Chapter 7

Hearing my colleagues' compliments, I have to admit, my ego was a little satisfied. As I walked into the conference room and picked up the bouquet of red roses, the frustration I had been feeling completely vanished. After work that afternoon, I decided to pick up some of Isabelle's favorite sweets and surprise her at her office, while also giving her a ride home. I had already reserved a window seat at a high-end restaurant. I planned to bring up the topic of marriage again and finalize the matter. She worked as a regular office clerk at a small advertising company, nothing fancy. Her salary wasn't high—around four thousand a month, if I remembered correctly. When I got upstairs, the receptionist recognized me immediately and let me in without any fuss. It was after hours, so there weren't many people around. I saw Isabelle's office door open and assumed she was packing up, getting ready to leave. I pushed the door open and walked in. However, the moment I stepped in, I froze at the doorway. By the window, Isabelle was in a close embrace with Sean. He was kissing the top of her head while she leaned softly into his arms. The sunset bathed them in a golden glow, and even I had to admit that they made a beautiful couple. I didn't say a word. I just turned and left. As I passed the receptionist, I handed her the sweets. She looked surprised. I smiled. "I always feel bad for bothering you every time I come by. These are for you. Oh, and please don't tell Isabelle that I was here, okay?" The receptionist blinked, glanced toward the office, and gave me a strange look. However, she smiled and said, "I get it. Don't worry, I'll keep it to myself." "Thanks," I said and walked out. I thought I was handling things pretty well. I stayed calm on the way to the car. However, when I placed my hands on the steering wheel, I realized they were trembling. Pathetic. I used to make fun of guys like Jerome, who lost their minds over a woman, and now here I was, in the same boat. Isabelle had sent me flowers and said she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me that very afternoon. Yet, in the evening, she was in another man's arms. It was unbearable. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. "It's not worth it. It's not worth it," I told myself. After a while, my emotions finally settled, and I started the car, slowly driving away. Not long after I left, my phone rang. It was Isabelle. I hesitated for a moment but decided to pick up, keeping my voice steady. "Bryce, what are you up to tonight?" "I'm not sure. I'm probably just staying in." She sounded hesitant. "Oh, I've got a dinner to attend tonight, so I'll be home late. I'll call you when I get back?" "You don't need to do that. Have fun." I hung up right after that. The dinner was a lie. She was going on a date with Sean. She even bothered to make up an excuse to cover it. I used to think Isabelle wasn't a two-timer. However, I had seen it with my own eyes. Whether she was trying to have it both ways or just hedging her bets, it disgusted me. I wasn't looking for someone innocent or naïve, but she should have the decency to not play these little tricks on me. I didn't feel like going home, so I called up Jerome. I had a lot of friends, but when it came to pouring my heart out without getting criticized, the only one who fit the bill was the carefree Jerome. We had been friends for over 20 years. He was closer to me than a biological brother. He had added my fingerprint to his door lock ages ago, so I let myself in. However, when I saw the state of his place, I regretted it immediately. Torn between leaving and cleaning up, I chose the latter. It took me over an hour to get everything in order. I showered, and as I was stepping out of the bathroom, the doorbell rang. Whoever it was must be here for Jerome. Since he wasn't home, I didn't feel like answering. But the knocking didn't stop, so I gave in and opened the door. "Jerome, please!" Before I could react, a girl rushed in and threw herself into my arms. I was so startled. "Hey, you've got the wrong—" She cut me off. "Jerome, don't kick me out, I'm begging you! Let me stay here for a few days. I don't want to go anywhere else, I just want to be with you!" Frustrated, I said, "You've got the wrong guy." "Huh?" She looked up in confusion and realized she was hugging the wrong person. Embarrassed, she jumped back, stammering, "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I must have gone to the wrong place!" However, she soon returned. Glancing at the door number, she frowned. "Wait, I didn't get to the wrong place…" "You didn't. I'm a friend of Jerome's, but he's not home. Maybe you should call him?" "Oh, okay!" Erratically, she fumbled with her phone to make the call. I shut the door. Honestly, I had never been into ditzy types as they were exhausting to talk to. I flopped onto the couch and started scrolling through some short videos to kill time. It wasn't long before I heard the door open again. Jerome walked in, with the woman right behind him. "Wow, you cleaned up? Nice!" He looked around, clearly impressed, but then immediately tossed his socks and clothes all over the place, and left an unfinished bottle of soda on the couch. What kind of lifestyle was this? I wasn't about to let the place get messy again, so I resigned myself to picking up after him. Jerome laughed at me from the couch as I cleaned up. "You're such a nice person. Forget about marrying Isabelle, just marry me instead." I tossed his dirty socks right at his face. I had spent a year in the military before getting injured and going back to college. However, the discipline and love of cleanliness had stuck with me. Over the years, while I had been with Isabelle, whenever we lived together, I always took care of all the chores. Curious, I glanced at the young woman, who had disappeared into Jerome's room. "Is that your girlfriend?" "Hell no! That's my cousin. She's my uncle's kid. She's in the middle of some drama, so she ran away from home." So, she was just family. I raised an eyebrow. "You know, when I opened the door, your cousin hugged me and wouldn't let go of me. Given her age, she's way too affectionate with you, don't you think?" "Stop it! She's like that with any relative she's close to. But don't worry, she doesn't act like that with strangers." He gave me a playful nudge. "Still, she's pretty cute, right? She's not so bad compared to Isabelle, huh?" I chuckled. "She's a little below that level." Just hearing Isabelle's name made my mood darken again. "I came here to talk to you about Isabelle." I told him what I saw that afternoon at her office. Jerome immediately jumped to his feet. "She's obviously cheating on you! What is she doing, man? She's back with her ex but still stringing you along?"