"It's fine. You can look through my phone whenever you want. But please remember to give me a chance to explain things," Jason said to me.

Well, he had used my birthday as his password. His feelings for me could not have been more obvious.

I buried my face in his shoulder.

Samuel and I had been together for so many years, but I had only gotten his phone password after crying and becoming a drama queen. Then, the password for his phone was Gemma's birthday.

Thinking about it now, it was almost funny. I continued making a fuss about it and demanded that he change it to my birthday, but Samuel mocked me for being childish and for insisting on comparing myself to the person he considered his little sister.

After that, he gave me the silent treatment for a month. In the end, I was the one who went to him to apologize. Samuel seemed to have gotten a taste for it after that, and he insisted on doing it again.

He left me completely exhausted.

Maybe both Jason and I had secrets we could not say out loud. But, so what? Being happy mattered most.

I had gone more than six hours without messaging Samuel.

I did not even realize it. Instead, I saw it in the group chat when I opened my alternate account. Samuel was announcing it as if he had won his first round.

[Jason really has some skill. Nina hasn't bothered me in more than six hours.]

Really? So I had gone that long without contacting Samuel.

[Nina has never gone more than four hours without contacting me.] Samuel added another message.

I admitted that it was true. Even when I had already gone to bed, I would send him a message if I woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. I had once admired him so much that I hoped I could be with him every moment. If my parents had not stopped me, maybe I would have moved into the Sanders' residence and lived with him the day I graduated.

Now, I thanked my parents from the bottom of my heart.

I watched the people in the group chat cheer him on. Some had already started betting on how long it would take before I contacted Samuel.

The group chat started placing bets.

I did a quick count. The pool was already close to 10,000 dollars. I checked Samuel's bet in particular. He bet that I would contact him within ten hours.

Just as I was considering whether to contact him, Jason gently carried me to the dining table. There were four dishes and a bowl of soup on the table. "You were saying you were hungry earlier. You must be even hungrier now."

Jason patiently helped me pick the crab meat out of its shell.

I had to admit, I was not used to being treated this well. No one had ever been so patient with me. Even when I first got together with Samuel, I was the one chasing after him.

I slowly savored the sweet crab, and all those mentions about bets whether it was six hours or ten hours had all just faded away.

After Jason wore me out, I slept deeply until nearly noon the next day.

When I woke up, Samuel had sent me several messages.

Last night was the first time in the five years we had been together that I had not said good night to him. Seeing that he had sent several messages in a row, I knew he must have panicked a little. I casually told him I had caught a cold last night and fell asleep early.

Figuratively speaking, why would I think about some cheap car when I could have a Ferrari?

Finally, he sent another message. [Gemma's birthday party is tonight. Why don't you come along?]

I replied with one word. [Sure.]

-

That evening, I put on a full face of makeup and arrived at the party in Jason's car. Then, Jason opened the car door for me like a gentleman.

The party suddenly went silent.

Samuel was standing beside Gemma. When he saw me get out of Jason's car, he froze.

I lifted the hem of my dress and walked over. Then, I took Samuel's arm with a bright smile.

I met Samuel's eyes that were full of surprise. "Samuel, what's wrong? Everyone's watching."

"Why did you come in his car?" Samuel asked.

I enjoyed the shifting look on Samuel's face as I answered sweetly, "Oh, I just ran into him."

Jason came over too. His polite distance was measured, and it seemed to make Samuel uncomfortable. Meanwhile, I stayed calm and gentle.

Before leaving for the party, I had purposely not asked Samuel whether he was coming to pick me up. Samuel always made me take a cab by myself whenever it was Gemma's birthday in the past years. He would even avoid seeing me as much as possible for half a month before Gemma's birthday, as if he were trying to avoid suspicion.

I did not know whether this was part of their game. But now, none of that mattered anymore.

Maybe I was too calm tonight, too different from how I used to be.

Although Samuel stayed beside Gemma the whole time, his eyes kept drifting toward me.

"Nina, you're dressed so beautifully today. If someone didn't know better, they would think it was your birthday," Gemma said, her hostility tonight a little too obvious.

In the past, no matter the occasion, Gemma had always acted like the winner in front of me. That was because Samuel was always backing her up. But tonight, she had clearly realized that both Samuel and Jason had their attention on me.

I replied nonchalantly, "If I don't dress up nicely, how am I supposed to make your brother look good?"

"You witch!" Gemma could not hold it in.

I made a tearful look and forced out a few tears, then hid behind Samuel. "Samuel, Gemma still doesn't like me much. I don't know what I did that's so upsetting for her. I dressed up for you too."

Samuel frowned. "Gemma, you went too far this time."

Then, I made a face at Gemma from somewhere Samuel couldn't see. I formed the words with my mouth without making a sound.

'You lost.'

This was the same act Gemma had always used in the past. Why did she find it so unacceptable now when the same thing was done to her?

I provoked Gemma so badly that her face went pale, and she reached out wanting to slap me. But before her hand could touch me, Samuel stopped her.

I cried again and said, "I've made her so upset. It's going to be inappropriate if I stay here any longer."

After that, I walked outside, glancing at Jason as if by coincidence.

Jason set down his glass of red wine and stood up before following me out.

Samuel had to physically hold Gemma back in his arms, stopping her from lunging at me in a rage. But when he saw Jason following me, his expression grew even darker.

When we reached the parking lot, I took Jason's arm and laughed so hard I could barely stand. "Am I a really bad person?"

My fingers brushed over Jason's knuckles.

Jason had seen through everything I had done just now, but he said softly, "No."

I burrowed into his embrace and whispered into his ear as I tiptoed, "Really? I can be even worse."

I saw Samuel's anxious figure searching everywhere from not far away. Then, I reached out and wrapped my arms around Jason's lean waist, kissing him from his shoulder to his neck before pressing my lips to his thin lips.

Jason's body stiffened for a moment, then he kissed me back fiercely as he felt himself burning with passion.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Samuel's expression become twisted.