Chapter 6

Estelle's smile froze on her face. When she noticed Alex's cold expression, she finally realized that he was angry at her. She approached Alex before taking his hand. Then, she produced the pinky ring and placed it onto his palm as though she had conjured it out of nowhere. "I'm sorry. Yesterday, I was busy collecting your birthday gift for you, so I ended up ditching you at the villa. Please forgive me just this once, okay?" To think that Estelle used such a shoddy lie just to shut him up. Did she seriously think he'd forgive her? Alex just stared at Estelle quietly without saying anything. He didn't accept the ring either. Estelle waited for a long time, yet Alex never reacted to her. She let out a sigh before lifting the ring and waggling it in front of him. "Why are you so out of it lately? Are you feeling troubled about something?" Only then did Alex tilt his head and look out the window. He replied coolly, "I am a little troubled about something. Recently, my friend found out that his girlfriend, whom he's been dating for a long time, was lying to him the whole time. "After he found out about the truth, he lamented and confided in me about everything. He asked me whether he should forgive her or not." So, it turned out to be such a small matter. Estelle let out a soft chuckle before giving Alex a rational answer. "What's there to feel troubled about? Liars don't deserve to be forgiven. Just tell him to break up with her already." "Liars don't deserve to be forgiven, huh?" Alex repeated the sentence while mimicking Estelle's tone. Estelle nodded with a smile. Then, she ruffled his hair. "That's right. My darling has to take care not to get tricked in the future." As Alex watched Estelle ruffle his hair, a small smile appeared on his face. "I'll dedicate this sentence to us, then." Estelle frowned slightly. She was about to ask what Alex meant by that when her phone began ringing in her pocket. She didn't even bother looking at the caller ID when she hit the accept button. "Who's this?" "It's me, Estelle. Let's talk." Alex was standing quite close to Estelle. He could make out Jared's voice coming from her phone. He raised his head to see Estelle's expression turn stiff for a few seconds. But soon, she quickly pretended as though nothing happened. She hummed softly in response before ending the call hurriedly. Then, she came up with a random excuse to leave the apartment. Alex glanced at the pinky ring, which had been ditched on the table. Then, he got up and returned to the bedroom. He spent the next two hours working on his manuscripts. Having decided to take a break, he tapped on his social media app right away. His finger scrolled down the page. Then, he noticed that Jared, whom he had added as an online friend yesterday, had uploaded a post half an hour ago. "Eight years have passed, yet you're still the same woman whose heart will soften whenever I take the time to coax you. Life is great." The photo showed a bowl of crayfish and a pair of hands, which were in the midst of peeling a crayfish. Alex smiled lightly as he gazed at the slender hands and the familiar bangle attached to one of the wrists. Then, he turned off his phone. … Over the next few days, Estelle never came home. She'd occasionally shoot Alex a text message, telling him she was busy. But Alex knew exactly where she was thanks to Jared's social media posts. It turned out that Estelle and Jared went to the beach to watch the sunrise. They also went to the amusement park to watch the fireworks. They even took one day off to go camping. Alex knew that Jared specifically posted all those things for him to see. But unlike what Jared expected, Alex didn't get mad at Estelle, nor did he question her whereabouts. All he did was focus on packing up his luggage. Alex had bought a lot of things during all his years in Jhecmel. He needed a few days just to clear everything out. He chose to donate all the expensive things. After the people from the charity organization moved all the things from the apartment, Alex was about to take a break when Estelle called him. He answered the call, only to find out that Estelle wasn't the one talking to him. It was her best friend, Winona Irvine. "Alex, Estelle has gotten into a fight with someone! They're going to participate in a death race soon! Quick, come to the clubhouse and convince her not to do that!" Alex's right eyelid twitched violently when he heard Winona's words. He hesitated for a short while before grabbing his house keys. Soon, he flagged down a cab and rushed toward the clubhouse. The moment the cab reached the clubhouse, Winona, who had been waiting at the entrance, ran over to Alex. She explained everything to him while leading him toward Estelle. "A few days ago, Jared had his eye on a tea set at an auction. Estelle was at the washroom at that time, so someone else got their hands on that tea set. "Estelle noticed that Jared liked the tea set a lot, so she tracked down the buyer and tried to buy it from him. That buyer is also a racer who comes from a rich family. He told her that he wanted to go for something risky. "After that, both of them decided to participate in one race. The tea set will go to the winner. If this were any ordinary race track, I wouldn't have troubled you from the start. But they chose the death track! "That track is incredibly dangerous and deadly! Even legendary racers won't be able to escape unscathed once they race down it! "Alex, you're Estelle's boyfriend! Hurry up and come up with a way to convince her not to do this!"