Gwen looked at Seth with disbelief. Impatience and anger were evident in her eyes, but she calmly walked toward the bed.

The ends of the huge blanket fell freely on the floor. Gwen tightly held the fabric on her chest, dragging its heaviness with her.

She was almost near him when she almost tripped on the floor. She glared at Seth, blaming him for her misery as she gathered the blanket from the floor with one hand.

Seth bit his lip as he watched Gwen struggle. He placed his right hand behind his head while the straps of the white bra clung to his left fingers. His blond hair was disheveled, and his gray eyes seemed brighter because of the sunlight.

Obviously, he was having fun watching the woman in front of him.

Step by step, Gwen slowly walked toward him. As soon as she reached him, she leaned her body and was about to snatch her underwear from his hand when Seth suddenly stretched his arm away from her.

Gwen glared at Seth. Unbothered by the woman’s death glares, Seth only looked at her with amusement and mockery.

Realizing that he wouldn’t give her the bra, Gwen stood straight. They both stared at each other’s eyes until a smirk formed on Gwen’s lips.

“I suddenly remembered what you told me that rainy night. Didn’t you say that you wouldn’t sleep with me since Hayes used me already? I guess they were just all lies, then,” she muttered.

She looked at him straight and added, “Do you like me—”

Before Gwen could finish her question, her white underwear hit her face. Gwen groaned and caught the bra with her hands.

“Seth, what the heck?” she screamed.

“I don’t know if you’re just really narcissistic or plain stupid!” Seth shook his head and scowled at her.

“Hayes spent three years with you and still didn’t like you in the end. Why would you think that I like you? My taste in women wouldn’t be worse than Hayes!”

Gwen pursed her lips and looked away.

“Go home,” Seth coldly muttered.

Of course, Gwen was certain that Seth wouldn’t be interested in her.

Her lips twisted upon remembering what he said earlier. Seth and Hayes had quite the same preferences when it came to women. In fact, they both liked the type of Lacey Brooks.

‘Good luck to you two, then. There’s only one Lacey Brooks in the world,’ she bitterly thought.

Gwen picked up all her clothes and marched to the bathroom. She hurriedly showered, put on her clothes, and left the room.

She had one problem, though. When she and Callie went to Glory City last night, she didn’t bring a purse or even her phone. She didn’t even have any money with her now. Her apartment was quite far from the hotel, so it would be impossible to walk back.

So, she borrowed a phone from the hotel receptionist and called her friend.

“Callie.”

“Gwen?” Callie murmured on the other line. “I was looking for you last night! Where did you go?”

Gwen puckered her lips, feeling guilty and sorry for her friend. “I’ll explain later. Please pick me up. I don’t have any money with me.”

Callie huffed. “Fine! But promise me that you’ll tell me everything later, okay?”

Gwen smiled. After a few more minutes of scolding her, Callie asked her where she was and ended the call.

“Thank you.” Gwen smiled at the receptionist and handed the phone.

She turned around, ready to walk out of the building when her gaze landed on a familiar figure.

Gwen and Hayes looked at each other’s eyes at the same time. Hayes glanced at her body once before looking at her face again.

Gwen almost took a step back. For some reason, she felt as if she had been caught committing a crime.

Hayes, on the other hand, looked at her with indifference. Then, he removed his gaze from her and strode toward the elevator with a group of people in corporate attire behind him.

Gwen slumped her shoulders and sighed as soon as he was out of sight.

She walked to the hotel’s lobby and sat on the empty sofa. She closed her eyes and released a few deep breaths, filling her lungs with air she seemed to have lost earlier.

Thirty minutes later, Callie arrived.

Callie’s original plan was to scold Gwen some more, but all of it vanished when she saw her friend’s pale face. Her eyes were closed, and her back leaned against the sofa.

“Gwen, are you okay?” she asked worriedly and touched her forehead. “You don’t have a fever, but you look pale. Do you feel sick?”

Gwen opened her eyes and shook her head. “I’m okay. I haven’t eaten anything yet, so maybe it’s just hunger.”

“Come on, let’s go eat something first!” Callie replied.

Gwen only nodded her head before standing up.

They were both busy eating their food when Callie suddenly brought up the topic again. “My friend told me that they saw you with a cute guy at the club last night,” she said in a malicious tone.

She slowly scanned her friend’s face up to her neck as if looking for something.

Gwen rolled her eyes and stopped Callie.

After a few moments of silence, Gwen spoke. “His name is Seth Parker.”

Gwen drank her orange juice while Callie’s lips parted in shock.

“What?” Callie shouted, making the other people glance at them.

“Yup. I slept with Seth Parker last night.”

