Hooked Up With My Boyfriend's Best Friend

Under the dark sky, the entire city was illuminated by various colors of light emitted by numerous buildings, cars, street lights, traffic lights, and such.

Stephenie Green was looking out over the bustling city from the top floor of a skyscraper when her phone lit up with a message. Upon looking at it, it came from John Wilson.

John: [Baby, I'm still drinking with my friends, and it's gonna be all night. Don't wait for me anymore. Go to sleep now. Love you.]

Deadpanned, Stephenie replied: [Okay, don't get drunk.]

Just a second later, John texted back: [Okay, Babe.]

While Stephenie stared at the reply, she suddenly heard the bathroom door creak, followed by the sound of footsteps that soon stopped behind her.

Stephenie turned her head only to see Edward Smith with his wet hair combed back and a towel hugging his waist, revealing his welldefined muscles and making him even more attractive.

"I don't hang out with my friend's girlfriend," he said, but his eyes betrayed him, looking seduced as he stared at her filmy slip dress after she removed her down long jacket.

Stephenie closed their distance and replied, "But you still let me in."

Edward looked down at her and succumbed to her pure temptation, which was perfectly highlighted by her lowcut slip dress. Staring at it, his lips curved into a lascivious smirk.

Based on his smile, Stephenie thought Edward was now looking down on her. But she soon shook that thought off as she firmly believed that all men were the same. For her, no man would ever refuse a woman who was already throwing herself into him. Besides, Edward's reputation among John's friends had never been good. In fact, he was known as a playboy in their circle, but his girlfriend had no idea about it since no one had ever told her that her boyfriend of eight years was like that!

Putting that thought aside, Stephenie touched his chin with her index finger and snorted, "You're not friends. You don't even know that John is just hanging out with another good friend next door."

Edward's eyebrows shot up upon hearing her, but he didn't say anything. After all, it was not beyond everyone's knowledge that John and Edward were not close.

Stephenie leaned on his shoulder and stood on tiptoe to kiss him despite the fact that she was totally immature in this regard. She had no prior experience, so she relied solely on her instincts to determine what she needed to do. Surprisingly, it worked on Edward as his breathing became heavy and his body began heating up.

"So you're actually a devil dressed up as an angel, huh," he suddenly remarked in an emotionless tone, then pushed Stephenie to bed.

Although his tone was devoid of emotion, his words sounded mocking to Stephenie.

Unbeknownst to everyone, she had always been a conservative and traditional woman, never rebelling against anything. The only thing she fought for against her auntie was her relationship with John.

"Isn't it a good thing to be a bit naughty?" Stephenie asked, her back sinking into the soft bed and staring at her reflection in Edward's brown eyes. As she did so, she nearly didn't recognize herself due to the heavy makeup she was wearing.

With a hint of playfulness in his sharp, almondshaped, cold eyes, Edward rubbed off some lipstick from the corner of her lips with his rough thumb.

During the coitus, no one dared to speak as they were so focused on and enjoying what they were doing.

In the middle of it, Stephenie suddenly remembered something her best friend Joyce had told her. According to the latter, experienced men knew how to please a woman. However, she couldn't relate to her friend at that time since John was her first love and vice versa. Thus, Joyce felt sorry for her, for that matter. But thanks to Edward for giving her a good experience tonight; she could finally understand what Joyce had said before. Edward was, indeed, a good choice.

But that fantasy didn't last long as Edward headed straight to the bathroom to take a shower as soon as he reached the climax, unabling them to cuddle afterward. It was a slap in the face to Stephenie because it only proved that no feelings were involved in that intercourse.

Even so, Stephenie didn't mind it as she also used him as a tool as he did to her. For her, it was simply releasing her repressed desires, and then she would return to her original as if nothing had happened.

Just like that, Stephenie got out of bed without feeling sentimental after Edward went into the bathroom. But upon picking up her clothes, she discovered that her skirt had been torn and could no longer be worn. Thus, Stephenie took Edward's shirt and wore it instead. Then she wrapped herself in her down long jacket and quietly exited the hotel the same way she had arrived.

Meanwhile, because Eason's wedding was the next day, John and his friends threw a bachelor party for him at the hotel where the ceremony would be held, and they all decided to stay there the entire night.

Hence, Stephenie came to that hotel again at noon the next day for the ceremony, but she happened to meet John in the restaurant where he was having his brunch. Upon seeing her, people started to tease her. "Are you here to check on John, Stephenie?"

Even though Stephenie didn't have even the slightest doubt about John, the latter affectionately snaked his arm around her waist and immediately defended himself, "They can testify that we didn't do anything stupid last night except drinking and chatting."

Stephenie chuckled and jokingly said, "How would I know if you guys aren't covering for each other?"

Suddenly, Eason waved in the direction behind Stephenie and shouted, "You are late, Edward! I can't believe you let the bridegroom wait for you."

Disheveled and only wearing hotel slippers, Edward slowly walked to his reserved seat, which was on Stephenie's right side.

As he walked past her, a familiar cold cedar scent filled her nose, reminding her of the coolness and sharpness of a snowcovered mountain. But instead of sensing coldness from him, his scent brought back the memory of the fiery night to her mind.

As Stephenie delightedly took the glass of juice John had poured for her, she heard Eason ask Edward.

"Aren't you the first one to go back to your room last night? And now you're the last to arrive. So, why do you look so tired?" Eason wondered, his forehead creased in perplexity.

But before Edward could say anything, John answered impliedly, "Edward, don't you dare say you had some special guests in your room last night."

Hearing the latter's tease, Eason became immediately excited and couldn't help but exclaim, "No way! Is it true?"

Alan Carter, who had just returned from the bathroom, heard the chaff and butted in, "Really, that woman's voice was very loud. I slept in the same room with John last night, next to Edward's, and I heard it faintly."

Stephenie subconsciously tightened her grip on the glass of juice as she heard Alan. It never occurred to her that she had moaned so loudly the night before. Not to mention that John didn't recognize her voice, which she found odd.

With that in mind, Stephenie turned to Alan and asked, "Was John drunk last night?"

Alan, who was a seat separated from her due to John and wearing glasses, smiled politely and replied, "No, he wasn't. Don't worry, Stephenie. I'll look after him for you."

