Chapter 1

"Clara, I've decided to go for the business alliance."

Alex Foster's cool voice sounded extraordinarily clear and loud in the quiet night.

When his older sister, Clara Foster, heard his decision, she finally relaxed.

"So, you finally have the heart to break up with that girlfriend of yours, huh? You two have been together for so many years, yet she refuses to meet me and our parents. I knew things between you two wouldn't end up well."

Upon hearing Clara's confident words, Alex lowered his gaze before humming softly in response.

"I was wrong in the past. I'll deal with everything on my side as soon as possible. I'll leave the wedding preparations to you. Just give me half a month."

"You don't need to worry about the wedding. We'll get everything in order. Just get back to us on time. Mom, Dad, and I have put in so much effort to pick out the woman you'll be marrying this time. Her background, personality, and appearance are top-notch. I'm sure you'll be satisfied with her.

"By the way, remember to call someone for me to your wedding. You remember my best friend, Estelle Jeffries, right?

"When you traveled all the way to Jhecmel to study at the college there, you used to crash at her place for a period of time, didn't you? She took care of you during that time. Remember to invite her to your wedding."

Alex didn't know how to respond. A long silence later, he finally replied softly, "She can't make it to the—"

Before Alex could finish his sentence, the door was opened from the outside. He quickly ended the call before raising his head to see Estelle.

Estelle raised an eyebrow. A grin appeared on her face.

"I can't make it? Where can't I go?"

"My wedding," Alex mumbled internally.

But he remained cool as a cucumber on the outside. He replied flatly, "Nothing."

Estelle didn't think much about it. She stripped her pantyhose absentmindedly while asking, "Were you on the phone with your sister?"

Alex hummed as he got up to return to the bedroom. But Estelle grabbed his hand before pulling him into her arms.

Her warm breath fanned across Alex's ear, making the atmosphere between them very steamy.

"Then did you tell her what sort of relationship we're in?"

Alex smiled at the question, though the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "Didn't you say you don't want her to know the truth?"

"It's not that I don't want to—it's just that I can't. Judging from Clara's personality, if she finds out that her best friend is dating her baby brother, she'll definitely fly here overnight just to denounce her friendship with me."

Alex's eyelashes trembled slightly at Estelle's joking tone. Still, his voice remained calm.

"So, do you view me as your boyfriend?"

Estelle raised an eyebrow at the sudden question. "If you weren't my boyfriend, would I have lived with you for six years? If not for your status as my boyfriend, would I have embraced you the moment I came home? Would I do such things to you if I didn't see you as my boyfriend at all?"

As she spoke, she rubbed her lips against Alex's neck, causing him to stiffen up immediately. He tilted his head in order to dodge Estelle's kiss.

"I… I'm tired today."

Estelle thought Alex was merely being shy, which made her chuckle. "My dear boyfriend, we've been together for so long. Why are you still so shy?"

She ruffled Alex's hair before heading toward the bathroom.

As he listened to Estelle's receding footsteps, he finally repeated that term under his breath.

Boyfriend?

Wasn't he just a replacement?

Eight years ago, Alex met Estelle for the very first time. She and Clara were college roommates. Since they shared a tight-knitted relationship, Clara would always take Estelle out for shopping. Sometimes, they'd even go back to Clara's home for meals.

Teenagers were prone to love at first sight. In Alex's case, the moment he laid his eyes on the cold yet enchanting Estelle for the first time, he fell in love with her right away.

After that, Alex graduated from high school. Estelle graduated from college as well, so she returned to Jhecmel, her hometown. Since Alex missed Estelle terribly, he decided to enroll at a college in Jhecmel despite his family's objections.

It was Alex's first time moving into a brand new city, so he wasn't familiar with how things worked. Not to mention, he was also an introverted and reserved young man.

Clara was worried about him managing on his own in Jhecmel, so she entrusted him to Estelle. She even got him to move into Estelle's apartment for the time being.

