Chapter 2

Frederick seemed distracted throughout the entire drive. But once he entered the private room at the restaurant and saw the person he'd been hoping to see, he instantly perked up.

In front of Elaine, he acted like a picture-perfect boyfriend and went out of his way to take care of me.

"Your period is about to start soon, baby. I figured you'd feel better if you had something warm, so I ordered you a hot drink," he said in a caring manner. "Don't eat this either. You can't handle spicy foods, and this one's too spicy for you."

I didn't know what was going on back then. I thought Frederick's attentiveness was simply another way of showing me that he loved me. Little did I know, everything he did was merely a ploy to make Elaine jealous.

Whatever he was doing now was a perfect example. He was doing everything he could to make sure I was comfortable, yet his eyes kept drifting toward the woman sitting across from us.

"Wow, Frederick! You've been together for a long time now, but you're still treating Nancy like a princess. You're literally a model boyfriend," said one of our course mates.

"Exactly! I'm so jealous, Nancy. It's not easy to find someone who loves you this much," added another. "The two of you should get married as soon as you graduate. We'll be waiting for our wedding invitations!"

Our course mates laughed and teased us. But the moment they brought up marriage, both Elaine's and Frederick's expressions changed.

Elaine's eyes welled up with tears. She picked up her glass and downed the entire drink in one go.

"Yeah, I'm so jealous of Nancy. It must be nice to have someone who loves you so much," Elaine said. "I'm all alone. Even the person who promised he'd always be there for me as we grew up has abandoned me."

After a pause, she added, "Sorry, guys. I'm not feeling very well, so I'm going to head home. Enjoy the rest of the evening."

Before she left, she cast a tearful glance at Frederick. That fleeting look was enough to pull his attention away from me completely.

Frederick didn't know what to do.

"Elaine? Elaine!" he called after her.

He shot to his feet and ran after her, leaving me alone with everyone else.

"What's going on? Do you want to check on them, Nancy?"

I was at a loss for words, and I didn't know what to do.

I was certain that Frederick was doing everything he could to cheer up his beloved childhood friend. I had no interest in getting involved, but everyone was urging me to go. So eventually, I got up and went after them.

I didn't expect to stumble upon such an interesting scene.

The two of them weren't difficult to find. They had merely slipped away to a relatively secluded spot nearby.

Hiding behind some crates, I watched as Frederick pinned Elaine against the wall and kissed her passionately.

I didn't make a sound. I simply pulled out my phone and started recording.

"I thought you wanted to marry her! Why are you kissing me when you treat her so well and love her so much?" Elaine whined, pouting.

Frederick placed another kiss on her lips. "I'm only treating her that way because of you, dummy. Remember how you cried and threw a fit before claiming you'll marry whoever can help you secure a recommendation for admission?

"I'm only dating her to get a reaction out of you. I wanted to get back at you for insisting you didn't have feelings for me."

Upon hearing this, Elaine wiped away her tears and broke into a smile.

"I was only joking… Did you actually think I was being serious?" she replied. "So, when are you going to break up with her? I don't want you to keep flaunting your relationship in front of me!"

"Don't worry. I'm about to get my hands on her report and research paper soon. Once you use her work to win the competition, the institution will definitely give you a spot. Once everything is settled, we'll make our relationship official."

As Frederick patiently coaxed Elaine, he promised to use all my hard work to pave the way to her success.

I had been reborn, so I already knew that the two of them were cut from the same cloth. But despite that, their words still stung.

I took a deep breath and stopped recording. Then, I slipped back into the private dining room before either of them could notice I'd been eavesdropping.