John leaned closer into Stephenie's ear and whispered, "Baby, I really did what you told me last night."

Meanwhile, the rest continued to tease Edward. Eason nudged Edward slightly and chaffed, "Good job, bro! You told us you'd go back to make up for some sleep, but you just actually wanted to have fun right a day after you came back."

Edward's grandfather had sent Edward to Australia for some reason two years ago, and he had just returned to Woodlake City the other day.

"It was boring, and she was difficult to deal with," he said slowly, his slender fingers playing with glass and staring at it.

His every word heavily fell on Stephenie's ears, and her brows twitched. But she wasn't sure if he simply didn't care about her presence or if he said it on purpose for her to hear.

Last night, Stephenie thought she did a good job pretending it wasn't her first time, but it turned out that he easily saw through her trick.

"But you still went on it?" Eason pried, which was unusual as he wouldn't take such a topic seriously, thinking that taking one's first time only brought trouble. Furthermore, he believed that even though virgins were like fresh, pure flowers, they lacked experience, resulting in unsatisfactory performance and pleasure. However, with Edward's words, the girl appeared to be a virgin, with whom Edward had impossibly tangled, so Eason's interest was suddenly aroused.

But before Edward could respond, John suddenly interjected, "Hey, Stephenie is here. Drop the topic, please."

Not wanting to tarnish his reputation in front of the ladies, he quickly dropped the subject, smiled at Stephenie, and defended himself. "Don't get me wrong, Stephenie; John and I are strictly controlled by our wives; it's only Edward who likes to play around. But we're now advising him to settle down."

Hearing how the latter attempted to clean up his name and tainted his, Edward cast a sidelong glance at Eason, sneered, and challenged, "Try if you can. Introduce someone who can control me."

"Didn't your family set you up with..." Eason uttered, but soon zipped his mouth when Edward threw a daggerlike glare at him.

After brunch, they went to pick up the bride. Upon arriving at the place, the bridesmaids were also present, so as agreed upon, Eason introduced them to Edward and let him freely choose who he wanted to be his partner.

Earlier, after Edward told Eason his preference, the latter advised the former to first establish a relationship with the bridesmaid. But Eason's efforts were not needed because the moment Edward appeared, he had already captured the attention of every bridesmaid. Well, it wasn't surprising, given that Edward stood out among the five groomsmen, despite the fact that they were all wearing the same suits.

Stephenie couldn't deny that fact as well, but as far as she remembered, when John and Edward were chosen as the "Dashing Duo" by schoolgirls in Woodlake, John had gained more fans by then. But now, Edward had clearly and quietly surpassed John.

"What's the matter with your shirt?" John queried upon noticing Edward's shirt.

The groomsmen's attire was unified, with a suit and a shirt inside. But Edward was not wearing that shirt.

Looking at his shirt, Edward remembered the last night and implicitly answered, "A thief stole it."

"What?" asked John, perplexed.

Luckily, the bridesmaids were asking something, and Edward noticed it, so he tilted his head in their direction, motioning John to attend to their needs.

Meanwhile, Eason had to complete a series of 'challenging tasks' before he could pick his bride up from the suite and bring her to the hall for the wedding ceremony. The first task was to get through a door full of trickery games devised by the bridesmaids.

She'd be one of the laughing and cheering crowd now if she hadn't seen John's explicit chat records and intimate photos with Alan on his phone. But her eyes were now wide open with the truth—her boyfriend's true identity. And seeing John and Alan hooked up together in the name of friendship now, she couldn't help but feel miserable.

Nowadays, men cheat on their girlfriends with other women or, in some cases, men.

After five minutes of sitting on the toilet cover and calming herself down, Stephenie finally went out of the cubicle and washed her hands. Unexpectedly, she ran into Edward as she exited the restroom.

Edward leaned against the railings on the balcony next to the bathroom, facing inside. His towering stature was enhanced by his dark suit. He was wearing a silver stainless steel watch in his left hand, clipping a cigarette between his index and middle fingers, and swiping his phone screen with his right.

Against the grey and gloomy sky in the background, he seemed melancholy, as if he was in a bad mood.

Hearing a door creak, Edward automatically raised his head in its direction. Doing so, his adam apple protruded, adding to the sexiness of his appearance.

For a brief moment, his emotionless, indifferent eyes met Stephenie's, but he quickly returned to his phone and continued to browse as if nothing had happened.

As Stephenie was ashamed of what had happened the night before, she wanted to walk away quietly, but she suddenly remembered something. "I'm the one who took your shirt. I didn't have time to wash it today, so I'll just send it to the laundry tomorrow and return it to you afterward."

With what she said, Edward returned his gaze to her again and put his cigarette into his mouth, causing the thin white smoke slowly puff out of his thin lips. His eyes then boldly scanned her body and commented, "The skirt is good. It's better than the one last night."

Stephenie instinctively looked at her skirt. It had a slit at the side as its style. Seeing this, she soon realized he preferred implicit sexiness.

But she couldn't fathom why he suddenly commented on his skirt. So, she just ignored it and pulled the topic back. "How can I return your shirt? By delivery, or..." Stephenie asked, but she was abruptly cut off by Edward.

"I don't lend things for free," he stated calmly and restrainedly.

After a few seconds, she understood what he meant and found him ridiculous. Hence, she scoffed, repeating what he had said earlier, "Didn't you say it was 'boring' and I'm 'hard to deal with'?"

Using his words against him, Edward's eyebrow shot heavenward and remarked, "What a sharp hearing you have."

"Thank you," Stephenie sarcastically replied. Then she bluntly added, "And you're annoying, by the way."

Edward squinted at her. "No matter how boring it is, it at least solved our crying needs," he snapped as the cigarette between his fingers burned quietly.

After all, Stephenie initiated it, so she had no choice but to accept all of his comments without questioning or refuting him.

Unable to snap back at him, she soon turned around to walk away. Suddenly, she heard John's voice faintly, calling her name and looking for her. But before Stephenie could respond, Edward's arm snaked around her waist from behind and dragged her into the bathroom. After they had entered, he pinned her to the wall and looked down at her. With a distance of only two fingers, he chuckled and asked, "Do you want to play?"