At first, Alex and Estelle didn't interact with each other much. He was busy with his studies, whereas she spent her days racing and dating. At that time, Estelle frequently changed her boyfriends every now and then.

Things changed during Alex's second semester in his freshman year.

One night, Estelle stumbled home in an extremely intoxicated state. Flustered, Alex did his best to take care of her.

It was already late at night. As he gazed at the sleeping woman on the couch, he found himself raising his hand, hoping to iron out the wrinkled knot between her brows.

The moment his finger touched her forehead, Estelle's eyes flew open abruptly.

After cracking her eyes open, she asked in a casual yet seductive tone, "You like me, right?"

With his thoughts exposed, Alex shot up to his feet. "N-No…"

Estelle merely smiled flippantly. "If that's not the case, then why does your face turn so red whenever you see me?"

Alex didn't expect Estelle to notice him every time he snuck a look at her. For a moment, he didn't know what to do.

But Estelle just giggled as she placed her hand on the back of his head before pulling him down for a kiss.

Alex immersed himself in the gentle kiss that went on for too long. He couldn't bring himself to stop kissing Estelle at all.

After sharing a night of passion, Alex's tranquil life went through a massive change. Estelle, the well-known playgirl, finally settled down. She focused on her relationship with Alex.

At the same time, Alex rejected his family's request to go for a business alliance in their hometown numerous times. He was adamant on staying in Jhecmel so that he could be with Estelle.

Clara often asked Alex if he had a sweetheart in Jhecmel and if she was the reason behind his six-year stay in that city.

During those times, Alex badly wanted to come clean about his relationship with Estelle. He wanted to let everyone know that he was dating Clara's best friend.

But Estelle kept stopping him.

For so long, Alex didn't know the reason behind Estelle's reluctance. The answer came a few days ago.

That night, Estelle had too much to drink at a gathering. When Alex picked her up from the restaurant, one of Estelle's friends, who was extremely drunk, pointed at him sympathetically.

"How could a guy as innocent as you fall into Estelle's trap as well? Young man, I'm telling you, do not fall in love with Estelle! That woman is heartless, you know? You and all of her ex-boyfriends… are just Jared's replacements at the end of the day."

This was Alex's first time hearing Jared Leek's name. Since then, he couldn't forget that name. After asking around Estelle's connections, he finally pieced the truth together.

Estelle and Jared were each other's first love. But Jared broke up with her and insisted on leaving the country during the year Estelle loved him the most.

Since Estelle was stuck too deep in her love for Jared, she let herself go and became a flirtatious playgirl. After that, she began cycling through her boyfriends.

Each boyfriend resembled Jared in a way. This included Alex.

After graduating, Estelle refused to take over her family's business. Instead, she was bent on becoming a racer. It all stemmed from something Jared had said when he was young.

"Girls who race look super cool and have vibrant personalities! I'm definitely marrying a racer in the future!"

To think that six years of youth and love were nothing but an illusion…

At that moment, Alex made up his mind to go home for the business alliance.

He no longer wanted to be with Estelle, nor would he love her ever again.

Chapter 2

The next day, Alex's biological clock woke him up at 7:00 am. The moment he opened his eyes, he noticed Estelle, who was adjusting her blouse in front of the mirror.

Estelle was a night owl who had a reversed sleeping schedule. It was Alex's first time seeing her up so early in the morning.

Upon hearing his footsteps, Estelle turned around to look at Alex. "Do I look pretty?"

She had always been a natural model who'd look beautiful even in just a plain black shirt. Today, she specifically dolled herself up, making her look even more gorgeous. She could easily wink in a direction, and all of the guys there would fall head over heels in love with her.

Alex didn't know why Estelle went to such great lengths to look good today. In the past, he'd fall under her spell as well. But now, he merely nodded calmly.

"Yeah. You look beautiful."

Estelle didn't notice that something was off with him. Her lips curled into a small smile at his compliment.

"I have a gathering to attend today. Stay home like a good boy, okay? I'll bring some desserts home for you."

