My best friend called me drunk, asking me to pick him up. But when I arrived at the private room, I saw him getting intimate with my girlfriend. My friend looked up and asked her, “Do you really like him?” She shook her head with a smile, “Of course not. You’re the one I’ve always had feelings for.” I turned away silently and sent my girlfriend a breakup text. Afterwards, I actively distanced myself from them. But they kept coming to beg for my forgiveness one after another. Hearing the chaotic music through the phone, I worried about my friend’s safety. I quickly got dressed and took a cab to the bar he was at. When I reached the private room, the door was slightly ajar. I was about to walk in when I suddenly saw a woman sitting on the couch whose side profile looked just like my girlfriend. Next to her was a man who looked exactly like Jack. The lighting was dim so I couldn’t see clearly. I quickly moved to the side and peeked through the crack to observe the situation inside. The scene made my blood boil. The woman was all over the man, kissing him passionately. It was an incredibly intense scene. At that moment, I could see clearly that the two people inside were indeed my girlfriend Celine and my supposed best friend Jack. My heart skipped a beat as I stared in disbelief. I remembered how they always seemed to dislike each other, but now they were secretly hooking up behind my back. And Jack had deliberately called me – did he want me to see this? I instinctively took half a step back, then called Celine’s phone. Hearing the ringtone, Celine quickly took out her phone but frowned. Jack took the opportunity to pull Celine closer, leaning into her as he asked with a smile, “Are you going to answer his call?” Celine stopped Jack and answered the phone casually, “Hello?” I suppressed my turbulent emotions, trying to stay calm as I asked, “Where are you, Celine?” Celine leaned against Jack and said in a serious tone, “I’m at a work dinner. I’ll probably be home late.” Watching this scene unfold, my heart ached and I felt a lump in my throat. After composing myself, I said, “Alright, be careful and don’t drink too much.” Celine nodded and quickly hung up, then eagerly went back to being intimate with Jack. The pain in my heart felt like being stabbed by a knife. I clenched my fists unconsciously as anger built up in my mind. Just as I was debating whether to burst in and confront the cheating couple, Jack’s voice rang out, “Do you really like that Alex guy?” Hearing this, I suddenly became curious to see how Celine would respond. But her answer was like a bucket of cold water poured over me. She looked away, her tone full of disdain: “Of course not. I only got close to him to get to you.” So that was it. Celine had only gotten close to me because of my best friend Jack. Suddenly, my heart shattered and my mind went blank. Tears started streaming down my face involuntarily. I opened my phone to Celine’s chat, where I could still see the loving message she had sent. “I love you so much…Alex.” Looking back now, it was all just a big joke.
Jack and I go way back. We’ve known each other since we were little kids. With his sunny image and witty personality, he was always very popular. Lots of girls pursued him. I benefited from this too. Many girls would try to get close to Jack through me, buying me snacks and treating me to meals. But Jack had always been picky, so no girl ever succeeded with him. Later we got into the same university, where we met Celine, a popular student leader. She was a big deal on campus – rich, pretty, and nice. Lots of guys liked her, including me. But I could only admire her from afar. Until one New Year’s Eve party, when the male host had an emergency. Celine found out I had relevant experience and invited me to co-host. Afterwards, we got to know each other and became friends. Jack felt left out and complained to me a few times. He started to dislike Celine and would try to trip her up in various ways. Although Celine was usually easygoing, she was quite unfriendly with Jack. They would argue heatedly in front of me multiple times. Time flew by and in our junior year, I finally worked up the courage to confess to Celine. I thought I’d be rejected, but to my surprise, Celine agreed. So we started dating. But Jack wasn’t happy about it. After all, he and Celine were like bickering enemies, so he really didn’t want to see this outcome. I had to convince him for a long time before he reluctantly accepted it. But afterwards they still disliked each other as always. Celine even advised me several times to distance myself from Jack, saying I should cut ties with him if necessary. This awkward situation continued until now. I never imagined they would end up hooking up together. So everything before had just been an act. If the Oscars gave out awards, they would both deserve one for Best Actor.