Stephenie hitched her breath when her back hit the cold wall. Their staredown lasted about a minute until they heard a knock on the bathroom door, followed by a voice.

"Stephenie, are you in there?" John asked, knocking repeatedly.

In the cramped space of the bathroom, Stephenie pursed her lips and propped her arm on the sink countertop. She expected to feel no tension because she was prepared for it, but she was mistaken.

That feeling was heightened when Edward pinched her waist with his large hand.

In contrast to his aggressive hand, his face appeared so calm that his voice didn't waver as he uttered a watertight lie. "It's me," he said loudly enough for John, who was standing outside, to hear.

"Edward?" John asked, leaning even more to the door to confirm if he was right. But he didn't wait for Edward to respond and hurriedly fired another question. "Are you in the bathroom alone?"

"And if I say no, will you believe me when I say I'm here with a chick?" Edward teased, smirking while looking straight at Stephenie's eyes.

Stephenie was at a loss for words about how shameless Edward was. Vexed, she grabbed Edward's collar, ready to curse him.

Meanwhile, thinking that Edward was just fooling around, John only chuckled and replied, "You nasty man."

"Did you see Stephenie, by any chance?" This time, it was Alan, who was with John, asked.

Edward leaned over Stephenie, their chests touching, and kissed her nape before he lied again. "Nope."

Stephenie froze in place as his warm breath touched her bare skin, and the hair on her arms stood on end.

After a long time, Edward finally returned to his friends, but he was welcomed by Eason with his long face.

"Where the hell did you go and slack off? The bridesmaids were waiting, and I couldn't find you anywhere; I was so embarrassed in front of my wife!" Eason complained, looking stressed.

Edward creased his forehead and pointed to John and Alan as he asked, "They didn't tell you I was constipated?"

Eason was dumbstruck by the latter's reasoning, but he couldn't bring himself to refute it because he didn't know whether his friend was telling the truth since neither John nor Alan denied it.

While Eason was busy bandying words with Edward, John kept trying to connect with Stephenie's phone when his gaze fell on Edward's disheveled collar. His brow furrowed as his thoughts began to wander, but the phone was patched through, and Stephenie's voice came in, saying, "John, sorry, my phone was in silent mode. I just saw your calls."

"Where are you?" John asked worriedly.

"Shopping," Stephenie answered sparingly.

John was skeptical of her response but brushed it off because he was certain his girlfriend would never lie to him.

Five minutes later, Stephenie finally arrived at the event hall, where the wedding ceremony had just begun.

Naturally, the groomsmen and the bridesmaids sat at the same table, but since Stephenie was John's girlfriend, she was also there, and Edward, who sat diagonally across from her, chatted happily with several bridesmaids throughout the party.

When the party ended around 9:30 pm, John noticed Stephenie's strange walking posture, so he concernedly asked her, "Is there something wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine; it's just that I've been wearing high heels for too long," Stephenie reasoned, then secretly glanced at the culprit, who Eason instructed to send the bridesmaids home.

The wild scenes from earlier flashed through her mind, how Edward rough was to her. Due to that frenetic activity, her legs were still sore up until now, and she couldn't walk properly.

Alan, on the other hand, was more observant than John as he noticed her socks. "Stephenie, did you change your socks? The color appears to be different," Alan observed.

Stephenie licked her lips unconsciously, tucked her hair behind her ears, and lied through her teeth, "Well, it had a stain on it, so I asked the hotel waitress for a new one."

She clearly reminded Edward to be careful, but he didn't listen and tore her socks in the end. Fortunately, the skirt she was wearing matched the one she had worn earlier.

Stephenie leaned into John's ear and whispered, "My menstruation came earlier than expected. I have to buy tampons."

John bought her reason and sweetly scolded her. "You're careless; you've even drunk a cold wine earlier."

As always, he was like an ideal boyfriend, which was why Stephenie had been ultimately duped in the past.

"Sorry, darling, I forgot," she sweetly apologized as she wrapped her arms around John's neck and secretly glanced at Alan.

John was slightly stunned by her sudden embrace, for she rarely took the initiative to have intimate behavior with him in public, but when he noticed the change in Alan's expression, he immediately but gently pulled away from Stephenie's hug and said, "You should go back now for you to have a rest, okay?"

With that, Stephenie excused herself and said goodbye to Eason and his wife. Afterward, she left the hotel with John and Alan.

Just like before, John would drop Stephenie off at her place first. They weren't under the same roof. They had their own apartments. But Stephenie usually paid John a visit on the weekends. The reason for their setup was that their workplaces were far apart, so staying in the same place together was not a wise decision. She used to believe that before, but now Stephenie knew that the real reason was for John to have private space with Alan.

John sent her door to door and was being considerate as usual. After confirming that John had already left, Stephenie went to a nearby pharmacy to buy contraception.

Upon returning to her place, she immediately took the pill and went to the bathroom to take a bath. When she finished cleaning herself up and exited the bathroom, her eyes were drawn to Edward's shirt in the laundry basket. She then picked it up as well as her phone and typed a message on Whatsapp.

She and Edward became Whatsapp friends an hour before she arrived at the hotel last night, but there was nothing special about their conversation.

To cut to the chase, Stephenie did not greet him and directly sent the message, [Netflix and chill?]

Five minutes had already passed, so she thought Edward had no plan to reply to her and was about to put her phone down on the bedside table when her phone vibrated. She opened the messenger right away, only to see a hotel room number, which was obviously Edward's hotel room number.

As such, they shared the same heat for the third time.

The intense, long night rendered Stephenie exhausted, causing her to wake up late and arrive late for work.

She had just graduated from Woodlake University with a master's degree in architecture last year and had just joined a famous local architecture firm named Margin.

Since Stephenie didn't graduate from a wellknown architectural school, she was not qualified enough to be an official architectural designer. She was only hired as a junior assistant architect, whose daily work was doing clerical tasks and outlining the craft design.

When Stephenie arrived at the office, the routine Monday morning meeting had already ended, and she could only participate in the group A meeting of the design department, where she belonged.

After the group meeting, Monica Robles, her supervisor, summoned her to the office.

