4.
Moira's face went red in an instant.
Gilbert stepped sideways too, putting distance between them.
He shot me a warning glare.
"Lucius, don't go making things up! I only think of Moira as a little sister."
Moira jumped in the second he said it.
"A dirty mind sees dirt everywhere."
I stared straight at her.
"Am I really the one making things up?"
Moira looked uneasy.
"Lucius, what's that supposed to mean?"
I didn't look at her.
Ever since the scene had started, more and more onlookers had gathered, and some had even taken out their phones to film.
I wandered over to one of them, pulled her aside, and turned my phone screen toward her.
"Miss, I saw you filming just now. Might as well get this on camera too."
She looked startled at the tug.
Then she read what was on my screen, her eyes went wide, and the way she looked at Moira turned to disgust.
"Damn, so this whole time you've been the one getting cheated on!"
"What kind of nerve does this woman have, dragging the guy she's cheating with right in front of you?"
The color drained from Moira's face.
She lunged forward and snatched the phone out of my hand.
"Lucius, what did you show them?"
"Nothing. Just a photo of you passed out drunk, lying in your dear Gilbert's arms."
The crowd sucked in a breath.
The looks turned on me grew more and more sympathetic.
"And here I thought this guy was the one who'd wronged her. Turns out..."
"How does she have the nerve to cheat and then come make a scene in front of the guy she's with? Disgusting."
"Why is someone like that even allowed in the shop? Boss, throw them out before they dirty the whole place."
The herb-shop owner listened to all this, then walked over to the two of them, his face cold.
"You two had better go. My shop is small. There's no room for you here."
Moira's chest went tight.
Countless cameras were trained on her and Gilbert's faces.
She scrambled to hide behind Gilbert.
"Stop filming! I didn't, quit spouting nonsense here."
I stood quietly off to the side.
There was more than one photo on my phone.
They were from the old days, back when we all hung out together. My friends couldn't stand watching me fawn over Moira, so they'd snapped these on the sly and sent them to me.
They'd wanted me to see her for what she was.
It had taken me this long to understand why.
But at least I'd never deleted them.
And now they'd finally come in handy.
Moira's eyes went red.
After the scene I'd made, it finally sank in for her that I really was breaking up.
"Lucius, you'll regret this! When that day comes, even if you beg me, I won't spare you a single glance."
With that, she grabbed Gilbert and left in disgrace.
Watching them go, my chest clenched hard.
All those years I'd poured into it couldn't just vanish in a moment.
But there was no going back.
Once Gilbert was gone, the crowd in the shop drifted apart.
The owner clapped me on the shoulder.
"Kid, you're still young. No need to break your heart over something like this."
I nodded.
That was true.
I was still young.
At most, all of it had been trial and error for me.
I had plenty of chances to start over.
"Thanks, boss. Next time you've got something good, I'll be back to find you."