My heart turned cold. In the end, I chose to go home. Celine didn’t reply to my message. My nose stung as I cried again. I cried until midnight before falling into a restless sleep. I was woken up by the faint sound of keys in the door. Suddenly someone turned on the lights, which were a bit blinding. It was Celine. She had come home, looking tired. Seeing me lying on the couch with sleepy eyes, she frowned, “Why are you sleeping here?” Looking at this woman in front of me, I suddenly felt like she was a stranger. Because in our relationship, Celine had always been passive. She never actively hugged or kissed me. It was always me initiating, and she would comply. All along, I thought it was just her personality. But now I realized, she simply didn’t love me. Under my direct gaze, Celine looked uncomfortable. “I saw the text you sent. What are you making a fuss about now? I told you I was just busy with work, can’t you be more understanding?” Seeing her fake act, I found it laughable. She had always been fake, I had just been deliberately deceiving myself, subconsciously believing she loved me. I sat up straight and looked Celine in the eye, “Alright then, let’s get married.” Hearing my words, Celine was stunned for a moment before quickly saying, “Didn’t we agree long ago to focus on our careers first? Can we talk about marriage later?” Actually, the reason Celine had stayed with me was simple – her family business was facing bankruptcy and needed my family’s investment to save it. Including Celine’s own startup afterwards, she relied on my family’s resources to become successful. Under these circumstances, she wouldn’t dare break up with me no matter what. But I wasn’t going to give her the chance anymore. I coldly said, “In that case, let’s break up.” Celine hadn’t reacted yet, thinking I was joking with her. “Alex, we’re adults now. Can we talk seriously?” She quickly came over to hold my arm, but remembering how intimate she had been with Jack, I felt disgusted and nauseous. I didn’t hold back, decisively shaking off her hand and walking into the bedroom.
When I woke up the next morning, Celine was gone. She had left for work. I got up, washed up, and went to Celine’s company. The receptionist greeted me right away: “Are you here to see Ms. Liu? She’s in a meeting now, I need to check with her assistant first.” Hearing “assistant”, I paused, suddenly realizing something. “What did you say? Which assistant?” Seeing my sudden seriousness, the receptionist was startled. “J-Jack.” So it was him. I guess I hadn’t paid attention to company matters for too long and didn’t know when he had joined as Celine’s assistant. Seeing me lost in thought, the receptionist tentatively asked, “Mr. Lin, should I let Jack know you’re here?” I shook my head, “No need, I’ll go up myself.” After I left, some new receptionists gossiped. “Is that really Mr. Lin? He doesn’t seem that well-matched with Ms. Liu. I wonder how she ended up with him.” “Shh! Watch what you say! Mr. Lin owns company shares!” “But Ms. Liu and Jack seem unusually close!” “Keep it down, he hasn’t gone far yet. It’d be bad if he heard!” I narrowed my eyes, ignoring the chatter as I took the elevator to Celine’s office. I sat on the couch, waiting for their meeting to end. About half an hour later, I heard footsteps and a man and woman talking outside. It was Celine and Jack’s voices. Celine said softly, “Jack, Alex has been acting strange lately. Why don’t you check on him after work?” Jack scoffed, “Didn’t you say you were going to break up with him? Why do you still care?” Celine was silent for a moment before saying, “Let’s wait a bit. The company can’t do without the Lin family right now. You have to believe me, I like you. Alex isn’t even my type.” Then I heard the sound of kissing. My whole body was shaking. Tears welled up in my eyes again, falling onto my phone. This feeling of being betrayed by two people at once was awful. After a while, I heard Jack’s voice: “Celine, will you marry me?” Unfortunately, Celine opened the door just as she was about to answer Jack, and her words got stuck in her throat when she saw me. I didn’t get to hear Celine’s answer. “Celine, why aren’t you saying anything?” Jack walked in like he owned the place, but stopped abruptly when he saw me. Celine’s brows furrowed as she stared at me intently, pretending to be calm as she asked, “Alex, why are you here?” I leaned back in the chair, saying nonchalantly, “I heard we’re looking for a spokesperson for the new product. I came to take a look.” Jack put both hands behind his back, lowering his head to avoid looking at me. I knew this was Jack’s habit when he was nervous. I held back my tears, trying to keep my tone normal as I looked at Jack and asked, “Jack, when did you start working at the company?” By now Jack had come up with a response. He walked over to me with a grin. “Didn’t I tell you I quit my job? I saw Celine’s company was hiring so I came to work here temporarily. I’ve been busy moving recently so I didn’t mention it to you.” I looked at Jack and Celine. They were still trying to fool me. I asked, “Is that so?” Celine quickly answered, “Yes, that’s right.” I nodded and said “Oh.” Looks like they still planned to keep me in the dark, playing me for a fool.