Callie’s brows fused in confusion. Thoughts ran wildly in her mind, but she only stared at her friend.

Gwen noticed her friend’s silence.

“Callie…” she gently said.

“No!” Callie exclaimed and raised her right hand to emphasize what she said. “I know what you’ll say, but I don’t want to reminisce about my past anymore. I was stupid and naïve at that time! I didn’t feel anything toward Seth Parker before; if there were any, it would probably be simply disgust. Nothing else!”

Callie could still feel cold shivers every time she remembered Seth. Everything about him was just pure embarrassment.

She took a bite of her burger and looked at Gwen. “I just didn’t expect that you’ll sleep with Seth. This is such big news!”

Indeed, how could these two people, who had nothing to do with each other, end up in the same bed in one night?

Gwen sighed, also feeling the same as Callie. What happened still felt like a dream to her.

Or a nightmare. Remembering the scenes from last night just proved how true these all were.

In the next few days, Gwen didn’t leave her home. If Callie didn’t show up at her door and dragged her to the mall, she wouldn’t leave her bed or sofa at all.

She and Callie walked inside a luxury store.

“Do you like that bag?” Gwen’s shoulders jumped when she heard Callie’s voice from behind.

Callie actually noticed that Gwen had been holding and staring at the bag for a while now.

Gwen looked at the bag with adoration before returning it to the stall. “Never mind. I still have a lot of bags at home.”

Callie’s face contorted in disapproval. She grabbed the bag again and gave it to Gwen. “Nonsense! If you want it, buy it!”

The saleslady appeared beside them. “Miss Cooper is right. If you like the bag, just buy it. That’s the only stock left of that design, Ma’am. Bags of that design are very hard to find.”

Gwen looked at Callie, hesitant and uneasy. Her life was different now. Unlike before, she couldn’t just buy a thousand-dollar worth of designer bag without blinking.

Callie instantly read what was in her friend’s mind. She smiled at the saleslady and said, “We’ll get this bag!”

She turned to Gwen and beamed. “This is my treat, okay?”

“No, Callie, you don’t have to do this,” Gwen panicked. “If you buy this bag, I won’t go shopping with you anymore!”

Callie pouted and studied Gwen’s serious expression. In the end, she gave up.

“Fine.”

Callie put the bag back in its place. Two seconds later, a slender hand hastily grabbed the bag. Callie looked at the woman beside her, and her jaw almost dropped when she saw who it was.

“This is pretty! I want this one,” Lacey happily said.

Callie scowled.

“Hey!” Lacey protested when a hand tried to snatch the bag from her and accidentally scratched her.

“What’s wrong?” Hayes, dressed in a black suit and holding a phone in his hand, went to Lacey’s side. His gaze immediately dropped to Lacey’s hand.

When he saw a red mark, his expression became dark and hostile. “What’s going on?”

He raised his eyes, only to find Gwen and Callie looking at him.

“Say sorry to her,” he said in a commanding voice while looking at Callie. The customers in the store started looking at their crowd.

Gwen almost scoffed. Seeing her ex-husband riled up about a mere scratch was new to her.

Meanwhile, Callie raised her chin and brow. “Why would I apologize?”

Gwen glanced at Callie. It was true that it was their fault, but one glance at Hayes, and it felt like she couldn’t breathe.

Hayes looked around the store. “There are CCTV cameras in this store, Miss Cooper. If you don’t want to apologize to Lacey now, maybe you’ll want to apologize in front of the police.”

Callie gnashed her teeth as she stared at Hayes’s angry eyes. She opened her mouth and was about to speak when the door of the store swung open, revealing two new customers.

“What’s taking you so long? We’ve been to hundreds of stores already. Just pick a damn bag,” Seth muttered, annoyed. A young girl in a red chiffon skirt walked beside him.

Lacey was also wearing a red dress. If both were compared, Lacey would win without a doubt.

Seth’s eyes widened when he saw Gwen. He walked toward her and smirked. “I didn’t expect to bump into you again, Miss Lewis.”

Lacey looked at them curiously. “Since when did you become close with Gwen?” Lacey asked Seth.

Seth’s eyes brightened as if he remembered something great. “Ah! A few days ago. That one fateful night…” he answered meaningfully.

Gwen wished Seth would just shut his mouth now. She glared at him, but Seth only looked at her innocently.

The young girl shook Seth’s arm. “I’m starving, Seth! Let’s go!”

Seth glared at her. “You’re hungry all the time! Your appetite is unnatural.”

The girl only puckered her lips and sniffed.

Seth sighed. “Shall we go?” He asked and looked at Hayes and Lacey.