Thinking it was about her being late, Stephenie quickly apologized as soon as she stepped into the office. "Sorry, Miss Monica. I overslept. Last night's weather made me snuggle in my bed more."

However, that was not the reason for calling her. Monica had only wanted to inform Stephenie of something. "No, that's not why I called you. I just wanted to let you know that Vanloon Property's residential project has a new project manager. So, pause your work in the meantime as you'll be attending the meeting with the new project leader in the afternoon, but you can resume it after discussing the necessary modifications."

Stephenie was not bothered by pausing her work but with the new project manager instead. In that case, the modification would be that simple because she was certain that the entire design scheme would be revamped and they would begin from scratch.

That said, Stephenie only replied, "I see." Feeling helpless and stressed, she excused herself and was about to leave when Monica suddenly spoke up.

"Do you want to cover your nape?" the latter asked, prompting Stephenie to turn around and face her.

Having a slight idea of what her supervisor was referring to, she dashed to the bathroom to confirm her suspicion. When she looked in the mirror and turned her head sideways, she discovered a salacious pink hickey on her nape that Edward had left yesterday.

Well, she had a coat on when she arrived, but because the weather was sultry, she took it off. However, she forgot about her hickey and was wearing a roundneck blouse today, so her entire neck and her hickey were exposed!

To hide it, Stephenie applied powder to lighten its color before covering it with a bandaid so no one else could see it.

Afterward, she returned to her cubicle to start some of her tasks even though her supervisor had told her she could pause them. She was in her seat when Rita Ruschel, a colleague next to her cubicle, slid over to her and teased her, "Quite an intense battle last night, huh?"

Stephenie's hand automatically flew to her nape, and she whispered, "You saw it, too?"

Waving her index finger, Rita answered with a playful smile, "Nope, everyone in the group actually, and now almost the entire institute knows why you're late."

To extreme shame, Stephenie wished the earth would just swallow her whole right at that moment.

The construction employees were busy, but the designers, to whom she belonged, were even busier. So, it was challenging to find time to develop a serious relationship in this industry, leaving many people in that industry single. As such, if one found his/her love who worked in the same industry as him/her, he/she would try his/her best to work that relationship out for that onceinalifetime opportunity not to slip away.

But in Stephenie's case, it was not rare to come as she resembled a goddess. In fact, when she entered the firm, she had already won the hearts of several coworkers even after she had posted a selfie with John on her social media on her first day of work. The latter even always came to pick her up from work, but the number of her admirers didn't cut down a bit.

They were probably under the impression that Stephenie and John were still dating and had not yet married. Furthermore, even married couples got divorced from time to time, so they thought they still had a chance.

Today, her hickey was a bombshell in the entire firm, so Rita couldn't help but be intrigued and asked her privately, "I didn't know that you two are such a lovely couple. So, when do you plan to get married? Haven't you both survived the sevenyear itch smoothly and are now entering your eighth year?"

While the latter was speaking, Stephenie's gaze was drawn to the picture resting next to the pen holder. The photo was taken at her graduation ceremony last July, where she was wearing a degree suit and holding a huge bunch of red roses that John had given her in one arm and John's arm in the other. In the photo, she was grinning from ear to ear as if she were the luckiest person in the whole wide world.

"So? Do you want to see me step into the grave of love?" Stephenie jested, then took the framed picture and stuffed it into her table drawer.

The meeting Monica had mentioned earlier had finally arrived, and Stephenie and her supervisor arrived at Vanloon Property at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. However, because the new project manager was not yet present, they waited in the conference room for about ten minutes.

Afterward, a few people finally entered the room, and the secretary introduced the new project manager, "Hello, everyone! I'd like you to meet Mr. Smith Junior of Vanloon Property. He will be responsible for managing this project."

"Hello, Miss Robles. Nice to meet you," Edward greeted after stepping forward, reaching out his hand, and politely shaking hands with Monica.

Meanwhile, Stephenie, who was standing behind her supervisor, felt her feet root on the ground in great surprise.

Seeing Edward dressed well impressed Stephenie more than seeing him as a best man yesterday. Edward was wearing a goodlooking suit, and his serious face made him more attractive.

Well, maybe because she didn't usually see Edward being dressed and acting like that. She hadn't gotten used to it because Edward didn't look like a womanizer at that point.

Stephenie was confident that their time spent together revealed Edward's genuine attitude. Edward was pretending to be someone who was not him. If Stephenie hadn't got a chance to be with him, she would not know the real Edward, his true colors.

He was obviously here to be a puppet and was constantly playing with his phone. The architectural idea was indeed communicated to them by the planning and design department director. The director was not the same as the last time, and his attitude was significantly worse. She was arrogant as if she were the world's ruler.

While Monica was taking minutes, Stephenie felt sad for her.

Monica was one of the Margin Architecture Firm's three significant partners. She was a senior designer who formerly played a vital part in ALevel Architectural Design Institute, despite being no better than the top leaders.

Many companies wanted to hire Monica when she decided to leave the institute. Until now, headhunters had been tenacious in their attempts to win Monica away with considerable compensation. Monica's design had now been criticized for nothing. On the other hand, Monica was mature and handled the criticism with gentleness. She attentively considered every suggestion from the director, meticulously examined the actual feasibility, and followed up on a compromise proposal.

Three hours later, the meeting ended. Edward ran out of patience and decided to end the session, "Okay, whatever the feasibility, you do what we desire."

While answering his phone call, Edward left without looking back.

"The meeting just ended. Don't be too excited. I'll be there later. You will have a memorable night." He said.

Without explanation, it was obvious that tonight he was going on a romantic dinner date.

On the other hand, Stephenie and Monica were ready to leave as they packed their things, but the director called Monica. The director suddenly shifted her attitude and served Monica dates, expressing her admiration and respect for Monica. She even requested that she not take the discussions and disagreements in the meeting too seriously. The director meant everything she said to help the initiative succeed.

"Well, Stephenie and I were university classmates; how could I purposefully humiliate my classmates in front of everyone?" The director said.

Stephenie was taken aback when she heard it. She studied the woman's face anxiously, trying to recall something about her.

"Did you forget about me? It's me." the director blinked her eyes. "Okay, I will introduce myself properly. Hi, Stephenie. I am Lily Millis."

