Chapter 3

The post had updated again.

My finger uncontrollably clicked into it.

[Actually, I've indirectly given her disgusting gifts before. Like the pearl bracelet on her wrist.]

[During that period I wasn't doing well at work, and her boyfriend and I played a bit rough in bed. That bracelet once broke inside my body. Her boyfriend didn't care and still gave it to her.]

My gaze uncontrollably drifted toward the vanity.

That bracelet was the Christmas gift Marcus gave me this year, saying it was a limited edition pearl bracelet he bought.

[Also, this Christmas, her boyfriend chose to bring me home to meet his parents.]

[The gold bracelet on my right wrist was given to me by his mother.]

[He said he couldn't marry me, so he had to compensate me in other ways.]

Boom—my mind went completely blank.

His mother's simple face and apologetic expression still seemed before my eyes:

"When Marcus's grandmother gave it to me, it was this silver bracelet."

When Marcus came back, it was already 1 AM.

He reeked of Mary's signature perfume.

He smiled at me indulgently: "Waiting for me to blow-dry your hair?"

I was about to confront him with a cold face when Mary video-called me.

She drunkenly kissed the camera: "Matthias, I love you so much."

"I love this bag so much." Her voice dropped. "I'm just too poor. Tomorrow's your birthday, and I won't be able to give you something this expensive back..."

I coldly interrupted her: "Oh."

Seeing my expression was off, Mary froze.

Marcus suddenly bear-hugged me, his face nestling in my neck, competing for my affection as always with Mary.

"Matthias, the person who loves you most is clearly me..."

As he spoke, his lips moved toward my face.

Mary in the video suddenly shrieked, her phone falling.

Marcus jerked toward my phone screen, his face instantly turning pale.

No figure visible, no sound audible.

He immediately rushed toward the entrance.

His voice carried a panic and anxiety I'd never heard:

"Matthias, something must have happened to Mary. I'm going to check!"

A loud "bang."

I heard a soft laugh from the other end of the phone. The video was hung up.

I opened that post again.

The latest entry was full of malice directed at me.

[She's so stupid. Can't tell I deliberately called her boyfriend away.]

[Tomorrow's her birthday, and she definitely won't notice I'm deliberately disgusting her. So boring.]

My heart felt like it had fallen into an ice cave, feeling cold all over.

I lay on the couch with wet hair, eyes open until dawn.

Playing on repeat in my mind was that trip when we climbed to the summit together.

Mary shouted into the wind: "Marcus, you and Matthias will love each other forever."

Marcus glanced at her and shouted too: "Mary and Matthias will be best friends forever."

The 8 o'clock alarm rang on time.

I opened WhatsApp and sent Marcus a message.

[Marcus, let's break up.]

But the smart lock made a sound. Mary's voice came through, rudely criticizing Marcus.

"It's all your fault for waking up late. We didn't get to buy Matthias's favorite ice cream cake."

"You're the one who took forever, had to put on makeup to see Matthias." Marcus retorted.

"It's because you exhausted me yesterday—"

They were carrying seven or eight kinds of breakfast, smiling broadly.

Seeing me lying on the couch, their voices stopped abruptly.

What they were saying was self-evident.

Marcus casually placed the breakfast on the table and chuckled:

"My phone's special ringtone just went off. Let me see what message Matthias sent me."