After that, she turned to leave.

Once Estelle's figure completely disappeared from Alex's line of sight, he went to pour himself a glass of water. But that was when he noticed Estelle's phone, which was still on the table.

When he picked the phone up, he accidentally pressed a button, causing the screen to light up. A new message popped up on the screen. It came from a sender named "Jared".

"Estelle, it's been eight years since we last met. I can't wait to attend today's gathering. What about you?"

Alex halted in his steps when he saw the message. It turned out that Estelle's first love was back in the country today.

No wonder she woke up this early and even dolled herself up. The delight on her face was plain to see.

The front door was opened the next second. Estelle was back in the apartment for her phone.

Before she left, she scanned the contents on her phone. The message caused her to freeze in her tracks for a split second. Then, she glanced at Alex, who was having his breakfast at the moment.

"Did you peek at my phone just now?"

Alex looked up at Estelle calmly. "Nope. What's wrong?"

Only then did Estelle smile in relief. She told Alex that it was nothing before leaving the apartment again.

For the first time ever, Alex didn't know what Estelle was thinking.

Since she only cared about Jared and kept dating men who were his replacements, typically speaking, she shouldn't care about Alex at all.

In that case, why would she care about whether or not he found out about the truth? Was she scared of losing him?

Alex didn't want to be delusional. Besides, he knew very well that his breakup with Estelle was inevitable.

After breakfast, he sat before his computer and opened an illustration software.

Alex was a comic artist. Once he returned to his hometown, he'd be busy with his wedding. He most likely wouldn't be able to resume working for a very long time.

That was why he planned on finishing the rest of his manuscripts.

After working throughout the morning, Alex sent the work he had finished to his editor. Then, he had lunch.

Since the weather was quite decent, he decided to take the liberty to clean out the apartment. Among all the things he packed up were couple mugs, keychains, scarves, and jackets.

Alex had bought these things over the past few years. Those items were enough to completely fill a large box.

When he saw those things, he'd always remember the exasperated look on Estelle's face whenever he asked her to wear or use them.

"These are things that only young girls like. Do you really want my friends to laugh at me whenever we show up like this in public?"

With that memory haunting him, Alex picked up the box and headed out of the apartment block. He proceeded to dump the whole box into the dumpster.

Good. Now, no one would make fun of Estelle anymore.

Once Alex dealt with the trash, he was about to go home when he bumped into a soft body.

Estelle, who had just returned, wrapped an arm around Alex's shoulders. She used her free hand to sweep Alex's sweat-drenched bangs away.

"What did you throw away? Why are you all sweaty?"

"Some useless trash." Alex came up with an excuse on the spot while keeping a poker face. Estelle didn't doubt his words at all. She just led him upstairs.

The moment the elevator doors slid open, the garbage truck happened to stop by the apartment. Its engines rumbled loudly the whole time.

After witnessing the box of items getting transported by the garbage truck, Alex finally averted his gaze.

How could there be a huge box of trash out of nowhere? If Estelle were to glance at the box, she'd know that something was up. But she didn't even ask Alex any questions.

The truth was, she didn't care about the box at all.

A hint of self-deprecation flickered across Alex's eyes. That was when he caught the hint of happiness that had yet to fade from Estelle's face from the corner of his eyes. It took him by surprise.

Estelle's eyes were enchanting and alluring. No one would be able to look away from her whenever she smiled.

Perhaps she knew where her charms lay. Most of the time, she was often smiling at others.

Everyone thought she had a good temper. Only Alex knew that Estelle's smile was fake. It never reached her eyes.

But today, she was genuinely happy whenever she smiled. It seemed that she was extremely delighted to see Jared.

Once Estelle entered the apartment, she realized that it looked a lot emptier than usual. She scanned around her surroundings, a surprised look on her face.

"Did someone rob our place? Why do I feel like we've lost a lot of stuff? Where's the mug? What about the cushion?"