Stephenie called Joyce and told her what had happened. Joyce was so surprised and couldn't believe what she had heard.

"Are you being serious? Lily Millis? Is she now the first party on your project?" Joyce asked and still shocked. It was true that one of Stephenie's undergraduate classmates was Lily. Nevertheless, there was a "blood hatred" between them for the unbelievable that happened in the past.

"Aw. That was sad. I am sorry to hear that, Stephenie." Joyce was making fun of Stephenie.

"I called you because I want you to comfort rather than mock me. Thank you very much." Stephenie replied irritably.

Joyce laughed as she heard Stephenie's accusation, "I see. You still have time to complain to me, and it appears that Lily didn't give you too many modification recommendations." Joyce wanted to end the call.

The truth was that too many adjustments nearly undid the original plan, so Monica said they wouldn't have to work overtime tonight. But, even if they don't need to work overtime now, they still have a lot of work to do tomorrow.

"Kidding aside, why didn't you recognize Lily immediately?" Joyce asked.

Stephenie massaged her head and said, "You must see her yourself. When you return from your business trip to Woodlake, let's see whether you can recognize her in person or not."

"Did she undergo plastic surgery?" Joyce curiously asked. Stephenie recalled Lily's appearance and realized that it went far beyond cosmetic surgery; she was transformed from head to toe. But she didn't answer and stopped talking about Lily.

"When do you plan to come back?" Stephenie asked to change the topic.

"Is there a problem you want to talk about? What's wrong?" Joyce realized something was wrong.

She was not sure where to begin discussing Alan and John's affair, so she mumbled her lips, "I will tell you when you come back."

At this point, the cab, which had been running well, instantly stopped. Sitting in the back seat, Stephenie was forced forward and landed roughly on the back of the front seat with her forehead. The driver pulled the window down and cursed at the person who caused the car accident, "What's the matter with you? Car racing is prohibited here! Go to hell!"

Stephenie felt dizzy and reached for her phone under the seat. She noticed three race cars around the taxi.

The driver of the lakeblue Bugatti Veyron opened the door, approached, knelt, pushed one arm against the window, and requested with a vague expression, "I was not able to hear you. Could you repeat it? In my face?"

His intimidating attitude so scared the driver that he quickly lost courage and displayed fear, "I am sorry. But no, I didn't say anything. I apologize again. There are still passengers in the back seat. Enjoy the race. Enjoy yourself."

After hearing what the driver said, Edward looked at the backseat, and then she saw Stephenie. Their eyes met unexpectedly. As if she didn't know him, she frowned and kept quiet. On the other hand, Edward didn't greet her either.

Edward turned his head away and looked at the driver. He handed the driver a significant amount of cash, "Here. For mental loss fee."

The driver rejected the money, "No, I am okay."

The drivers of the red and yellow cars beeped their horns and yelled at Edward, "Let's go! We are in a rush! The time is running out!"

Using his chin, Edward pointed to Stephenie and instructed the driver, "Just in case your passenger experienced trauma."

Stephenie didn't understand what he meant, "You're sick!"

Stephenie couldn't help herself but argue and curse Edward.

As he made his way to the back seat, Edward gently tilted his head. Without asking, he unlocked the door and dragged her outside!"

“Let me go! What are you doing?” Stephenie hissed while wriggling in Edward’s arms. However, Edward was stronger than her, so he successfully placed her inside his Bugatti Vernon.

Stephanie was heavily scowling as she watched the retreating taxi. The taxi driver was so scared that he ignored Stephenie’s cries for help and drove away. He didn’t even ask for the fare anymore.

“Unlock this car! Let me out!” she yelled as she slammed the door of Edward’s car.

Meanwhile, Edward leaned closer to her and fastened her seatbelt. “Your screams remind me of the night you were in my room,” he teased.

Stephenie glared at him. In just a blink of an eye, the sports car roared to life and made its way to the highway.

The strong force made Stephenie lean her back against her chair. She could feel her heart pound rapidly against her rib cage while her hand crawled to the car’s handle. She swallowed hard and watched the road ahead of them.

The other sports car appeared beside Edward’s car, driving as fast as Edward. The sounds of their engines blasted through the road, leaving the bustling city behind and speeding into the endless winding mountain highway.

Once they reached the winding mountain road, Edward noticed that the road was a bit steep and the cars wouldn’t fit if they drove together simultaneously. So, he stepped on the gas and squeezed more room on the driveway with the other vehicles.

Of course, Stephenie was terrified for her life!

Not long after, Edward overtook and drove ahead. Stephenie could barely catch her breath as Edward drove through the endless zigzag roads. Stephenie’s eyes almost bulged out when she saw that the car was already beside a high cliff.

She looked behind and saw that the cars were working together to squeeze Edward out of the driveway. The next thing she knew, something bumped into Edward’s car. Edward stepped on the brake, and the car spun so fast that it stopped near the cliff’s edge.

‘This is it. I’m going to die!’ Stephenie thought to herself as she closed her eyes.

After feeling a wave of dizziness, she felt as if her soul had already left her body and couldn’t feel anything until she felt someone push her.

“Hey, don’t ruin my car.”

Stephenie slowly fluttered her eyes open. She slowly grabbed the door handle and hopped out of the car. She felt as if she was floating in the air. With her legs shaking uncontrollably, she immediately fell to the ground.

Stephenie hugged her stomach and threw up. She felt more disgusted, knowing that she hadn’t had any meal yet.

After a while, she heard someone sneer behind her. She gnashed her teeth and raised her pale face.

She found Edward lazily leaning against his car. Behind him was the vast, starry night sky. A cigarette was trapped between his fingers, and his arrogant eyes were directed straight at her. Even when he wasn’t smiling, Stephenie could still sense his joy at her situation.

She clenched her teeth and gave him dagger stares. She just wanted to grab these stones on the ground and throw them at him!

The red and yellow sports cars also arrived at their location. The drivers climbed out of their cars and the two gorgeous women they were with.

The drivers looked as calm as Edward. The two attractive women looked undisturbed, too. Stephenie realized that she was the only one who was greatly affected by the ride.

Edward looked at them. “I haven’t raced for two years. Still can’t beat me, huh?”

