Chapter 2
But he'd never been like this before. He had absolutely no patience left for me.
And his half-hearted attitude was so obvious, anyone could see right through it.
I watched as he kept bombarding me with emojis, unfazed, I typed back a single line. [Alfie, cancel the wedding.]
I knew all too well what this upcoming wedding meant, for both of us.
He was pissed.
Alfie never wanted to get married this soon.
He always said we were still young and should enjoy a few more years of freedom.
Now, this was exactly what he wanted.
I typed out "Let's break up," but before I could send it, a friend request from Sierra popped up.
After hesitating for a moment, I clicked accept.
In an instant, my phone blew up with photos.
I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
Looking at all this, it finally hit me.
Alfie must've really struggled to pick out just a handful of decent photos from the mess.
Scrolling through the photos, it was all the same scene.
They were sharing the same drink, eating the same ice cream, even using the same spoon.
Alfie was fixing her hair, crouching down to wipe a stain off her dress.
Every single move was caught on camera.
They acted more like lovers than people actually in love.
Compared to those, the ones Alfie picked to share were pretty tame.
They were just sitting a bit closer together, laughing a little harder.
Honestly, there was nothing really inappropriate about them.
Then another message appeared: [Miss Simpson, Mr. Richards keeps telling me I'm the most beautiful woman in every single photo. Who compliments someone like that?]
[Do you think he's just saying it to make me feel better?]
I was already planning to break up with Alfie and didn't care who he ended up with, but that didn't mean I'd let someone treat me like a doormat.
And now, she was openly provoking me.
I wasn't about to let that pass.
I grabbed my bag and headed straight for Alfie's company.
It was late at night. Only one light was on in the entire building.
Perhaps he had spent the whole day with Sierra and was now catching up on work.
Alfie was at his desk, bent over his documents.
Sierra, his secretary, was lounging on the sofa nearby, snacking and scrolling on her phone.
She was munching on snacks and scrolling through her phone.
She probably thought she'd come out on top since I hadn't bothered to reply.
She was clearly in high spirits, whining to Alfie in a syrupy, playful tone. "Mr. Richards, when are you gonna finish up? I'm so bored!"
With a soft, amused look in his eyes, Alfie shot Sierra a fond glance from behind his desk.
He eventually set aside the mountain of paperwork.
"Come on, I'll take you out for some midnight snacks, then drive you home," he said.
That was exactly when I walked in.
I didn't say a word and just held out my phone to Alfie, letting him see all the photos.
Then I spoke coldly. "What exactly is this supposed to mean? "If you didn't want to get married, you could've just said so. There was no need to play games just to hurt me."
I watched Alfie's reaction as he saw the photos.
His face fell, and his mood soured in an instant.
He shot a look at Sierra, who wouldn't even meet his eyes, looking totally guilty and scared.
After a long silence, he ended up making excuses for her anyway.
In the end, he still tried to cover for her.
"Megan, I told Sierra to keep it from you, but she just can't lie, so she came clean to you herself," Alfie said.
I gripped the zipper of my bag, my voice icy. "So, am I really supposed to thank her for looking after my boyfriend so well, is that it?"
Alfie let out a weary sigh. "I'm not asking you to get where she's coming from, but don't twist her kindness into something ugly.
"Sierra is just a kid, fresh out of college. She gets freaked out way too easily. Megan Simpson, at least go say sorry to her."
As soon as he finished talking, I just stared at Alfie, unblinking, for what felt like ages.
Suddenly, he felt like someone I didn't even know.
He'd never been like this, not ever.
He used to be so gentle, so polite. He always knew what was right and what was wrong.
Even with the people he cared about most, he never let his emotions mess with his sense of right and wrong.
He would never take sides without a reason, no matter who it was.
Alfie squirmed a little under my stare, turning his head away, avoiding my eyes.
My heart suddenly ached, and tears started to well up in my eyes.
Turns out, he hadn't changed at all.
He knew everything all along.
Alfie picked up his car keys and gently wiped away the tears at the corner of my eye with his thumb.
He said, "Alright, forget it. If you don't want to apologize, then don't. I'm not making you. Just quit crying, will you?"
I took a few steps back, and his expression turned stone cold again.
Why was he the one getting mad?
Wasn't I the one who should be pissed off here?
"Alfie, you better give me an explanation tonight," I said.