Chapter 3

"Claire used to be so gentle. I can‘t believe she’d hit someone like that. Who would‘ve thought..."

"I didn’t realize Moira was so easygoing and good-tempered. I regret not spending more time with her before."

...

I laughed. As I laughed, the tears I‘d just held back began to well up again.

"Moira, you know exactly what you’re thinking."

Felix suddenly stood in front of her, his tall frame seemingly willing to shield her from all my accusations.

"Claire, how much longer are you going to make a scene?"

I stared steadily at his face, half of it gradually swelling.

Even slightly unsightly, it only added a touch of mortal essence to his otherworldly features.

The clarity and sense of justice in his eyes had never been absent.

Like a judge sitting on a high platform, looking down at me with both pity and severity.

This farce finally ended according to Felix’s orchestration.

This time, Moira didn‘t sit in my passenger seat again. Felix considerately called her a car.

Through the car window, I watched him nod reassuringly to her and say something to the driver.

It was exactly like that summer day at the school gate, when someone suddenly told me to look ahead.

So I saw Moira bouncing into a car, Felix patting her head while saying something to the driver.

His expression warm and indulgent.

Back then, they would arrange to go out with friends together—it had become an unspoken understanding between us.

But I didn’t know they would also arrange to see just each other, without anyone else.

The Moira of those days was both innocent and bold.

She pressed a kiss to her palm, then suddenly placed it on Felix‘s face.

Seeing his surprise, her face flushed with laughter.

I was shocked into a daze by the scene before me.

It turned out that countless hints from those around me couldn’t compare to witnessing reality with my own eyes.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car door closing.

Seeing I wasn‘t in the front seat, he sighed helplessly.

"Claire, Moira didn’t sit in your spot to make some kind of statement. She just thought the air conditioning was stronger up front."

His tone was utterly sincere.

Usually at this point, my temper would have been mostly soothed. Perhaps the next second, I‘d have happily returned to my original position.

If he then bought me a gemstone necklace at an auction, the matter would basically be over.

But with Moira’s situation, I could probably never turn the page.

"Felix, since we got married, you‘ve never let anyone sit in my passenger seat."

The car remained idle for a long time.

Felix suddenly lit a cigarette.

He knew I hated the smell of smoke, yet now he lit one in the cramped car interior.

"I thought seeing Moira would make you happy."

"After all, you two used to be such good friends, didn’t you?"

I sneered. "Yeah, good enough to share a boyfriend."

The car fell silent. I was forced to breathe secondhand smoke and couldn‘t help rolling down the window.

He tossed away the cigarette, still more than half unsmoked, his voice hoarse.

"Back then, when I saw her, I was reminded of you, so I showed her some extra patience. But I only saw her as a brother..."

The car interior was dim. I lowered my head, a teardrop seeping from my nose into my clenched fist.

"Do you know? She once cried to me while drunk, saying if only she were a man, you wouldn’t guard against her so deeply, and you two wouldn‘t have grown so distant."

I remembered that time. When Moira showed me the recording, her eyes were full of triumph.

She said from that moment on, Felix only had business interests with me, no feelings.