I buried my disgust and forced a smile. “It’s okay. Go. Work’s important.”
His relief was immediate. He stood quickly, grabbing his jacket.
“I’ll be back soon,” he promised.
But I knew the truth. He couldn’t resist whatever pull she had on him. Just as I expected, he barely came home over the next three days.
Honestly, it was for the best. I had things to take care of, like editing the video.
As I wrapped up, a text from Flossie popped up on my screen.
[He’s baking you a birthday cake, but all the cream ended up on me.]
[Hope you don’t mind?]
Before I could respond, another message came through—a video this time.
It showed Gale, lips curling as he licked whipped cream clean in a way that made my stomach churn. I didn’t reply. Instead, I opened my system panel and checked the countdown.
[Countdown: 4 days]
That night was my birthday party.
I wasn’t in the mood to celebrate, but I went anyway. I didn’t want Gale to suspect anything.
By the time the sun had set, Gale was waiting outside to drive me to the venue.
“Here comes, the start of the show!”
“Welcome, Alex!”
His teammates greeted me with wide smiles, their voices full of respect as I walked in.