When I left the company, it had started raining outside. I went to the front desk to borrow an umbrella from Lily, but she mysteriously pulled me aside. Lily gripped her phone tightly, looking a bit nervous as she glanced around to make sure no one was nearby before asking, “Mr. Lin, do you know Jack’s Instagram account?” I should know Jack’s Instagram. But as far as I knew, he hadn’t updated it in a long time. Lily handed me her phone. I looked at the Instagram profile on the screen for an account called “JackKnows” with over 1 million followers, labeled as a couple’s account. I glanced at the most recent post from yesterday. [M is taking me to see the Northern Lights in Iceland!] There was also a 9-photo collage of pictures he took in Iceland. Looking at the date, I suddenly remembered that just a week ago, I had wanted to go on a trip with Celine but she said she had a business trip. Then when I went to find Jack, he said he had to go back home for something. Could it be that they had both lied to me and actually gone to Iceland together? I thanked Lily and told her not to spread this around. Back in my car, I searched for this account on my phone. Scrolling to the bottom, I saw posts from two years ago when we had just graduated college. [Graduation trip with M! I said I like the ocean so she brought me here.] The photos were of Jack’s travels, including many that I had taken for him. Graduation trips were popular when we finished college. At the time, both Celine and Jack had asked me to go on a trip with them separately. I had to convince them for a long time before they finally agreed for the three of us to travel together. To help them get along, I put in a lot of effort and carefully planned out an itinerary, looking forward to traveling with my girlfriend and best friend. But I never imagined that they had hooked up that day, keeping it from me for two whole years. [M rushed back from out of town in the middle of the night when she heard I was sick.] I looked at the date – it was around the time my mom passed away. The company was just starting up then, and Celine was traveling everywhere trying to secure project partnerships. When my mom died of cancer, Celine was on a business trip in Shanghai. I called her in despair, wanting her to come back and be with me. But she said she really couldn’t get away, and would fly back as soon as the deal was done to be with me. But even after the seventh day memorial service for my mom, I still hadn’t seen her return. Yet the day after my mom died, when Jack had appendicitis and was hospitalized, she couldn’t even wait for the next day’s flight and had her driver bring her back that same night. So it wasn’t that she couldn’t come back. I just wasn’t worth coming back for. Tears blurred my vision, making it hard to see the screen clearly. I closed my eyes and tears rolled down my cheeks onto my phone. My heart was in so much pain. It felt like countless ants were biting my heart. I wiped away my tears and continued scrolling through Jack’s Instagram. [One year anniversary! M took me to Disneyland, she’s my princess forever.] This date was last June 1st, when I had planned for a long time to go on a trip with Celine. But the day before we were supposed to leave, she told me she had to meet an important client and might have to delay our trip by a few days. So the important client she mentioned was Jack. She didn’t go on a trip with me, but went to accompany Jack instead. [M and I had a fight today. I was in a bad mood, but then she bought me 999 roses and a diamond ring. I guess I’ll forgive her.] The photo showed their intertwined hands, with shiny diamond rings clearly visible. I noticed a mole on the woman’s index finger. Celine has a mole just like that on her hand. I didn’t want to look anymore. I quickly closed my phone and leaned my head on the steering wheel, accidentally hitting the horn which blared loudly in the empty underground parking lot. The sound briefly snapped me out of my daze. But as soon as I thought about how Celine and Jack had betrayed me for two whole years, my heart ached unbearably again. I took a deep breath, started the car and drove out of the parking garage