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?"