Alex was about to answer Estelle's question when her phone let out a few notification chimes. She looked at the new messages on her phone, which made her forget about all her questions.

Then, she made a beeline toward her study. Before closing the door, she even told Alex, "Alex, I have something to do at the moment. You should go to bed without waiting for me."

Alex didn't ask Estelle anything. He just returned to the bedroom on his own.

Once the minute hand on the clock ticked past 12:00 am, Alex's phone, which was buried under his pillow, began vibrating.

"Alex, happy birthday!"

"Dear Alex, happy 23rd birthday! Remember to eat your cake!"

All the text messages wished Alex a happy birthday. His parents, sister, friends, classmates… Even those who were far away from him all wished him happy birthday.

Only his girlfriend, who stayed in the same apartment as him, seemed to have forgotten all about his birthday. After all, she had more important things to do.

Chapter 3

Alex closed the movie that was playing on his laptop. Then, he tapped the cursor on the WhatsApp notifications that kept popping up on the bottom right corner of his monitor.

It was an ongoing conversation between Estelle and Jared.

Estelle had no idea that she had logged into her WhatsApp account on this laptop. That was why Alex could see everything that was going on her WhatsApp.

He watched as Estelle and Jared reminisced about their past together before moving on to the present state of things. Then, they began discussing their future.

They had been chatting for so long, yet never once did Estelle mention Alex in the conversation.

Then again, he was just a replacement who was meant to comfort Estelle during her lonely times. Why would she bring him up in front of her first love?

Alex continued staring at the chat interface, where new messages kept popping up continuously. Then, he turned off the laptop.

After that, he had a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Alex was awakened by the sounds of a doorbell ringing.

He walked into the living room while rubbing his eyes blearily. There, he saw Estelle, who had woken up earlier, turning around with a bouquet of flowers and a birthday cake in her arms.

"Alex, did you order a cake? Why did you feel like eating cake all of a sudden?"

The atmosphere in the living room was silent for a few seconds. Only then did Alex answer Estelle's question coolly.

"It's my birthday today. My friend must have ordered this cake for me."

Estelle was left rooted to the spot upon hearing the answer. She glanced at the calendar on the wall instinctively, soon realizing that it was already July 12th.

She actually forgot about Alex's birthday!

Guilt flashed across Estelle's eyes. She quickly put down the things in her arms before pushing Alex back into the room.

"Since today's your birthday, why don't we go out on a date? What would you like to eat?"

"It's fine. We can celebrate at home."

Alex rejected Estelle's suggestion right away. But she insisted on celebrating his birthday outside. She even handed Alex a nice outfit from the closet.

Knowing that he couldn't argue against her, Alex could only freshen up and change clothes before following her out of the apartment.

Both of them went to their favorite restaurant to have breakfast. After that, they watched the latest movie together before going shopping at the mall.

Alex went to the washroom at one point. When he returned, he saw Estelle on the phone. Apparently, she had requested her family to help her reserve a pinky ring, which was very expensive.

That ring happened to be the one Alex had his eye on after seeing it in a magazine half a month ago.

The sight of Estelle looking so anxious made Alex feel mixed feelings. He couldn't understand what she was thinking.

She remembered the jewelry he glanced at a few times in a magazine, yet she completely forgot about his birthday, which was supposed to be the most important occasion ever.

Did Estelle really not know where her priorities should lie?

But when Alex thought about it, he knew that Estelle was good at prioritizing stuff. Before Jared's return, she viewed Alex as Jared 2.0, so she cared about him a lot.

Once Jared was back, it was only natural for Estelle to pay attention to him instead. That was why she forgot all about Alex.

Alex remained moody throughout the morning. He didn't seem that interested in spending his birthday with Estelle at all.

Estelle could tell that Alex wasn't focusing on their date, so she ruffled his hair. "Why don't you look happy at all, birthday boy? Is it because you're not happy with today's arrangements?"

