Chapter 2
Someone nudged me, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I’m not sure how long I had been standing there lost in thought, but the atmosphere had grown tense.
All eyes were on me.
“Lily, if you’re going to make a scene, go home. Don’t embarrass me here!”
Hearing his harsh rebuke, I suddenly felt it all pointless. I grabbed my purse from the booth and headed for the exit.
“I’ll be going then. Have fun, everyone.”
I waved behind me as I walked away without looking back.
As I was leaving, I heard Rose say to Gabriel in her sickeningly sweet voice:
“Gabe, you don’t think Lily’s mad at me again, do you? I really didn’t mean any harm!”
Gabriel gently reassured her: “It’s not your fault. Don’t worry about it.”
Whatever was happening in that room no longer concerned me.
Even if they were rolling around in bed right now, it wouldn’t faze me one bit.
After all, to outsiders, they looked more like the intimate couple. I was the one intruding between them.
They shamelessly acted intimate under the guise of being “siblings” time and time again, right in front of others.
Those suggestive words, those repeated boundary-pushing tests.
They played me perfectly, accusing me of being petty the moment I got upset.
This time was no different - the same old story, the same accusations.
Gabriel took advantage of my feelings for him, acting without a care.
I had just gotten in the car when I received a video message from a friend.
The video showed Gabriel and Rose dancing closely, then passionately kissing.
I couldn’t even finish watching before feeling nauseous, like I had just kissed a toilet seat.
My friend also sent a message asking: “Are you really not going to do anything about this?”
After the wave of nausea passed, I sat back in my seat, staring blankly at the message.
Was there even any point anymore?
I couldn’t figure it out after thinking for a while. Annoyed, I turned off my phone screen. With a roar of the engine, I drove out of the parking garage.
I rolled down the window, letting the chilly night air clear my muddled mind.
Suddenly, I realized - maybe I could stop loving Gabriel.
I returned to the home Gabriel and I shared. Everything in this place was decorated to his taste.
From the overall style down to each little ornament.
Everything except me.
After three years of living here with him, I had grown accustomed to it all.
I loved everything here as much as I loved Gabriel.
But now, it all seemed laughable.
I went upstairs to get ready for bed, then fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Around 4 or 5 in the morning, I heard the front door open downstairs.
Gabriel was back.
I had thought he wouldn’t come home tonight. I didn’t get up to greet him, just rolled over and went back to sleep.
Before I could drift off, I heard something shatter downstairs.
He probably bumped into something in the dark, not used to the lights being off.
In the past, I always left the lights on waiting for him, even if he didn’t come home until morning.
This was the first time I hadn’t waited up with the lights on.
He pushed open the bedroom door, light from the hallway falling across me.
There was no arguing like he expected.