Alex's probing tone was like a dull knife twisting into my chest. It hurt so much I could barely breathe, yet I still heard him say—
"Stella, don't believe it. Don't listen to other people's nonsense—"
I hung up before he could finish.
If it had only been suspicion at first, then Alex not daring to face my question head-on, his guilt-ridden shift in attitude—it all made one thing crystal clear.
Alex had really betrayed me.
Then what about Naomi?
I sat in the conference room and finished signing the contract with the client. By the time I was done, it was already evening. The phone I'd left on silent was about to explode.
Over a hundred missed calls. Countless WeChat messages and texts—all from Naomi and Alex.
I opened Naomi's chat window. Voice messages.
"Have you lost your mind?"
"You suspect I'm having an affair with Alex?"
"Me? Into that dog Alex Mason?"
"Back then, you insisted on being with him—didn't I tell you to break up? Didn't I say not to be with that dog?"
I remembered.
When I first started dating Alex, I couldn't wait to introduce him to Naomi. I told him she was the most important person on my side, and that I wanted him to treat her as well as he treated me.
I told Naomi too—that I really, really liked Alex.
She promised to observe carefully. But the moment she saw him, she launched in.
"You like our Stella? How many apartments do you have? What kind of car do you drive? How's your income?"
I couldn't even stop her. She'd already blurted out—
"Stella's last boyfriend drove a Porsche. You can't be worse than him, right? Otherwise how's she supposed to show you off?"
Alex held back his anger that day. Kept his manners. Answered every question.
But afterward, he told me, "Stella, honestly? Your friend isn't great. If you keep hanging around someone like that—" His face twisted with disgust. "I'm afraid you'll get dragged down too."
We fought over it. Had a cold war for days.
Naomi told me the same thing from her side. "Someone who can't even tolerate the people closest to you—how can you trust him with your whole life? Stella." She was so earnest. "Break up."
From then on, those two couldn't stand each other. Every time they met, they'd start fighting.
Now, looking back on these seven years—
I felt like a joke.
I came home from the office. Just as I was about to push the door open, a hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me back.
"Stella, why aren't you answering my calls?"
Alex reeked of alcohol. His tone was wounded, like an abandoned puppy.
"I couldn't get through to you. I waited at the restaurant forever, and you never came. Did I say something wrong?"
He leaned in.
I stepped back. Broke free from his grip.
"You're drunk."
His expression froze—like he'd suffered some enormous injustice.
"You're pushing me away?" He stared at me in disbelief. "You're actually pushing me away?"
His eyes turned red.
"Stella, we've been together seven years. You've never pushed me away like this. What did I do wrong?"
He pulled out his phone, shoving it toward me. "If you think I did something to betray you, then go ahead—check. I have nothing to hide."
"Stella."
"But you can't treat me like this."
In all these years, Alex and I had almost never argued.