Now that Alex thought about it, Estelle loved ruffling his hair a lot. Perhaps she subconsciously treated him like her younger brother instead of her boyfriend.

Alex shook his head in response. He was about to suggest going home due to exhaustion when Estelle flagged down a cab. She then told the driver the address of a villa that was located in the mountain area.

When faced with Alex's surprised look, Estelle merely quirked an eyebrow.

"Haven't you always wanted to meet my friends? Everyone's free today, so I'll introduce you to them. It should be able to brighten up your day, right?"

Alex was slightly surprised by the unexpected turn in their schedule.

In the past, Estelle didn't want him to meet her family, so he decided to meet her friends instead. But she'd always come up with various excuses to turn him down. After a long time passed, he decided not to bring it up anymore.

Now that Alex was about to leave Jhelmec, Estelle decided to take him to meet her friends just because of the guilt that plagued her temporarily. It truly was ironic.

Alex watched the scenery outside the window change quietly. In the end, he didn't say anything.

The cab stopped halfway up the mountain. Estelle led Alex into the villa before pushing the heavy door open.

A few loud bangs sounded at that moment, followed by a spread of colorful streamers and glitter cascading from the ceiling. A bustling crowd squeezed out of the villa while wishing Alex a happy birthday with grins on their faces.

Upon seeing the chaos, Estelle quickly shielded Alex behind her. As she removed the streamers from his head, she chased her friends away.

"Watch it. Don't frighten my birthday boy. He's a shy—"

Before she could finish her sentence, her voice trailed off right away. Her expression changed the moment she saw a familiar face in the crowd.

Jared still looked as gracious as ever. He approached Estelle and Alex with a smile on his face.

"Estelle, I've been abroad for so many years. It's been so long since I last attended a gathering. I heard that you're going celebrate your boyfriend's birthday this morning, so I decided to attend as well. I hope I'm welcome here."

Estelle scanned around the crowd coldly. Judging from the way they averted their gazes and pretended they had nothing to do with Jared's appearance, no one had the guts to look her in the eye.

Alex could tell that the atmosphere was about to get spoiled. He took the initiative to greet Jared by sticking his hand out politely.

"Welcome. Nice to meet you. I'm Alex Foster."

Jared stared at Alex for quite some time. Realization dawned on him as he took Alex's hand with a half-smile on his face.

"Hello. I'm Jared Leek, a… a friend of Estelle's. Alex, has anyone told you that we look alike?"

Chapter 4

The moment Jared's words fell, Estelle's grip on Alex's arm tightened immediately.

But Alex remained composed. "Is that so? What a nice coincidence."

Since the atmosphere was already tense, everyone else tried to hype things up again. Soon, Estelle's friends started drinking and playing games together. Things started to get noisy and boisterous.

Alex didn't know anyone, nor did he want to join in on the fun. So, he just sat on the couch.

Although Estelle sat next to Alex, her gaze kept falling on the table on her left. Alex followed her line of sight, soon spotting Jared, who was the one partying the hardest.

At first, Estelle was still trying to keep herself under control. But when she saw Jared picking up the wine glass in front of him, she could no longer restrain herself.

She leaped up to her feet before rushing over to snatch the glass out of Jared's hand. Her voice was laced with a strong hint of dissatisfaction.

"You're allergic to alcohol, yet you're still drinking? Are you crazy?"

The entire room fell silent because of how agitated Estelle sounded. Everyone turned to look in her direction right away.

Jared toyed with the dice in his hand, a knowing smile curling on his lips. "It's been so many years, yet you still remember that, huh?"

Before Estelle could say anything, a few of her drunk friends suddenly leaned over while hollering at the top of their lungs.

"How is it possible for Estelle to forget about that? Back when you two were dating, you were the only thing that lovesick fool cared!"

Upon hearing her friends' words, Estelle subconsciously turned to glance at Alex. Her expression was stormy, and she snapped angrily, "Go sober up if you're already drunk! Why are you spouting nonsense instead?"

