Chapter 5

Alyssa remained silent the whole time. After a while, she no longer wanted to continue pretending. "It's late. I'm leaving," she said. Stefan stood up to follow her, but several of his friends quickly stopped him. "Alyssa has a weak body; she needs to rest," one of them said. "But it's been a long time since we all hung out. You can't leave now!" His other friend quickly agreed. "Yeah, let Alyssa go back and get some sleep. You can stay and have fun with us!" Alyssa gently pulled her hand out of Stefan's grasp and spoke slowly. "The driver will take me back. You should stay." As soon as she finished speaking, she turned and walked away so briskly that Stefan didn't manage to stop her. It wasn't long after the car left that Alyssa found a phone in her coat pocket that wasn't hers. It had a black case—it was Stefan's. With a frown, she told the driver to turn around. Right when the car stopped outside the bar, Alyssa saw Juliette getting out of a cab. Juliette was busy checking her makeup on her phone. She didn't even have to watch where she was going as she headed straight for the private room. Alyssa instinctively tightened her grip on the phone and followed Juliette. Sure enough, Juliette stopped in front of the room where Stefan was. As soon as she entered, she threw herself into his arms. Stefan immediately wrapped his arm around her waist and lovingly tousled her locks. "You're here early." Juliette leaned against his shoulder with a playful smile. "I missed you! I rushed right over as soon as I got your call." Stefan chuckled at that. "In that case, you deserve a reward." With that, he placed a passionate kiss on her lips. Their tongues entwined as their kiss deepened. "Alright, alright, no more showing off!" Stefan's friends didn't seem surprised at all. They even started to laugh and tease the couple. As Alyssa stood outside the door and watched everything through the crack, she felt a chill run through her body. It turned out that everyone knew about Stefan's affair with Juliette. They had all been putting on an act in front of Alyssa. "Stef, now that Julie's here, we can do something more… daring, right?" Stefan's friends laughed as they called for the women who were in the room earlier. Soon, almost every man was holding a woman in his arms. The game was simple. After spinning a bottle, whoever the bottle pointed to has to play Truth or Dare. After several rounds, the bottle finally pointed at Stefan. Everyone cheered, the excitement in the room reaching a peak. "Stef, when was the last time you got busy?" The question was filled with innuendo; everyone knew what was being implied. Stefan raised an eyebrow and answered, unfazed, "Yesterday. In the car." The response caused an uproar within the group. "Damn, that's impressive! How was it?" Juliette, already blushing, buried her face in Stefan's chest. Stefan smiled slyly and explained, "She served me well. It was… intoxicating." One of his friends laughed. "I told you, the grass is always greener!" "Exactly, Stef," another agreed. "All men of our status have women on the side." A third friend added, "As long as you keep it a secret, you can enjoy life to the fullest. Alyssa will never know." As they continued to joke, the men kissed their companions and did more inappropriate things. When Alyssa's name was mentioned, Stefan's smile faltered. His expression darkened, and he became serious. "Don't let Lyssa know, or… you know the consequences." "We got it! She won't find out." Every word was like a dagger to Alyssa's heart. The laughter and taunts reverberated in her ears, and she felt a coldness spread through her body. Her legs went numb, and in a daze, she trudged out of the building. The driver, who noticed her change in demeanor, hurried to her side and intended to go in to notify Stefan. However, Alyssa stopped him. "No need to send me home. I'd like to take a stroll by myself. And don't tell Stefan I came back." After sending the driver back, Alyssa walked alone on the empty streets. Rain suddenly began to pour down, but she seemed unaffected by it. The cold rain only made her more alert. Time seemed to go by as she walked. She kept going for a long time—longer than the night when she was 17 and hurt her ankle in the snow, and Stefan piggybacked her home. At that moment, she realized how quickly feelings could change.