Chapter 1

Alex Foster was the classic old-school boyfriend.

After we stopped talking for a while, I decided to buy some new intimate products to make up with him.

"Alex, I bet you've never tried-"

Before I could finish, he stopped me at the door.

He frowned. "You dumped me back then because you thought I was boring in bed. Why come back to me now?"

He stood up, sounding all self-righteous. "Put your dirty stuff away! My girlfriend's pure. You think she's as open as you?"

I didn't take it seriously, figuring Alex was still holding a grudge.

I stuck my tongue out playfully. "Well, look at you. You know about this? I thought you were completely clueless."

We'd been together for three years, and I always joked that Alex was the classic old-school boyfriend.

He had no clue about anything popular these days.

If I asked him to buy me a cheesecake, he'd come back with a mango cake instead.

If I wanted him to go to the amusement park with me, he'd say that was kid stuff.

Even in bed, it was always the same position.

Aside from me, there was barely another woman in his life. Every day was nothing but work and meetings.

I took his hand, trying to coax him. "Don't be mad at me. Tonight, I promise-"

Alex quietly slipped his hand out of mine. "Get out. My girlfriend might get the wrong idea."

I let out a helpless laugh. "Besides me, who on earth could your girlfriend be?"

I walked into the living room, not waiting for his answer.

"And this. If I hadn't thrown a fit, would you know about it?" I said, pointing at the latest trendy Black Swan cake on the table.

To my surprise, there stood the trendy milk drink everyone had been raving about lately.

"It's pretty warm in here. This stuff needs to go in the fridge, or it'll spoil," I muttered, reaching for it.

But then I heard footsteps coming from the bedroom.

"Who are you?" a voice called out.

I froze.

I looked up to see a girl in a satin slip nightdress. She looked pretty young.

Her big eyes were full of confusion as she stared at me.

My mouth opened slightly, and I instinctively turned to look at Alex.

Only then did I realize he was shirtless, his chest and back mapped with intimate red hickeys and scratches.

Alex pinched his brow, looking helpless.

He walked over and pulled the girl into his arms.

"She's my assistant," he said.

He shot me a warning look, silently telling me not to speak out of turn.

"Oh, hi! I'm Emily Carter," the girl said.

Emily smiled at me and pointed at the milk drink I was holding. "I'm going to eat it now, so you don't need to put it in the fridge."

I froze for a second. "Oh, sorry."

I awkwardly put it down, feeling totally out of place.

I couldn't believe Alex had gotten a new girlfriend only five days after we broke up.

"Care to explain?" I asked.

"Explain what? Do I have to report to you if I skip work for a day? Are you the boss, or am I?" Alex shot back.

He looked at me calmly, as if to remind me of my place.

I was the one who had dumped him, yet there I was, crawling back like a fool.

But reality was staring me in the face.

Whenever I locked eyes with Alex, I was always the one who backed down.

I dug my nails into my palm, feeling the dampness of my own sweat.

All I could do was turn around stiffly. "I gotta go."

"Wait, aren't you here to see Alex? Eat with us," Emily said, stopping me and taking my hand with a friendly smile.

"Alex went overboard buying all this. There's no way I can finish it by myself. Sharing is way more fun!" she added.

Alex tried to stop her. "Emily, she's got a lot of work back at the office. Let her go."

Emily pouted. "Oh, come on, why so stingy? What's wrong with letting her join us for food?"

Alex didn't argue anymore. Instead, he gave me a look I couldn't read, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"Fine. If someone can end a relationship over a little dessert, I might as well see how good it tastes," he whispered.

Alex leaned in so close that Emily couldn't hear what he was saying.

I instinctively clenched the hem of my shirt.

Emily babbled right beside me. "Alex ran around to a bunch of places to get me all the popular treats. I never asked him. He just did."

She grinned. "Oh, right. Alex, hit like on my Twitter right now! Tell me if my new post is hilarious."

As I watched them all snuggled up together, my head started to spin.

The Alex she described felt like a total stranger to me.

Emily was leaning into Alex, acting all lovey-dovey.

I could barely sit still. "I really have to go. Something came up at work."

I practically fled, only hearing Emily calling after me. "Why are you in such a rush? Hey, you left your stuff here."

The next second, Emily knocked the delivery box to the floor.

Condoms spilled everywhere, like a million invisible slaps to my face.

She looked up at me, her voice calm. "Did you bring them to see my boyfriend?"