Alvin and I were childhood sweethearts, since we had known each other since kindergarten.

Our parents also liked each other very much. So, when we were young, the two families arranged a marriage for us.

Alvin and I always knew we would get married, so we were very self-conscious and tried not to get along with the opposite sex.

But Mary was an accident. Because it was my suggestion to sponsor her.

The first time I met her, she was skinny and very thin compared to people of her age. But she had a sweet mouth and would make everyone like her whenever they met her.

As a result, I wanted to help her get out of the poverty she faced.

But I didn’t have much pocket money, so I begged Alvin to help her with me.

At first, Alvin was extremely reluctant. He said, “I don't have time to play these house games with you.”

Then I was in a serious car accident.

He asked many people for help and even though he never believed in God, he came to many worship places just to pray for me.

He also heard from others that doing more good deeds could accumulate virtue for me, so he went to support Mary, who was born in poverty.

Finally, in a few days, I was out of danger.

At that time, he joked with me, saying that Mary was my benefactor and asked me to be nice to her. So, I treated her as my own sister and gave her whatever I had.

However, I did not expect that I had let the wolf into the house and she herself sharpened the knife that would stab me.

Thinking of that, I lost my appetite and put down my spoon after eating a few bites.

Alvin asked, “Is the food not to your liking?”

I took a quick look and saw that many dishes on the table were added with chili peppers. But I could not eat spicy food.

He also realized that and said apologetically, “Sorry, I forgot you can't eat spicy food.”

I opened my mouth and was about to talk about breaking up when a familiar, sweet voice came from the door, “Alvin.” 

It was Mary. She was wearing a beautiful white dress and pushed open the door with a smile. 

When she saw me, she was stunned for a moment, then quickly smiled again and said, “Oh, Cynthia is here, too.”

Her smile to me was not as bright as the one to Alvin.

If you looked closely, you could still see the perfunctory look in her smile.

As a result, I glanced at her and said nothing.

Alvin frowned and said angrily, “Why can't you learn the habit of knocking on the door before entering?”

It could be said to be anger, but it was more of helplessness.

Mary smiled playfully. “I forgot. I will pay attention next time.” Then, she said to me, “Cynthia, can I have lunch with you? I'm starving after class.”

She was talking to me, but her eyes were fixed on Alvin.

Without waiting for me to say anything, Alvin said, “Come and eat if you are hungry. If you see anything else you want to eat, order some more.”

Mary naturally walked to his right and sat down, smiling brightly and answered, “No need, since you ordered so many of my favorites.”

After saying that, the expression on Alvin's face froze for a second and he subconsciously looked at me.

My emotions remained unchanged and my expression was calm.

“Eat more if you like.”

After I said that, the expression on his face eased, but there was a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

“Cynthia, if you want to eat something, just order it.”

Alvin handed me the menu and I refused with a smile, “No, I saw something disgusting this morning and now I just want to vomit, I don't have much appetite.”

He frowned slightly, “What is it?”

I pretended to be casual and said, “It's my friend. Her boyfriend cheated on her. He ate the food she cooked every day and then ate the food cooked by his mistress. Today, she got stomach erosion and had surgery in the hospital. My friend sent me a photo and it was so disgusting.

“People with such low moral standards deserve to die without a burial place, don't you think so, Alvin?”

I smiled, but Alvin's face looked extremely ugly. He choked for a moment and agreed, “Yes... yes.”

Mary's face didn't look good either and her smile looked forced when she joined in conversation. 

“Cynthia, maybe that boy has no feelings for his girlfriend a long time ago, so it's not right to say that, right?”

I shook my head and sneered, “If you don't have feelings for each other anymore, why don't you break up and find another one? Mary, you are still young and don't understand men nowadays.

“If he really liked that mistress, he wouldn't be entangled with her and unwilling to break up with his girlfriend, making the person he loves act like a shameful slut.”

After I scolded her bluntly, Mary's face darkened completely. I could vaguely see the guilt in her eyes.

I sneered in my heart. 

Alvin looked unhappy and interrupted me, “This is other people's business, why are you worrying about it?”

“Yes, I believe you are not such a person, Alvin,” I responded with a smile, leaving him speechless.

Until the show was over, Mary didn't even look at me again.

After finishing our lunch, Alvin offered to take me home, but I refused.

He said, “Then I will take Mary back to school. Please be careful on your way back.”

Mary smiled shyly and spoke carefully, not as relaxed as at the beginning, “No need, Alvin, you should just send Cynthia home. I can take a taxi back to school.”

Maybe she was afraid that I would discover their shameful relationship. After all, if I knew, I would cut off the funding for her.

People were greedy. She was reluctant to let go of Alvin, nor was she willing to give up my kindness to her.

She just wanted to have it all.

Before I could refuse, Alvin spoke in a cold voice, with a sense of oppression that could not be ignored, “Cynthia will go back by herself, there is no need for you to worry about her. But you, your school is so remote, it is not safe to take a taxi, I will take you there.”