towards home. But just as I was getting close to home, a car suddenly swerved out of nowhere. I quickly turned the wheel to avoid it, but ended up crashing into a tree. 5 When I woke up, the hospital room was empty. My throat felt dry and uncomfortable. I instinctively reached out, trying to get some water. But my hand had no strength and I couldn’t grip the cup I had just grabbed. The cup fell to the floor, shattering into pieces. The door opened and a woman wearing a hat and mask walked in. Seeing I was awake, she came to my bedside and poured me a new glass of water. Before I could ask, she explained, “Sir, you were in a car accident and hit a tree. I brought you to the hospital.” I looked at her and asked, “Were you the car that suddenly swerved out?” She quickly waved her hands to deny it: “No, no. I’m just a good Samaritan. Your injuries aren’t serious. I’ll call the police now and you can sort out the rest yourselves.” Looks like I got lucky. At least nothing major happened. The woman saw I was okay and asked, “My name is Emma. Do you want to call your family?” Who could I call? I didn’t want to worry my dad, so I definitely couldn’t call him. Celine? Jack? They were the last people I wanted to see right now. I shook my head. Emma seemed like she wanted to say something but held back. She didn’t say anything else and left after the police arrived. The police said the driver who swerved out was drunk driving. Luckily I had avoided them in time. Although I hit a tree, my head was protected by the airbag so there were no major injuries. After taking my statement, the police left. My head felt groggy and I fell asleep soon after lying on the hospital bed. When I woke up again, it was already dark outside. I picked up my phone and saw that besides missed calls from my dad, no one else had contacted me. I called my dad back but didn’t tell him about the accident. I just said I was out with Celine and wouldn’t be visiting him for a few days. After hanging up, I stared at Celine’s chat window and impulsively decided to call her. The phone rang several times before she picked up, sounding impatient: “Hello.” I lay in bed staring blankly at the ceiling as I asked, “I got in a car accident. Can you come to the hospital to see me? I want to eat the porridge you make.” There was silence on the other end for a while, like she was doing something. Then she said, “Okay, I’ll be there soon.” Hearing Celine agree, I felt nothing and just hung up expressionlessly. About 15 minutes later, Celine called back. I answered and heard her slightly guilty voice: “Alex, I’m so sorry. I have some urgent work to deal with right now. I’ll have my assistant bring you some porridge. I’ll come see you first thing tomorrow morning with more porridge, okay?” I didn’t argue or get upset. I just said “Okay” and hung up. Not surprising. Thinking back on our years together, she had never really cared about me. But I was still so passionate, believing I could be her exception. What a fool I was, dreaming the impossible dream. I covered my eyes as tears spilled out, soaking the pillow. At first I cried silently, but gradually I felt more and more wronged. I started sobbing out loud until I cried myself to exhaustion. Then I moved my hand and lay on my side, staring wordlessly out the window at the sky. My phone suddenly lit up. It was a notification from Instagram. I tapped on it and saw that Jack had posted an update. [Just now! M lost to me in a game, she said she’ll buy me a new skin every week for a month. Everyone witness this!] The photo showed them in Jack’s home, both wearing pajamas and curled up on the couch playing games, just like a normal couple. I stared at the photo, my whole body trembling uncontrollably. Celine couldn’t be bothered to care that I was in a car accident, but was happily playing games with Jack. Can a person really be so heartless? I lifted my hand and found Celine’s chat window. My hands were shaking too much to type properly, and my eyes were too blurry with tears to see the keyboard clearly. I wiped away my tears and steadied my hand, typing five words into the chat box. “Let’s break up.”
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