The owner of the red car smirked. “Don’t be too cocky. Two wins in three games, remember? We’re still down to two.”

Edward smirked, too. “If you badly want to have a taste of shame, I’ll keep you company until the end.”

Stephenie couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

‘Two more rounds? And I’ll sit in the passenger seat in all those times?’

“What are we waiting for? Let’s do the second round!”

The owner of the yellow car looked at Edward and gestured to Stephenie.

“Can you stand up?” Edward asked her.

“What do you want?” she replied and rolled her eyes.

“If you can’t get up, then stay here and don’t go anywhere else,” Edward strictly said before throwing away his unfinished cigarette. Then, he got inside the car.

One of the women probably felt sorry for Stephenie and went to her side. “This must be your first time? The game they’ll be playing is quite tricky. They’ll speed up their cars and stop in front of their female partners. Whoever stopped the nearest to his partner will win,” she explained.

Stephenie felt like throwing up again.

The woman patted her shoulder. “It’s okay. Don’t be scared. They’re all used to this.”

Stephenie angrily stood up and tumbled toward Edward. “You’re a crazy man! I’m not going to participate in this stupid game of yours!” she muttered impatiently.

Edward rolled the window down and looked at her nonchalantly. “I’ll give you two options. Go back to where you are and stand still, or run away. Let’s see if you’re faster than my car.”

Stephenie clenched her fists. She stared into his eyes and realized that he would definitely do it without a doubt.

When Edward was still a student, one of his classmates was sent to the hospital because of offending him. His classmate didn’t even try to sue him.

After that incident, everybody started to avoid getting on Edward’s nerves.

Stephanie stood still on the mountain top. The harsh glare of the headlights made her squint her eyes a little bit. Several meters from her were Edward’s car, ready and roaring to life.

The next thing she knew, Edward’s car was already galloping toward her. No one even asked her if she was ready or not!

Stephenie closed her eyes. The harsh wind attacked her skin, and the strong urge to run invaded her mind. Her body trembled in fear until she could only hear the sharp sound of the wheel rubbing against the ground and her pounding heart.

The full moon glowed so beautifully across the night sky. Its brightness was illuminated on earth, providing natural light in the silent night.

“Slow down,” Stephenie said as she gulped. She felt a little car sick again.

A trace of fear flashed in her eyes.

Edward glanced at her. “Are you sure?”

Stephenie’s cheeks heated slightly. His question instantly reminded her of their conversations in the hotel bed the night before yesterday.

“Slow down, or I’ll throw up in your car. Your call,” she said like a warning, hiding the embarrassment she was feeling.

The second round of the game ended with 20 in favor of Edward.

‘Does he really have to drive so fast? We’re already in the downtown area,’ she thought.

However, Edward seemed to ignore her warning and still went his own way.

Stephenie’s entire face was as white as paper now. Bullets of sweat trickled from her forehead. She couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened earlier.

She felt like Edward would mercilessly hit her earlier. When he stepped on the brake, Stephenie’s legs were only a millimeter away from touching the hood of his car.

For a while, she was already convinced that she would die that time.

The scene from earlier didn’t leave her mind ever since.

The two women, on the other hand, became stressed and panicked. Edward’s distance from Stephenie was so close that the other drivers needed to hit their partners if they wanted to win.

Of course, the other drivers were competitive. However, their female partners were so scared that they ran away before the car could even halt, scared that they would be hit. According to the rules, the driver would automatically lose if the female partner moved during the game.

Stephenie knew that if she weren’t so scared that her body completely went still, she would also run for her life at that moment.

“Are you crying?” A mocking voice entered her ears.

Stephenie turned away and stared at the scenery outside. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her tears at bay.

Silence filled the entire ride. A few minutes later, Edward stopped his car in front of Stephenie’s apartment.

Stephenie hurriedly unfastened her seat belt, grabbed her bag, and opened the car door. She didn’t even say anything to Edward. The latter, however, caught her wrist and made her sit in the car again.

Stephenie’s head snapped toward him. Her piercing gaze met his eyes. Using his chin, Edward pointed at the outside. She turned her head and saw John standing nearby.

Instinctively, Stephenie ducked her head and opened her bag. She took out her phone and saw several missed calls from John.

Edward chuckled and patted her head as if he was comforting her. “I can’t stand women who cry. But since you behaved well and helped me win the game, a little reward from me wouldn’t hurt.”

Edward’s flashy car was difficult not to be noticed by anyone. Of course, John saw it as soon as it arrived.

He stared at the parked car and noticed how it vibrated repeatedly. He cleared his throat, aware of what the people inside the car were doing.

John was worried about Stephenie, so he went to her apartment. He wanted to tell her that she shouldn’t go home since it was already dark outside her apartment, but she wasn’t picking up his calls.

Minutes had already passed, and he had already decided to go to Margin to check if she was working overtime.

John glanced at the car again. The window on the driver’s seat was half open, so he instantly recognized who it was.

“Edward?” John exclaimed as he walked toward the car. “Is this your new car?”

His eyes widened when he realized that Edward wasn’t alone inside. A woman was sitting on his lap, and her arms were encircled around his neck. John couldn’t see the woman’s face since her head was buried in Edward’s neck.

It was dark inside the car, so John could barely see them. Only a small area of the woman’s skin on her nape was exposed. A bandaid was also placed on her neck.

Sensing that he might have caught Edward at the wrong time, he backed away and smiled awkwardly. “Let’s catch up next time, alright?”

“Why are you here?” Edward asked, ignoring his statement.

“Stephenie lives here,” he answered and pointed at the building.

“Oh,” Edward said meaningfully. “What a coincidence.”

John’s brows knitted in confusion. “Why are you here?”

Edward smirked. “Not obvious enough?” He adjusted in his seat, making the mysterious woman groan.

John grimaced. He wasn’t fond of witnessing these things. He gave Edward another awkward smile. “Well, I’ll get going now. I’m going to fetch Stephenie at her workplace.”

John started to walk away until he heard Edward shout his name.

“Are you and Alan going to do this all the time?”

Confusion was etched on John’s face. “What? What’s wrong with us?” he asked.

Edward’s cold brown eyes flickered with something, but John wasn’t able to notice it. “Nothing. I hope you and Stephenie will have a happy and healthy relationship.”