Mary looked at me embarrassedly and opened the passenger door naturally. “Then I won't be polite.” 

Then, she opened the car window and waved to me, “Goodbye, Cynthia, please be careful on the road.”

I watched them leave and my expression gradually darkened.

It turned out, although I started the day feeling happy, it did not mean that I would not find something disappointing in the middle of the day. 

The truth was Alvin and I have known each other for twenty years, so I never thought that the bad qualities of men would be reflected in him, or maybe he hid it so well that I didn't notice it.

I laughed at myself and went home.

In the evening, Alvin came back very late, he smelled strongly of alcohol.

I was lying on the sofa watching TV and when I saw him come back, I just moved the remote control to change the channel.

Alvin stumbled over, taking off his coat as he walked to the sofa. Then, he threw an exquisite gift box over.

“This is a new bag. I asked someone to get it. See if you like it.”

He was drunk and came over to hug me.

I calmly avoided his arms and jumped onto another single sofa.

As soon as he realized it, Alvin looked at me in surprise.

“You drink too much alcohol, please go take a shower first.”

Alvin lowered his head and sniffed, then stood up silently. He took his shirt and went to the bathroom to wash up.

Since I was bored, I opened the gift box.

Then I realized it was a fresh light green bag. Obviously, that fresh style was very suitable for those bright and cheerful little girls.

I pursed my lips and put the bag back where it belonged.

I opened my phone again to watch videos and happened to see an account that looked vaguely familiar.

I paused for a second and clicked in to take a look.

That blogger posted all her daily life. Even if she did not appear in the photo, the environment behind her was so familiar to me.

When Mary started her freshman year in college, I went to help her and knew the layout of her dormitory. 

Then, the video shown on my phone was exactly the same as the one in her dormitory.

I flipped through them bit by bit and found that the background of some of her videos was not in the dormitory, but in the house we lived in at that moment.

It turned out Alvin brought her home without my knowledge.

Suddenly, I remembered the content of his phone call today, when he asked someone to help Mary buy an apartment.

My fingertips trembled as I continued to flip through the pages one by one.

I looked carefully and found a problem. I had all the bags, accessories and skin care products that appeared in her videos. Not to mention that all those things were bought for me by Alvin.

I panicked for a moment and rushed into the cloakroom barefoot. I compared the video with my stuff and looked at the time the video was posted.

I understood it all at once.

Alvin bought for me in a one-to-one ratio and gave them to Mary. As a result, she had everything I had.

Thinking of that, I suddenly felt a nauseous feeling coming over me. I laughed and as I laughed tears rolled down from the corners of my eyes.

So, the sincerity I gave became a joke all the time.

But I did not understand why he treated me like that. 

If we really did not love each other anymore, we could just break up. There was no need to do those disgusting things, right?

I clenched my fists, trying to suppress the surging anger.

Instead of venting my anger by throwing a tantrum, I opened the camera and took pictures of everything in front of me. I also saved all the videos sent by Mary.

Alvin and I were together not simply because we liked each other. The interests of two companies and the affection of the older generation were also involved between us. 

So, our separation would not go easy. That was why I would use Mary’s video to make it become much simpler.

Afterwards, I calmed down and walked out of the room.

Alvin was changing his clothes in a hurry. When he saw me coming out, he said in a panic, “There's an exhibitionist in Mary 's school. She hasn't been found yet. She's not safe in school. I'm going to pick her up and let her stay overnight.”

He was not discussing, he was informing.

I looked at him coldly and said, “Alvin, if you walk out of this door today, we will break up.”

Hearing that, he paused, his deep black eyes filled with anger. “Cynthia, what do you mean?” he asked.

I just sneered, “Did I not express myself clearly enough?”

Alvin laughed angrily and gave me a cold look. “Don't be unreasonable. I have something important to do now.”

Without waiting for my response, he slammed the door and walked out angrily. However, he didn't know that what I said was not an attempt to keep him, but a gamble.

But obviously, I lost to another woman.

So, as soon as he left, I went to pack my luggage. I also took away the things he gave me.

That was my compensation for wasting my years of youth.

I had a car in the garage, so I packed my things and drove straight home.

Fortunately, my parents were still traveling abroad. So, I was the only one at home.

Soon, after coming back and washing up, I listed the evidence of Alvin's cheating and posted it all in the family group.

After all, my family had a very good relationship with Alvin's parents. 

Our two families also had a common group and there were quite a few people in it.

Since there were many night owls in the group, as soon as my message was sent out, it caused quite a stir.

I ignored their questions and told them, “Alvin and I broke up. The wedding is canceled.”

The next second, Alvin came to chat with me privately.

[Alvin: Cynthia, withdrew the message! What on earth are you going to do? Where are you now? I'll come find you and we can have a good talk.]

I didn't reply to his message, but blocked and deleted him.

Then, Mary sent me a message. It read, [Cynthia, I know I have hurt you. I am sorry. But Alvin and I really love each other. If you have any dissatisfaction, just come to me and don't hurt Alvin.]