He smirked at me. I didn’t like his mocking expression, and in one swift motion, I angrily punched his face. I think I hit him in the mouth.
He retaliated, punching me in the cheek. Before long, we were brawling, neither of us backing down.
The bar was in chaos. Another man came out of nowhere, punched me, and kicked me in the stomach. I felt dizzy and my vision began to spin.
Hearing my friends’ voices brought me back to my senses, though it was hard to spot the man who kicked me. My eyes searched for him.
“Come here,” I said, grabbing a man. I was about to aim for his face, but Leo stopped my hand.
“That jerk kicked me!” I exclaimed.
“Arlo, you’re completely drunk. We’re taking you home now!”
“This isn’t over. I want to kill them all!”
“They’re all knocked out now.”
“Fine, but tomorrow, I’ll kill the guy who punched me in the face,” I said.
“Tomorrow, you have more important things to do than dealing with the guy who punched you.”
“You’re right. Who’s with me right now?” I asked.
“Leo,” he replied.
I nodded. Exhausted, I unknowingly fell asleep while muttering in my sleep.
The next morning, I woke up in bed with a pounding headache and aching body.
I forced myself to get up, even though I didn’t want to. I headed straight to the bathroom and took a warm shower.
After showering, I walked out of the bathroom and went to the dressing room. I opened my closet but changed my mind about going to the office. Instead of reaching for my blue suit, I grabbed my black Prada jeans, opened the drawer, and picked a folded T-shirt.
I grabbed one and put it on. As I was about to close the drawer, I noticed a pair of panties on the floor—apparently something I had hastily stuffed into the drawer.
I hurriedly got dressed and left my room.
” June, June,” I called out to her.
It was already late in the morning, yet she wasn’t up. At this time, she should’ve already prepared my breakfast. After I was discharged from the hospital, I hadn’t returned here; I’d been staying at the hidden house with my friends. This was my first time back.
I checked the kitchen, but she wasn’t there. I knocked on her bedroom door, but she wasn’t there either.
I returned to the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker. I didn’t even have her number.
I dialed Rita’s number. When I spoke to her, she didn’t know where June was either.
I went into my library room and suddenly thought of checking the CCTV footage.
I reviewed the footage from the day June arrived at my apartment. I meticulously scanned each video clip, even the one where Gilbert brought me home drunk. At the same time, I remembered finding panties on my bedroom floor the following day.
No one else entered, and no one else left.
” June,” I whispered softly. I shook my head.
I cursed under my breath when I saw Lily’s face on the footage. She had entered with another woman, someone who also seemed oddly familiar to me.
Then, I saw the two of them leave, pulling a suitcase behind them. Confused by what I was seeing, I left my library room and hurried to June’s bedroom in big strides. I opened the cabinets and drawers, even checked the bathroom—everything was empty.
June, Lily, and my ex are one and the same.
I screamed in frustration, clutching my hair. Slowly, memories started flooding back, and I began to remember who Lily was in my life. The pain in my head intensified, and I sank to my knees on the floor, feeling as though my head was about to explode. The realization hit me hard: Lily and my ex were the same person.
“Ahhh… Why, Lily? Ahhhh, why?!” I screamed. My body trembled with anger as I recalled everything she had done to me.
I clenched my fists and bit my lip, my mind overwhelmed by the vivid flashbacks. Tears fell from my eyes without me noticing. I shouted Lily’s name again. My chest pounded like a drum as images of that man kissing Lily played in my mind like a broken mirror reflecting her betrayal.
“She lied to me,” I said to myself.
I shook my head repeatedly. Then, something caught my eye under the bed. I stood up and slowly picked it up.
My eyes widened as I stared at a photo of Lily standing with two children beside her.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. My hands trembled, and my lips parted in shock as I stared at the two children smiling happily in the picture. The boy looked exactly like me.
