Goodbye False Hopes, Hello Realistic Love

My girlfriend, Amber Norris, promised to meet my parents with me, but the day before, she went to meet her ex-boyfriend Gilbert Walker's parents instead.

"Hadson Matrix?"

Her eyes widened in panic when she saw me appear unexpectedly.

But she quickly retorted, "What are you doing here?"

"Just passing by."

Gilbert's mother, Samantha Walker, smiled and asked, "Amber, who is this?"

"A friend."

——

I walked out of the restaurant and went straight home.

I thought Amber would come after me to explain.

But even as I boarded the subway, she didn't follow, nor did she call or text.

My mind was racing.

Why would she choose her old flame over me, her current boyfriend?

Back home, I saw a lipstick package on the table.

It was a bright red lipstick from the look of the packaging.

I was fond of bright red.

Last year, for her birthday, I gave her one, thinking she would be pleased.

But she refused it, saying bright red was tacky and her least favorite color.

The packaging was already open, and there was a card next to it with words written on it: [To my dearest love.]

Though it had no signature, I knew it had to be from Gilbert.

Seeing those words, I could almost see Gilbert with a mocking smile on his face.

Amber and I had had our share of arguments over Gilbert.

At first, she would explain that they were just friends, telling me not to overthink it.

But as it happened more frequently, she grew impatient, accusing me of not focusing on earning more money and obsessing over trivial matters, even calling me dirty-minded and petty.

When the arguments escalated, she would slam the door and not return all night.

But this time, I decided not to argue.

I was just tired.

After taking a shower, I went back to my study to work.

It wasn't until after midnight that I heard the sound of keys in the door.

It was Amber returning.

But it was Gilbert's voice I heard. "Why is your place such a mess? Doesn't Hadson clean up? He can't be that lazy, can he?"

In reality, I had been the one cleaning ever since I moved in with Amber.

Hearing his voice made me furious.

But before I could get up, Amber's voice came through. "Hadson, come out. We need to talk to you."

Her tone was commanding as if giving an order.

I got up and went to the living room. Gilbert grinned at me. "Hadson, you're home! Hope we're not interrupting anything."

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"What happened today was a misunderstanding, and I came to explain it to you."

Gilbert and Amber exchanged a smile. "It's like this. My mom keeps nagging me to find a girlfriend, and it's driving me crazy. So I thought of finding someone to pretend, just to get her off my back. Amber is my best friend, so I asked her for help.

"So, things aren't what you think. Please don't take it to heart. If you're angry, just take it out on me. Yell at me, hit me, I don't care. I just hope you don't blame Amber."

Before I could say anything, Amber jumped in to defend him. "Hadson, Gilbert is sincerely apologizing to you. Don't be so petty."

Seeing them defending each other and exchanging glances, I felt like an outsider, like I was the one who had committed a grave sin and had to be judged by them.

I immediately got angry. "So should I thank him? Thank him for taking my girlfriend to pretend to be his girlfriend and meet his parents? What's next, are you going to move in with his family?"