My Fiancé Took Her to the World Cup — and Left Me to Babysit Their Cat Chapter 02

My Fiancé Took Her to the World Cup — and Left Me to Babysit Their Cat Chapter 02

While packing, I realized one of the herbal sleep pillows my grandmother Eleanor Hart had given me was missing.

I worked under a lot of pressure, and I had never slept well.

So Grandma Ellie had gone out of town to find a herbalist who could make me two herbal sleep pillows, one to use while the other aired out.

It was because of those two pillows that my grandmother got into the car accident that killed her.

From then on, those pillows became the most precious things she had left me.

After Alex finished his video call, he was about to leave.

I stopped him.

“Have you seen the other herbal sleep pillow my grandma gave me?”

Alex thought for a moment.

“Check the guest room, Serena’s room.”

“If it isn’t there, then it’s probably at Serena’s place.”

We had lived in this apartment for seven years.

At first, we rented it. Later, we bought it from the landlord.

I thought a one-bedroom would be enough for the two of us.

He insisted on a two-bedroom, saying friends might need to stay over sometimes.

In all these years, he had never let any of his friends spend the night, not even when one of them got dumped and drank himself into a stupor.

He booked that friend a hotel instead.

The second bedroom in our home had only ever been used by Serena.

Every time, it was because she was drunk.

I asked Alex to take her home or get her a room somewhere else.

Every time, he said it wasn’t safe for a drunk girl to stay outside alone.

He knew I minded.

He knew I would be jealous.

But he still let Serena spend the night here again and again.

Sometimes, he didn’t even tell me until after it happened.

Later, because I minded, he installed cameras at home.

His excuse was that with cameras watching, he and Serena were obviously innocent.

Our home didn’t just have a bedroom specially prepared for Serena.

Her personal things also appeared from time to time: lipstick, socks, jewelry, even underwear.

In the past, I would have fought with him at home over things like that.

Now I simply went to the second bedroom in silence.

The herbal sleep pillow wasn’t there.

No fight. No scene.

I drove straight to Serena’s condo in the Heights District.

Serena looked surprised to see me.

“Oh, Elena. What brings you here? This is your first time at my place, isn’t it?”

She smiled and invited me in.

“I’m here for the herbal sleep pillow.”

She smiled, then turned to pour me some water.

In reality, she was texting.

If I guessed correctly, she was probably complaining to Alex.

“You don’t need to pour water. I’ll take my thing and leave.”

She came back, rubbing the back of her head as if she couldn’t remember where it was.

“Check the second room on the right. Alex slept there last time.”

My heart stalled.

I had never known Alex had spent the night at her place.

As I passed the living room, I saw women’s clothes hanging on the balcony, mixed in with Alex’s clothes.

Even his boxers were hanging right next to Serena’s underwear.

Serena followed my gaze and said casually, “That jerk Alex drank too much last night. He didn’t just puke all over himself. He got it all over me too.”

“So I washed his clothes.”

It sounded like an explanation, but every word was a provocation.

Before, she had never provoked me so openly.

She would even promise me that she and Alex were only childhood friends.

That she had absolutely no improper feelings for him.

In the past two years, she had stopped saying that.

Instead, she always acted as if I could believe her or not, and she couldn’t care less either way.

Now she had upgraded to declaring war with her eyes and her suggestive little comments.

She was waiting for me to rip open the thin layer of denial between her and Alex.

Waiting for me to fight her.

But I only answered calmly, “Mm.”

When I looked away, I accidentally noticed the coffee on the coffee table.

It was the brand Alex had loved for years.

Just like in the home I shared with him, there were always Serena’s diet shakes.

I was calmer than I thought I would be.

After the shock passed, a hint of disappointment appeared in Serena’s eyes.

After all, I didn’t fight with her the way she expected.

There was no chance for her to play innocent, make Alex feel sorry for her, and watch him take her side.

I followed her into the room.

As soon as I walked in, I saw the wall beside the bed.

It was covered with photos of her and Alex arranged in the shape of a heart.

Some were casual shots from their daily lives, and some were intimate professional studio portraits.

There were photos of them from baby pictures all the way to now, one for every year.

The photo in the center stood out the most.

Serena wore a white gown with a white veil on her head.

Alex wore a suit, holding her hand as they ran into the wind.

It wasn’t a wedding photo, but it looked exactly like one.

In every picture, Alex smiled naturally and happily.

Serena followed my gaze to the photos on the wall and said, “These are all the beautiful memories Alex and I have collected since we were little.”

I felt nothing.

So when your heart really turned to ash, you truly stopped caring.

My voice only cooled as I echoed, “They are beautiful memories. Yours and his.”

She looked at me and deliberately suggested, “Elena, do you want to join us?”

A cold smile touched my lips.

She was telling me, in the most sugary, passive-aggressive way possible, that among the three of us, I was the latecomer.

Even after being with Alex for twelve years, I was still the outsider.