The friends paled when they heard Estelle's sharp tone. Only then did they realize Alex was around, so they were quick to ease the atmosphere.

"Right! We shouldn't drink so much! The game isn't over yet!"

"Come, let's start the next round!"

The tense atmosphere finally reverted to its boisterous state.

Estelle suppressed her roiling emotions as she returned to the couch. There, she picked up a glass of juice from the table before passing it to Alex.

Alex didn't say nor ask anything. He just accepted the glass and took a few sips out of it. But his tranquil expression worried Estelle instead.

She was about to explain herself when the crowd behind her went into another uproar.

"Jared lost this round! Let me draw the card! Ah, let me see… You got 'truth' this round! Here's the question on the card! If there ever exists a possibility, will you get back together with your ex-girlfriend?"

In the midst of the sudden silence, Jared turned to look at Estelle with a small smile on his face.

"Hell. No."

The room fell extremely quiet after that. No one dared to utter a word at all. But it was as though Jared couldn't sense the tension. He kept demanding they start a new round.

While the crowd played along with Jared, they kept glancing at the fuming Estelle, who looked like she was about to flip the table once and for all. None of them dared to even breathe too loud.

After that, Jared lost the latest round of truth or dare.

Just as he was about to receive his punishment, Estelle couldn't hold herself back anymore. She grabbed his hand before dragging him out of the room.

Judging from everyone's faces, they had predicted it would happen. No one asked about Estelle and Jared after that. Instead, they began doing their own thing.

But Alex could see the two figures arguing with each other through the floor-to-ceiling windows. At the same time, he could hear their intense argument, though it was muffled.

The sight of them arguing gave Alex mixed feelings once again. Based on his memories, Estelle was the sort who didn't care about anything at all. There was always a lazy smile plastered on her face.

He had known her for eight years. This was his first time seeing Estelle's emotions so out of control. To think that she'd lose control of herself just because Jared had said "hell no" to getting back with her…

It turned out that everyone was equally pitiful when they weren't loved by the people they loved the most.

At the end of the argument, Estelle seemed enraged. She stomped away from the villa angrily without looking back.

When everyone saw Jared return to the villa on his own, they knew it was the end of the party. So, they came up with their own excuses and left as soon as possible.

Alex, the supposed star of the party, got up to his feet amidst the chaos. Before leaving, he went to use the washroom. He could hear a flurry of footsteps echoing through his stall.

A moment later, a young man's voice drifted through the door. He was one of those people who hyped things up the most at the party.

"Jared, you're still in love with Estelle. Not to mention, you came back to the country just for her. If so, why did you say those things just now? How can you get back with her if you've pissed her off to the point she leaves you?"

The sounds of flowing water rang out for a few moments. Then, Jared replied with a smile, "If I don't argue with her, how will she remember what happened eight years ago?

"I want her to remember the intense pain of breaking up with me as well as the frustration of not being able to be with the man she loves. That way, she'll keep thinking of me."

The other guy exclaimed, "Hang on, it's been eight years! How can she still keep thinking of you? Look at all the boyfriends she got all these years! All of them looked just like you!

"The one she brought here today might have dated her for a long time, but it seems that she's just toying around with her.

"Today's supposed to be his birthday, but Estelle was paying attention to you the whole time! Not only that, but she has also neglected him. It's so funny to see her acting like this!"

As Jared listened to his friend's joking words, he laughed with him as well.

Then, he said, "You don't understand. The Jeffries family is an elite family in Jhecmel. Estelle is outstanding in terms of looks and personality. It's only natural for her family to look down on my ordinary background.

"Once the time comes, they will definitely find Estelle a husband who's in her league. I can only use this method to make sure that her heart truly belongs to me.

"Although we've fought today, she'll calm down in a few days. When the time comes, I'll just use a random excuse to patch up things with her. She'll definitely return to my side after that."

The moment Jared was done speaking, the stall's door was flung open all of a sudden.

