Chapter 3

Darius fell silent at once, looking rather disgruntled.

As we got out of the car, he hurried around to my side and reached out to take my hand. But I shifted to the side, subtle and composed, tucking my hands into my coat pockets instead.

The next second, Sonya squeezed in and affectionately linked her arm through his.

Darius didn't pull away. In fact, he instinctively shielded her with his other hand, ensuring that she wouldn't bump into the car door.

I took it all in and said nothing, simply walking straight ahead of them.

The moment the door to our new home opened, Sonya's "upset stomach" seemed to vanish. She pulled Darius along, moving excitedly from room to room, pointing everywhere as she offered her critiques and opinions.

"Darius! Didn't I tell you the last time that I didn't like the color of the curtains in the guest room? Why haven't you changed them out?"

Hearing this, I stopped in my tracks and said, "I was the one who told the workers not to change the colors. The color you picked was hideous.

"And this is Darius's and my marital home, so I believe that you don't have any say in the matter at all."

Sonya's smile froze instantly. She didn't expect me to call her out so bluntly in front of Darius, and she stood there stunned for a couple of seconds.

She quickly leaned in and grabbed my arm, acting coquettish.

"Don't say things like that, Rennie. You're still upset that we never took you with us on our trip to Mistland, aren't you?

"I'm sorry! I just saw how busy you'd been lately and thought you might need a weekend off to yourself. That's why… We've known each other for 18 years now. Why are we still drawing such clear boundaries between us anyway?"

I pushed her off coldly.

"Boundaries? Sure. Why don't you marry Darius instead, then? It's precisely because we've known each other so long that I know exactly what's going on in your head, Sonya Berger. So stop it with the act."

She was speechless again. Then, her eyes reddened, and she began to sob.

"No, it's not like that… Don't think about me that way, Rennie! I really just—"

I took a deep breath. Since things had already reached this point, there was no need for me to maintain any sense of decorum with her anymore. I was just going to lay down my cards on the table.

"Whenever I speak, the two of you always treat me as though I'm invisible. You'll both be deep in an animated conversation right in front of me without ever including me in it. And whenever I ask you a question, you act as though you never heard a thing.

"And you went off alone with my fiancé, watching movies with him, having meals with him, and even traveling alone together, under the guise of being 'my best friend'. If you asked a random person on the street, they would tell you it's absolutely not normal.

"Do you still need me to spell things out for you, Sonya? Can't you be just a little less shameless for once?"

Sonya was stunned into silence by my words. She covered her face and began sobbing even harder.

Darius, who had been watching from the side, couldn't stand it any longer and stepped forward, shoving me aside.

"What are you saying, Rennie Carlson? Nothing is going on between Sonya and me! We've known each other for a long time, and if there really were to be anything between us, it would have already happened ages ago!

"Can't you stop thinking nonsense for a second? I brought you here to comfort Sonya, not make her more upset like this by yelling in her face!"

I lost my balance and stumbled backward, hitting my back against the wall behind me with a loud, painful grunt. Darius instinctively reached out to grab me, but ultimately, his arm froze mid-air.

Instead, he turned and comforted Sonya beside him.

"Apologize to Sonya, Rennie, and we'll call it quits. Stop causing more trouble for everyone."

I saw the judgment and accusation in his eyes, and my heart hurt so much I went numb. I just braced myself against the wall and looked at him.

"We are not calling it quits. There are some things I need to talk to you about alone. I'll be waiting for you in the master bedroom. And this time, you had better not bring anyone with you."

Then, I walked right past him.

Darius lingered downstairs for a long while, comforting Sonya and handing her a key and a gift box before turning around and coming after me.

"Here, Rennie. This is for you," he said, handing me another gift box. "Sonya and I picked it out for you while we were in Mistland. We were also thinking about you while we were there, so just stop being mad at us. I promise that I'll be more careful in the future and not make you angry again."

I glanced at the gift box and didn't bother taking it from him. Instead, I held out my hand to him and asked, "Weren't there two keys when the lock was installed? That'll be one for you and one for me. Where's mine?"

Darius averted his gaze, looking away in guilt. "I… I'll come and pick you up from work every day from now on. You won't need a key for the house. It's easy for you to lose it if you keep it with you anyway."

"You gave it to Sonya, didn't you?" I said, bursting into laughter at the ridiculousness of it all. "I'm your fiancée, Darius Shaffer, and the future mistress of this house. And you're telling me that I don't even deserve to have my own key?

"Does it even make sense to you? You know it will make me angry, and that I would mind, yet you still gave the other key to someone else. Is this our marital house or your marital house with Sonya?"

Darius was left speechless. After a long while, he finally answered in a low voice, "I'll get another key made for you later on. You know Sonya didn't come from a good family, and I just wanted to make her feel secure by giving her the key. You're her best friend too. Wouldn't you want—"

I couldn't hold back anymore and yelled, "You know better than I do who's the one taking her as a best friend!"

Before I was even done yelling, the door burst open, and Sonya rushed in.

"Darius! You got the gifts mixed up! I should be the one getting the ten-dollar bracelet! How could you have given me the one that cost 40 thousand dollars? And you even engraved my name into it? Give it to Rennie at once!"

Darius glanced at her.

"No, I didn't get it wrong. You told me that you'd never worn anything that expensive before, so I thought of giving you one for yourself."

Then, Darius stuffed the other gift box into my hand, forcing me to take it. He then got worried that I would get mad again, so he softened his tone with me and said, "I don't have that much cash on me, so hold on to this bracelet for the meantime.

"Just wait until I get my year-end bonus next time, and I'll give you an even better one. You know that Sonya's situation is worse than yours, and she doesn't earn as much as you do anyway. You even recommended her for a job at your company.

"Just think of it as pitying her, alright? Stop getting mad at her over insignificant things like this anymore."

Sonya also looked at me with tears in her eyes. "Rennie, won't you please forgive me?"