“No!” Lacey protested. “Miss Cooper scratched my hand. She should apologize to me.”

Seth glanced at Callie. “She hurt you? Can I see your wound?” He stepped forward and grabbed her hand to inspect it.

“Where does it hurt?”

Lacey pointed at the faint red mark. “Here!”

Seth raised his head and looked at Lacey. “Yeah, this wound is too deep!”

Callie and Gwen’s brows furrowed, ready to protest until Seth spoke again.

“This scratch is too deep that it will completely disappear sooner,” he sarcastically said and chuckled.

Callie coughed loudly and patted her chest. A smile formed on her lips, unable to hide it any longer.

Everyone turned to her.

Seth tilted his head and looked at Callie. “You think that’s funny?”

Callie’s smile faltered at his question. Then, she rolled her eyes at him.

“You think I’m laughing because of you? Aren’t you too full of yourself, Mr. Parker?” she mocked.

Lacey tugged Seth’s shirt. “Seth, I want that woman to apologize to me. Can you help me?” she gently asked.

Callie sneered at her. “In your dreams, darling.”

Seth cleared his throat and gave Callie a warning look. “Miss Cooper, you clearly hurt a person here. You don’t want to apologize, and you’re also acting rudely. Where are your manners?” he coldly said.

Anger rushed through Callie’s system immediately. She scoffed and looked at them from head to toe.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Gwen was fast enough to cut her off.

“She didn’t mean to hurt her,” she said while holding Callie’s arm.

“Even if you didn’t do it on purpose, don’t you still have to apologize for inflicting pain?” Seth replied impatiently. He shook his head as if he was disappointed in Gwen. “I thought you’re a teacher, Miss Lewis? Is that what you teach your students?”

Gwen didn’t reply. She scanned the whole store and saw people staring at them. The saleslady also looked at them with panic and worry.

She glanced at her friend before turning to Lacey. “May I apologize on her behalf, Miss Brooks?”

“Gwen!” Callie exclaimed with frustration.

Never in her life would Callie allow her best friend to submit to these arrogant people, especially Lacey.

So, she gently pushed her friend to the side. “I was the one who did it, Gwen. If you really want to apologize, I’ll do it.”

Callie turned to Lacey, resisting rolling her eyes at her. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Seth let out a dry laugh. “What happened to your voice, Miss Cooper? You spoke fine just now. We can’t hear you. Say it louder.”

Callie glared at Seth. “What the hell do you want, Seth?”

“Forget it!” Lacey butted in. She turned to Callie and said, “I know you don’t really like me, Miss Cooper. The feeling is mutual. Be careful next time, okay? Since I’m having a great day and don’t want it to be ruined, I’ll let this slide.”

Lacey didn’t wait for Callie’s reply and looked at Hayes. “Let’s go,” she said and smiled at him.

Gwen stared at the retreating couple in a daze.

“Seth, come on!”

The young girl’s voice snapped Gwen back to her senses. She glanced at Seth and found him looking at her with a smirk.

“See you around, Miss Lewis.”

Gwen only stared at him with a poker face.

When the four of them were finally out of their sight, Callie immediately started her rants. “They are so annoying! Seth and Hayes are freaks! What did they even see in Lacey that they submit to her whims that much? I don’t get it!”

Gwen rubbed her friend’s shoulder. “Calm down, Callie. I’m hungry. Why don’t we eat something?”

Callie frowned at her. “And you! You’re still in the mood to eat after all that happened? Didn’t you feel disgusted when you saw Hayes and Lacey together?”

Gwen’s lips twisted as she thought deeply.

‘Why didn’t I feel anything?’ she asked herself.

When the night came, Hayes dropped Lacey in front of her house.

However, Lacey was too drunk to walk by herself. She had too many drinks earlier, and now she was completely hammered.

“Come on, stand up, Lacey.” Hayes held her waist and swung the bag over his shoulder.

Lacey opened her eyes and smiled bitterly. She hugged Hayes’s neck, pressed her body closer to him, and licked his earlobe. “Tell me, Hayes. Why do you like Gwen so much? What did you see in her?”

Hayes remained silent.

“Is she prettier than me? Does she dress up better than me?” Lacey slurred.

Hayes stared at her flushed face for a while. Then, he raised his hand and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. The makeup on her face was already smudged, but her face still remained beautiful.

“You can’t compare yourself to her,” he softly said.

Lacey’s eyes turned into daggers. She punched his chest repeatedly and yelled, “Get away from me!”

Hayes grunted but didn’t follow her. Instead, he crouched and carried her inside her house.

As soon as Hayes locked the door, he faced Lacey and caged her against the wall. Without any word, he tore off all her clothes.