Alex stood at the doorway, staring at Jared and a couple of guys.

Chapter 5

Jared and his friends turned to look in Alex's direction from their positions at the washroom sinks.

When Jared saw Alex, he was left stunned for a long time. Finally, he plastered another smile on his face.

"Alex, what are you doing here? You didn't happen to overhear what we said just now, did you?"

Alex shot him a look. Then, he slowly walked toward a sink.

"I heard everything," he replied coolly.

Jared didn't expect Alex to admit everything so honestly. His expression darkened instantly.

His friends sensed that something was wrong. They moved to teach Alex a lesson on Jared's behalf.

But Alex merely turned on the water tap without giving them a chance to say anything. "Those who take advantage of sincerity will never be treated sincerely."

That sentence was enough to shut Jared up. Annoyed, he glared at Alex, soon noticing the mole on the corner of the latter's eyes. It was then he relaxed.

A mocking smile now decorating his face, Jared said, "You're just a replacement who never received Estelle's love. You don't even have the right to bring up sincerity in front of me."

"Precisely! I wonder who's the one who got abandoned in this godforsaken place!"

"What a pathetic boyfriend!"

After the trio jeered at Alex, they left the washroom together.

Alex didn't go after them. Estelle was toying with his feelings, whereas Jared was toying with hers. Perhaps karmic retribution really was a thing.

He was about to flag down a cab at the front door when he remembered that he was halfway up the mountain. As expected, all the e-hailing apps he had showed that there weren't any available rides nearby.

On top of that, it seemed as though Jared had said something to the rest of Estelle's friends—more than a dozen cars drove past Alex, yet none of the drivers offered to give him a ride.

Alex saw Jared getting into the last car. When he noticed Jared lowering the car window just to shoot him a smug look, he knew right away that Jared was getting revenge on him.

Still, Alex merely smiled before starting his trek down the mountain.

The evening wind messed up his hair. It was eerily quiet in the mountains. Only the sounds of bugs occasionally chirping accompanied him the whole way down the mountain.

Alex let his mind wander around. Memories flashed through his mind, stitching together a movie reel for him. Everything felt unrealistic to him at that moment.

Love. Replacement. First love returning to the country. Birthday. Sincerity…

Suddenly, Alex got a little curious about the answer to a question. If Estelle were to find out that Jared's act of playing hard had manipulated her into tormenting Alex for eight long years, how would she feel?

It was already 8:00 pm by the time Alex got home. He took off his shoes and stared at the bloodied blisters on his feet. Inhaling sharply from the pain, he went to grab the first aid kit.

By the time he was done treating his blisters, he was already exhausted. So, he went to bed after washing up in the bathroom.

When Alex woke up the next day, the room looked exactly the way he left it last night.

Alex didn't care about where Estelle had gone last night. He got out of bed and changed the bandages on his feet.

Just as he was done bandaging himself, Clara gave him a call.

"Alex, did you go to bed early last night? Why didn't you respond to my messages? I wanted to let you know that your fiancée prepared many birthday surprises for you.

"Not only did she ask me to transfer a huge sum of money to you, but she also delivered a bunch of goodies to our home. You can use them as soon as you come home.

"So? What do you think? The fiancée I found for you is pretty good, right?"

Alex turned on the speaker mode before swiping down the notification center on his phone. As expected, he saw a transaction of 50 million dollars.

He was about to respond to Clara when Estelle suddenly came home.

"Fiancée? What fiancée?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Clara instantly perked up. "Alex, who spoke just now? Was that Estelle? Why would she be with you at this hour?"

Alex's heart went tense instantly. He quickly came up with an excuse before ending the call.

The sight of Alex looking so nervous made Estelle smile once again. Then, she pretended to get mad at him.

"Why did you end the call without letting me have a nice, long chat with my best friend? Am I so embarrassing that you don't want to introduce me to her?"

Alex didn't want to keep the joke going. He retorted calmly, "I thought you didn't want her to know the true nature of our relationship."