“Thanks, man. Our relationship’s great. You know what I went through just to be with her, right? She’ll be happy as long as she’s with me. I promise.”

Edward didn’t reply. Instead, he rolled up the window before John could see the sarcasm in his eyes.

The woman in his arms silently kissed his ear. Edward turned to her and smiled. He saw the car shake more violently. The woman’s palm was pressed on the window, which was already fogged by the sweat of the people inside.

The image of the woman’s nape popped into his mind again. He didn’t know why but he felt like he had already seen it before.

Stephenie groaned as she put on her clothes. Her legs would hurt tomorrow, for sure. She quickly buttoned her top, wanting to get out of the car as soon as she could.

Her body was covered with sweat, and the smell of the car and Edward stuck to her skin like a magnet. She badly needed a shower. Now.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Edward asked with a frown.

Stephenie sneered at him. Unlike her, he obviously enjoyed the little stunt they pulled earlier.

“What do you want me to do? Hang out with you inside this car a little longer? Besides, you badly need to shower.”

Edward chuckled grimly. The darkness inside the car didn’t do justice to his handsome face.

“Isn’t it too late to think about my hygiene now? Hmm?”

“What are you talking about?” Stephenie batted her eyelashes innocently. “I’m just worried about your health, okay?”

Edward pursed his lips as he stared at her. Without any word, he stretched out his hand, grabbed her waist, and pushed her back to the passenger seat.

“Why would I look for somebody else when this beautiful woman is already sitting in my front seat?” he teased.

The two stared into each other’s eyes and didn’t say anything.

After a while, Edward finally let her go. Stephenie felt her legs tremble as she climbed out of the car, probably from all the things they did today.

Edward stared at her while she limped her way to the apartment. “Are you sure you’re going to make it to your place with that pace? I can carry you upstairs,” he said.

Stephenie turned her head and glared at him. The man only shrugged his shoulders.

As soon as she arrived at her place, Stephenie’s phone rang. She answered John’s call and explained that she had a meeting with Monica at the coffee shop to revise some plans.

“You scared me there, Stephenie,” John sighed.

“I know. I’m sorry,” she murmured.

“I’m glad you’re safe and okay,” John replied. “I was just worried because you told me you just had your period, and Mom asked me to bring some medicine for you.”

Stephenie smiled. “Periods are a normal thing for us, you know. Tell your mother I said thanks.”

“You know my mother, Stephenie. She’s always worried about your health. She’s scared that a small illness can affect your body and chances of getting pregnant in the future,” John muttered quietly.

Stephenie fell silent.

Although he couldn’t see her expression, John thought Stephenie probably felt shy about his statement. A faint blush also appeared on his face. “II mean, I’m not insinuating anything. Don’t drink the meds if you don’t feel like it. It’s totally up to you.”

Well, this was not the first time that John’s mother hinted to them about having a baby.

A few years ago, she convinced the couple to get married, but John told her that Stephenie was still studying. He also didn’t want to pressure his girlfriend.

But recently, John’s mother always advised them that having a baby before marriage was okay.

With eight years of being in a relationship, no one would think that the couple had not done it yet.

Stephenie was a sophomore in college when she started dating John.

Stephenie was willing to be intimate with him, but it was John who insisted that they should wait until they got married. Not to mention that Stephenie was too shy to initiate things like that.

One time, they went on a trip with friends. They had to share one room, so Joyce, her notsogoodinfluence friend, encouraged her to tempt her boyfriend a little bit. So, Stephenie went out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel around her body.

However, the brute didn’t do anything.

They spent the rest of the night just lying in bed and talking about random things.

“I want to be a responsible and honest man,” John told Stephenie once. He really treated such activity as sacred and promised himself that he would only do it on their wedding night.

Of course, Stephenie respected his belief. She even felt touched when she learned about this.

Unlike her, Joyce was not convinced of John. She warned her friend that no sane man would say no to temptation and desire. So, it’s either John was not interested in her or had some manhood issues. And his belief was just a madeup excuse.

Stephenie thought that Joyce was being ridiculous. She told her that she was just being judgmental and she believed her boyfriend.

For her, if there was only one good man in the world, it must be John.

But now, everything she believed in shattered in front of her.

She was crushed to the bone. Exhaustion had already conquered her system.

After she hung up the call, Stephenie sat on the sofa and started removing her clothes.

She stared at her reflection in the long mirror in front of her.

A small bruise formed on her forehead. She remembered how her head hit the window earlier when the taxi driver suddenly stepped on the brakes.

Then, earlier, Edward thought it was fun to poke her bruise, in which he earned a bite mark on the shoulder from Stephenie.

She turned on the shower. The warm water drizzled on her body like rain. Stephenie closed her eyes and recalled the conversation between Edward and John earlier.

‘Well, it’s really true that they were not exactly friends,’ she thought.

Stephenie spent the next few days busy with her drawings and designs.

But despite all the things she had been doing, the nagging feeling about her boyfriend didn’t leave her mind ever since.

Joyce had always seen Stephenie as the calm and trusting girlfriend. She was obedient and didn’t even think about flirting with other men. Sometimes, Joyce would even complain about her being too prudent and lame.

Joyce believed that women should have fun from time to time and not stay too faithful or clingy to their boyfriends. Or else the men would quickly lose interest in them.

According to her, Stephenie and John’s relationship was dull. They seemed like an old domesticated couple who acted like they had been married for years. Joyce sometimes asked her friend if she ever got bored of her relationship with John.

Stephenie, on the other hand, would answer the same thing over and over again. She would defend their relationship by saying they were comfortable with each other and simply going with the flow.

Unlike Stephenie, Joyce’s relationships had been eventful. She had witnessed her friend suffer from heartbreak and exhaustion, which made her feel sad and scared at the same time.

Although she admired Joyce’s fearlessness and courage, Stephenie felt like this type of thing was not for her.

One of the things that she learned from her parents was to be sure and careful with whatever she did.

Still, John cheated on her. And all she wanted was to give him a taste of his own medicine.

If he cheated on her with his best friend, she would cheat on him with his socalled friend.

‘You want to be with Alan? Well, I won’t make it too easy for you,’ she thought.

