Chapter 4

Neal didn't laze around after Joyce left. He went to the study and turned on the computer. He would be leaving for Linkton in half a month, so he needed to rent a place beforehand. He also wanted to look up local recipes and practice cooking them at home. Once he went abroad, he would be alone, so he had to get used to it as quickly as possible. When he finally got in bed, Neal scrolled through his phone to see an Instagram post Corey had shared half an hour ago of himself with Joyce. She looked at him so tenderly—it wasn't anything Neal had ever seen. Corey had written, "Thank you for being by my side during every important moment in my life." Joyce and her friends liked the post, and Joyce was even the first to comment on it. "I won't go back on every promise I've made you." Her friends had also commented, "We're so glad to see you guys happy." The rest of the comments wished Joyce and Corey well, but the last one ruined the atmosphere. "We should stop commenting, or Neal will throw a fit when he sees this." Neal had indeed thrown a fit in the past. At the time, he had no idea Corey was Joyce's first love and thought they really were just close friends. So, when he'd noticed how Joyce seemed to care for Corey beyond the boundaries of friendship, he'd reminded her that it would be better for her to keep her distance when hanging out with Corey. They were of the opposite gender, after all. Neal's reminder had been reasonable, yet her expression had turned ugly. "We're all friends here, and we're just interacting with each other like normal. What distance do you expect us to keep?" Her friends had agreed with her. "Don't be so petty. You're too narrow-minded if you think you can take away her right to make friends with others just because you're her boyfriend." Neal hadn't understood why everyone had started picking on him and making it seem like he was at fault just because he'd reminded Joyce and Corey to respect each other's boundaries. Later, he'd accidentally learned that Corey wasn't just a friend to Joyce. He was her first love and the boyfriend she'd yet to forget. Corey had left the country after Marie had broken him and Joyce up. That was why Joyce had later been sent on a blind date with Neal and why she'd agreed to date him. Neal finally knew the truth. No wonder Joyce treated Corey so differently; no wonder her friends didn't like Neal, even overreacting when he'd asked Joyce and Corey to keep their distance. It turned out that it was all because Corey was the one Joyce liked from beginning to end. To her friends, Neal was a thief who'd stolen Corey's place in her life. They felt Corey was the only one who deserved to be by Joyce's side and that he was the only one who could make her happy. Neal snapped out of his reverie. Instead of questioning Joyce about the photo like her friends had predicted, he turned off his phone and drifted off. In the middle of the night, he was roused from his sleep by someone shaking him. He opened his eyes to see Joyce standing there, her expression grim. He checked the time on his phone as his annoyance surged. Then, he exhaled deeply, suppressing his irritation. He looked up at Joyce. "What is it?" Her tone was icy when she spoke. She wanted to convey her displeasure. "Do you still think of me as your girlfriend, Neal? You didn't even call me despite me staying out so late! My friends' boyfriends all called them to check on them or urge them to return, but you didn't. You didn't even text me! What the hell do you mean by this?"