Chapter 4

No matter what I said, my lab mates just refused to leave.

"Sorry, Emily. If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have gotten yelled at by Alex," one of them said.

And then, one by one, they all decided to stick around and help me wash bottles.

"There's strength in numbers! With all of us here, Alex can't just kick us all out, right?" one of them said.

"Exactly! At worst, we'll finish up, leave first, and you can slip out after. No way Alex is going to stand here watching us all night," another chimed in.

Without another word, they rolled up their sleeves and started scrubbing the reagent bottles like crazy.

I didn't argue anymore. I just picked up the bottles and started washing them one by one, taking my time.

My lab mates were taking out their frustration on the bottles, muttering curses under their breath as if they were scrubbing Sophie herself.

"This is all Sophie's fault! If it weren't for her, none of this would've happened!" one of them grumbled.

"I've never met anyone as inconsiderate as her. Skipping experiments for her driving lessons and leaving all the work to us? Seriously!" another complained.

"What's even more annoying is that Alex didn't even get mad at her for skipping. That's so unfair," someone else added.

Just then, someone suddenly started gossiping.

"Hey, do you guys think Alex is actually dating Sophie? At our last dinner, he had this keychain on his backpack that looked like a gift from his girlfriend. He wouldn't let anyone touch it," one of them said.

"Seriously? I can't even picture Mr. Iceberg in love," another chimed in.

"I heard someone caught them together once. Alex looked totally smitten with his girlfriend. Apparently, he made her mad and ended up pinning her against the wall for a kiss. But nobody saw the girl's face clearly," someone else added.

Love?

Then I remembered what my friends said about the keychain. Alex hadn't had it on his backpack for a while now. He'd swapped it out for a different mascot plushie.

I once asked him why he suddenly changed it, and he got a little flustered, saying he just bought it because the girl selling them looked so pitiful.

It wasn't until I saw that same mascot plushie hanging from Sophie's bag that I finally realized their relationship had changed long ago.

''Has Alex's feelings for me already changed, without me noticing?' I wondered.

Everyone was gossiping away, totally caught up in the drama, and nobody noticed I was just spacing out.

We were flying through the bottles. There were only a dozen or so left.

Just as they were about to finish the rest, I called out, stopping them.

I said, "You guys should head back. I'll take care of the rest. If Alex sees you all here, he might think I'm slacking off and I'll probably get scolded again."

They hesitated, clearly not wanting to just leave me here alone.

But if they stuck around and Alex caught us, I'd probably end up getting punished all over again.

"Don't worry about me, there are only a few left. I'll finish up fast," I said.

They gave me a quick hug, not wanting to leave me behind.

"Sorry, babe. We'll head back and order some takeout. Let's all grab dinner together tonight," Amanda said.

I nodded and gently pushed them out the door.

Once they were gone, the smile slipped right off my face.

At that moment, I just couldn't pretend anymore.

I bit my lip, tears quietly falling in the empty lab.

This wasn't how I imagined our one-year anniversary at all.

I should've been at a beautiful restaurant, having a lovely dinner, and snapping sweet photos with a bouquet in my arms.

Not here by myself, scrubbing bottles in an empty lab.

''Was I wrong from the very beginning?' I wondered. 'Maybe he was never with me out of love. Maybe he just pitied me for chasing after him for more than twenty years.'