lowered his head, his voice dropping into a timid whimper as he looked back toward Evelyn:

"Does Woody not like me? I just... asked for a tiny favor. He seems really angry."

"Maybe I shouldn't be here... After all, this is where you and Woody sleep. I was out of line..."

He balled his fists, turning around as if to walk away in humiliation.

Evelyn, who had been lying on the bed, sprang up instantly and stormed right over to me. Her brow furrowed furiously as she shielded Julian behind her back, her voice icy:

"How dare you give Julian an attitude? He just asked you to run a simple errand! What is there to think about?"

"Julian can stay wherever he damn well pleases! The one who shouldn't be here is someone else!"

I noticed Evelyn was only wearing a sheer, gauzy nightgown.

A single glance revealed an expanse of bare skin.

"Who do you think you are?"

Working herself into a rage, Evelyn lost her temper.

*Slap!*

Her hand struck my cheek with a sharp crack.

"Woody didn't mean it, Evelyn, please don't be mad at him," Julian murmured, feigning distress.

Evelyn took his hand, her face softening instantly into a tender smile:

"Okay, I won't be mad. But he bullied you, so I had to put him in his place."

Behind Evelyn's back, at an angle only I could see, Julian shot me a smirk dripping with triumph and malice.

I was already numb to his games.

Honestly, I didn't even feel that angry.

I gave Evelyn a calm nod: "All right. I'll go buy them now."

"I'm sorry for interrupting."

"I won't come back at this hour in the future. I won't get in the way of your business."

My face remained impassive, my voice entirely flat.

Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked away.

Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt an intense, burning gaze locked onto my back the entire time.

I remembered how, years ago, whenever someone tried to bully me, Evelyn was always the first to step forward and defend me.

Whenever I was treated unfairly, she stood firmly by my side.

I had foolishly believed that kind of fierce devotion was reserved only for me. How self-absorbed I had been.

After running through several convenience stores, I finally bought what they asked for. When I returned to the mansion, muffled, intimate sounds echoed down the hallway.

The rest of the house was completely empty.

I wanted to drop the box and sprint away, but my limbs felt frozen in place.

Trapped by the humiliation.

About half an hour later, Julian emerged, carrying a flushed, satisfied Evelyn in his arms.

He acted as though he had just noticed me, widening his eyes in mock surprise:

"Oh, Woody! You're still here..."

"I'm so sorry. Evelyn and I don't need them anymore. Maybe keep them for yourself?"

I crushed the box of condoms in my fist.

Something raged and burned inside my chest. After a long silence, I set the box gently on the console table and beat a hasty retreat.

"It's fine. You can use them next time," I muttered.

"Since I already bought them."

Behind me, Julian's cheerful voice rang out: "We won't need them next time either!"

Evelyn stayed silent.

Her silence was her consent.

She looked at me with the cold, haughty scrutiny of a superior, yet beneath it lay an unreadable, turbulent emotion.

Both Julian and I were absorbed in our own games.

Neither of us noticed that Evelyn had zoned out for a brief moment.

...

Fleeing into the courtyard, I smashed my fist against a stone pillar.

Thinking about how low I had sunk over the past few weeks, a wave of sickening irony hit me:

"I really am pathetic."