Chapter 4

The moment Jared's words fell, Estelle's grip on Alex's arm tightened immediately. But Alex remained composed. "Is that so? What a nice coincidence." Since the atmosphere was already tense, everyone else tried to hype things up again. Soon, Estelle's friends started drinking and playing games together. Things started to get noisy and boisterous. Alex didn't know anyone, nor did he want to join in on the fun. So, he just sat on the couch. Although Estelle sat next to Alex, her gaze kept falling on the table on her left. Alex followed her line of sight, soon spotting Jared, who was the one partying the hardest. At first, Estelle was still trying to keep herself under control. But when she saw Jared picking up the wine glass in front of him, she could no longer restrain herself. She leaped up to her feet before rushing over to snatch the glass out of Jared's hand. Her voice was laced with a strong hint of dissatisfaction. "You're allergic to alcohol, yet you're still drinking? Are you crazy?" The entire room fell silent because of how agitated Estelle sounded. Everyone turned to look in her direction right away. Jared toyed with the dice in his hand, a knowing smile curling on his lips. "It's been so many years, yet you still remember that, huh?" Before Estelle could say anything, a few of her drunk friends suddenly leaned over while hollering at the top of their lungs. "How is it possible for Estelle to forget about that? Back when you two were dating, you were the only thing that lovesick fool cared!" Upon hearing her friends' words, Estelle subconsciously turned to glance at Alex. Her expression was stormy, and she snapped angrily, "Go sober up if you're already drunk! Why are you spouting nonsense instead?" The friends paled when they heard Estelle's sharp tone. Only then did they realize Alex was around, so they were quick to ease the atmosphere. "Right! We shouldn't drink so much! The game isn't over yet!" "Come, let's start the next round!" The tense atmosphere finally reverted to its boisterous state. Estelle suppressed her roiling emotions as she returned to the couch. There, she picked up a glass of juice from the table before passing it to Alex. Alex didn't say nor ask anything. He just accepted the glass and took a few sips out of it. But his tranquil expression worried Estelle instead. She was about to explain herself when the crowd behind her went into another uproar. "Jared lost this round! Let me draw the card! Ah, let me see… You got 'truth' this round! Here's the question on the card! If there ever exists a possibility, will you get back together with your ex-girlfriend?" In the midst of the sudden silence, Jared turned to look at Estelle with a small smile on his face. "Hell. No." The room fell extremely quiet after that. No one dared to utter a word at all. But it was as though Jared couldn't sense the tension. He kept demanding they start a new round. While the crowd played along with Jared, they kept glancing at the fuming Estelle, who looked like she was about to flip the table once and for all. None of them dared to even breathe too loud. After that, Jared lost the latest round of truth or dare. Just as he was about to receive his punishment, Estelle couldn't hold herself back anymore. She grabbed his hand before dragging him out of the room. Judging from everyone's faces, they had predicted it would happen. No one asked about Estelle and Jared after that. Instead, they began doing their own thing. But Alex could see the two figures arguing with each other through the floor-to-ceiling windows. At the same time, he could hear their intense argument, though it was muffled. The sight of them arguing gave Alex mixed feelings once again. Based on his memories, Estelle was the sort who didn't care about anything at all. There was always a lazy smile plastered on her face. He had known her for eight years. This was his first time seeing Estelle's emotions so out of control. To think that she'd lose control of herself just because Jared had said "hell no" to getting back with her… It turned out that everyone was equally pitiful when they weren't loved by the people they loved the most. At the end of the argument, Estelle seemed enraged. She stomped away from the villa angrily without looking back. When everyone saw Jared return to the villa on his own, they knew it was the end of the party. So, they came up with their own excuses and left as soon as possible. Alex, the supposed star of the party, got up to his feet amidst the chaos. Before leaving, he went to use the washroom. He could hear a flurry of footsteps echoing through his stall. A moment later, a young man's voice drifted through the door. He was one of those people who hyped things up the most at the party. "Jared, you're still in love with Estelle. Not to mention, you came back to the country just for her. If so, why did you say those things just now? How can you get back with her if you've pissed her off to the point she leaves you?" The sounds of flowing water rang out for a few moments. Then, Jared replied with a smile, "If I don't argue with her, how will she remember what happened eight years ago? "I want her to remember the intense pain of breaking up with me as well as the frustration of not being able to be with the man she loves. That way, she'll keep thinking of me." The other guy exclaimed, "Hang on, it's been eight years! How can she still keep thinking of you? Look at all the boyfriends she got all these years! All of them looked just like you! "The one she brought here today might have dated her for a long time, but it seems that she's just toying around with her. "Today's supposed to be his birthday, but Estelle was paying attention to you the whole time! Not only that, but she has also neglected him. It's so funny to see her acting like this!" As Jared listened to his friend's joking words, he laughed with him as well. Then, he said, "You don't understand. The Jeffries family is an elite family in Jhecmel. Estelle is outstanding in terms of looks and personality. It's only natural for her family to look down on my ordinary background. "Once the time comes, they will definitely find Estelle a husband who's in her league. I can only use this method to make sure that her heart truly belongs to me. "Although we've fought today, she'll calm down in a few days. When the time comes, I'll just use a random excuse to patch up things with her. She'll definitely return to my side after that." The moment Jared was done speaking, the stall's door was flung open all of a sudden. Alex stood at the doorway, staring at Jared and a couple of guys.