Later that night, Stephenie asked John to fetch her to the office. She told him he should do it every night since she didn’t feel safe going home alone.

She also asked for some popular snacks from Rita and then asked John to buy them for her.

Just like what Stephenie had expected, Alan was with John every night.

They worked together in the same company, so it wasn’t a surprise that they both leave from work at the same time. She also heard that Alan didn’t know how to drive, so John would always give him a free ride.

Before, Stephenie was cool with the idea. Of course, there was nothing wrong with helping a friend.

But recently, she would always notice things about the two. For one, John and Alan had the same phone model. Their clothes would also come from the same brand or wear the same color of shirts on the same day.

Alan always sat in the passenger seat. But for the first time, Stephenie wanted to sit beside her boyfriend.

Before, every time John would pick her up, she would automatically sit in the backseat.

“Thanks for warming the seat for me, Alan,” Stephenie said with a smirk. Alan only smiled at her.

The car slowed down as the traffic light turned red. Stephenie bit the snack she was eating before offering it to John.

“Try this, babe.”

John leaned closer to her and opened his mouth. While chewing, Stephenie suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled up on his chest.

John chuckled at her girlfriend’s sudden clinginess. “Hmm… You’re suddenly clingy these past few days.”

“Why? Can’t I hug you?” Stephenie pouted her lips. She secretly glanced at Alan over John’s shoulder. “I’m just stressed from work, that’s all.”

John listened to her talk about work. He softly rubbed her back and said, “I’ll talk to Edward later, okay? I’ll ask him if he can do something about your coworkers.”

“Is that okay?” Stephenie softly asked.

“Of course,” John answered and smiled. “Edward’s a playboy. His father thought it would be best if he trained him in that real estate subsidiary to tame him. So, Edward’s eager to finish his job as soon as he can.”

Stephenie chuckled. “You better work hard and marry me, Mister. That way, I can quit my job and depend on your money,” she joked.

John snorted at her statement. Knowing how workaholic Stephenie was, he doubted that she would really stop working.

“Are you willing to resign, though?”

“Of course! Why not?” Stephenie sat up properly and stared at him.

“I want to get married, John. I mean it.”

At that moment, Stephenie was enjoying the interesting expression on John's face, which helped her forget how boring it was to work extra hours for days. Still, the next day, Alan didn't come along when John came to pick her up from work, and because of curiosity, Stephanie tried to ask John about it carefully, "Why didn't Alan come with you today?"

"Alan had an appointment with clients," John explained plainly.

Stephenie looked at him and clearly felt he was a little bit spacey. "Are you okay? Why do you seem restless?"

"Really?" John tried to dispel her doubts, but then he said, "I do feel tired these days."

"Sorry, John. I know it was all my fault for being too cautious. I'm just afraid to go home alone because my colleagues say a stalker is lingering around, but you don't have to pick me up from now on since you are so busy. I'll take a taxi starting tomorrow."

"It's the boyfriend's duty to pick up his girlfriend from work, Stephenie. Don't think about it." John spoiled, patted her head, and added, "I just didn't sleep well last night."

The next day, Stephenie did what she had just said; she refused John to pick her up. Besides, Joyce finally came back to Woodlake after her halfmonth business trip.

It was Friday, and Stephenie made the final confirmation with Monica before 6 p.m. when she was usually offduty. She then gave the new plan to Lily, who was in charge of the project, then started her weekend and went straight to the nightclub to meet Joyce.

Joyce always went to the nightclub to spend time with friends and have fun. On the other hand, Stephenie rarely visited the nightclub as she was not in an environment that was filled with alcohol and the smoke of cigarettes. But tonight, Joyce invited Stephenie to meet her at the nightclub, and Stephenie somehow accepted her offer.

When Stephenie arrived and sat on her seat, it didn't take long for Joyce to open her mouth and ask her, "You and John finally broke up?"

Stephenie thought she would receive greetings first, but it was far from what she had just expected. Stephenie didn't answer her but grabbed Joyce's glass and tossed it off the drink.

Joyce's eyes widened as she was surprised by Stephanie's fastgrabbing hand. She didn't even have the opportunity to stop her. "Hey, Stephenie! Careful! It is strong! Don't drink it off!"

Stephenie ignored Joyce's caution and drank it off, but she immediately felt choked and coughed because of the burning and sore throat.

Joyce panicked and said with pulledup brows, " Are you okay?!"

Stephenie released air exaggeratedly from her mouth, then smiled; this girl felt fantastic. She quickly grabbed Joyce's hand and stood up.

"What are you doing? Where are we going?" Joyce reacted. Clueless in Stephenie's actions.

Stephenie turned around and walked toward the dance floor while holding Joyce's hand. "Teach me to flirt."

Stephenie asked the right person to help her because Joyce had a lot of experience seducing handsome guys. She was also good at finding highquality guys and interacting with them.

Since her enlightened close friend desired to learn, Joyce was more than willing to teach her. So Joyce smiled and said, "Alright, if that's what you want, I will."

But this time, a woman on the dance floor was becoming the center of attention. Blurred radium spotlight, sparkling diamond miniskirt, and hot, sexy dance. She was surrounded by people who whistled and cheered for her.

Joyce stared at the woman who applied purple lipstick on her lips and whispered to Stephenie, "She looks familiar. Have we met her before?"

"She's Lily Millis."

"Damn! You were right. She completely changed from head to toe." Joyce was in shock but soon figured out why the woman looked familiar. "Stephenie, you were her plastic surgery sample, right?"

Stephenie was stunned. "What?"

Joyce raised Stephenie's chin and said, "Don't you know what you look like? I found that Lily's face was completely your lower version!"

Stephenie blankly looked back at Lily on the dance floor.

Then not long after, Lily was picked up by three men.

However, Lily ignored them and twisted her waist flexibility, rubbing another man's body up and down, causing the bystander to flush. The man also seemed interested in Lily, indulging Lily's explicit provocation with the usual Playboy smile on his lips.

The man was none other than...

"Edward?" Joyce didn't expect what she was seeing. "Isn't he in Australia?"

"He just came back last week." While talking, Stephenie saw Lily put her arms around Edward's neck and approached her charming scarlet, purple lips to his.