Yesterday's Apology Expired

Hayden went still, looking embarrassed, as if he had not expected me to come out and confront him directly.

Kelly frowned. "You two fought? When?"

I looked at her and uttered, "It was just four days ago. He wanted to come with me to see you, but I refused."

Unwilling to accept my answer, he went to see Kelly before I met her to retaliate against me.

"Is that all?" Kelly was still in disbelief.

That was not the only incident. Over the past year, Hayden had been constantly interfering with my time with Kelly.

Whenever I wanted to go to see her, Hayden would pester me to go on a trip with him or ask me to help him because he was sick. When I bought Kelly and myself matching couple rings, he would always buy a similar one and wear it.

I was not stupid, so I politely cut ties with him.

However, I never expected that someone could be so shameless.

Hayden slowly stood up, as if feeling helpless. His voice was soft. "I’m sorry. I'll leave."

With a thud, Kelly jumped up, knocking over a chair. She stood in front of Hayden, her voice deep. "If you want him gone, then I'll go too."

"Go ahead," I retorted quickly, my face calm, cold, and indifferent.

Kelly's expression went blank for a moment because I had never asked her to leave before.

Even during arguments, I was usually the one to give in first. However, I was just too tired now.

Kelly did not budge, stubbornly staring at me, her face tense.

Hayden sneered, grabbed her hand, and pulled her away forcefully. "Let's go. Who does he think he is, bullying us like this? The more you let him do this, the worse you'll be bullied in the future!"

Kelly wavered a little but was eventually pulled away.

After they left, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. I got up and dumped the runny egg on my plate into the trash. Then, I went back to my room to pack my bags.

That night, as I was getting ready for bed, a good friend suddenly messaged me.

[Holy crap, Xavier! Look what I photographed!]

I clicked on it and saw Kelly and Hayden shopping at a famous mall in Jazzville.

Kelly’s fingers were interlaced with Hayden’s. Their bodies were pressed close together, looking like the perfect picture of a couple deeply in love.

Perhaps they became like this long before I was aware of it.

My friend was indignant.

[How shameless! They cheated on you! You were so good to them. I can't deal with this!]

My heart skipped a beat, and I was about to stop him when a video call popped up on my phone. I answered immediately to see my friend roaring at the two of them like an angry lion.

"You scumbags are really shameless! How could you do this to Xavier? Back when you were penniless, who saved their allowance to spend on you? And Hayden, you're utterly heartless! Xavier got you your job. Without him, could you ever have gotten into such a good company?"

Hayden's face was icy as he retorted without a trace of shame, "Did I force him to find that job for me?"

"Enough! Shut up!" Kelly suddenly shrieked.

She looked calmly at the camera. "Xavier, we need to talk. You've really misunderstood. I'll come see you tomorrow morning to clear everything up."

My friend cursed at her before immediately hanging up.

I sighed and comforted him for a while before lying down to sleep.

I had a nearly six-hour flight the next day.

It was 9 AM when I woke up.

I ate some food, waiting for Kelly to come and explain things, but she did not show up until 11 AM.

Unperturbed, I grabbed my luggage and headed out the door.

Kelly called, her voice urgent. "Xavier, I'll see you this afternoon. Hayden suddenly had food poisoning, so I had to take him to the hospital."

"Okay."

Perhaps knowing she had broken her promises to me too many times, she paused and added apologetically, "Wait for me. I'll make it up to you."

I said nothing more and hung up immediately. Then, I blocked her and deleted all her contact information.

After a long sleep on the plane, I arrived in France.

As I walked out of the airport with my luggage, my landlady called. She sounded alarmed. "Xavier, someone is standing outside your door and sobbing. I can't get rid of them! Should I call the police?"

I hummed in reply and told her to go ahead as I hailed a taxi.

Kelly had waited for God knows how long. She frantically snatched up the phone upon hearing my voice.