Chapter 3

Theo's POV

Lilith would get upset whenever we got into a fight. She thought that I was too petty, which made her uncomfortable. However, she was still upset even though I wasn't being petty at that moment.

"What are you trying to say, Theo?" she demanded. "What on earth did I do to make you upset? Why are you acting so cold?"

"I'm not," I replied. "You're overthinking it."

Lilith angrily slapped the steering wheel. "You actually do mind that Declan sat in the passenger seat that's supposed to exclusively belong to you, right? You're mad at me!

"I only sent him to the hospital because he's your best friend. I wouldn't have helped him if I had known that you would mind so much. I should have just let him die of his illness! That way, you wouldn't be upset because he wouldn't have left his cigarettes behind."

It was clear that Lilith was still trying to convince me that Declan had only left the pack of cigarettes in the car because she sent him to the hospital. In reality, he had left it behind when they were fooling around with each other.

However, there wasn't even a trace of guilt on her face as I looked at her. It was as if her explanation was actually what happened.

Lilith was such a good actress. It was impossible to tell how many times I had fallen for her lies in the years that we were together.

"You can think whatever you want," I said, not bothering to give her a proper answer.

Lilith sulked the entire time as she drove us home.

…

Carrying my suitcase, I unlocked the door with my key. The moment the door swung open, I saw Declan sitting in the living room.

Lilith, who was still in a foul mood, went stiff when she saw Declan inside the house. A panicked expression crossed her face.

Declan rose to his feet and approached me, opening his arms wide to give me a hug. "Welcome home, my dear friend, Theo. I dropped by to celebrate your return from your business trip."

Lilith visibly breathed a sigh of relief. "That's right. Declan came over to celebrate your return. He wanted to have a get-together."

However, it was blatantly obvious that she hadn't been expecting Declan to still be in the house. The only explanation was that he had let himself in using a key. I couldn't believe that Lilith had given one of our house keys to him.

I shifted to the side and dodged Declan's outstretched arms, saying, "I'm going to put my things away."

I then picked up my suitcase and made my way toward the bedroom.

Lilith immediately began to panic. She grabbed my hand that was holding the suitcase and said, "Let me do it for you. You and Declan haven't seen each other for a while. The two of you should catch up."

She didn't usually act that way. Her behavior was extremely uncharacteristic, which made me assume that there was something in the bedroom that she didn't want me to see.

I wasn't bothered enough to expose their little farce, so I let her take the suitcase from me. I then headed to the kitchen to pour myself a glass of water before walking to the living room.

Declan walked over to me and pointed at his lips, showing off the bite mark that was there. "Look, Theo. My new girlfriend got too excited when she was kissing me and accidentally bit me."

A provocative look crossed his face. His eyes overflowed with glee.

I stared at Declan for a long time. He was the first friend I made when I moved here for work. When he ran into trouble at work and didn't have a place to stay, I was the one who took him in and helped him solve his problems.

I treated him as a true friend for the past few years, doing everything I could to help him whenever he faced any challenges. I never would have imagined that he would betray me and start an illicit affair with Lilith behind my back. He was even arrogant enough to provoke me to my face.

He was truly shameless.

"You bastard!"

Unable to hold myself back anymore, I curled my hand into a tight fist and punched him in the face.

Declan staggered to the floor with a pained cry.

Lilith, who had been busy tidying the bedroom, immediately ran to the living room when she heard the commotion. "Oh my god! What happened? Are you alright, Declan?"

The first thing that she did was rush to Declan's side. After she confirmed that he hadn't sustained any serious injuries, she turned to me and shouted, "Why did you punch him, Theo? Declan's your best friend!"

My best friend? I didn't have a best friend who went behind my back and slept with my girlfriend.

Declan looked extremely pleased that Lilith had immediately rushed to his side. He pressed a hand to his cheek and put on an aggrieved expression.