Chapter 14: Who Does He Think He Is?
He wasn’t about to suffer another humiliating slap across the face! Rebecca’s eyes widened in shock. “Alistair, are you challenging me? You actually dared to fight back?”
Alistair pushed her hand away. “Rebecca, I’d rather not stoop to fighting with a woman like you.” His warning, delivered in an even tone with barely a change of expression, carried as much intimidation as if he’d shouted.
Rebecca stumbled backward, reeling from the shock. This wasn’t her imagination; Alistair seemed like a stranger. Suddenly, she felt like she was meeting him for the first time.
She stood frozen for only a moment before recovering. She glared at Alistair with a mocking smile. “Alistair, know your place! The more you act like this, the more I can’t stand you!”
Alistair looked at her, completely baffled. “Whether you like me or not, why would I care?” he replied coldly.
Actually, he hoped she wouldn’t like him at all. Who would want the affection of a crazy woman? The very thought made his skin crawl. Rebecca kept her eyes fixed on him. This unfamiliar version of Alistair made her heart race with anxiety. She hadn’t realized that something important was slipping from her control, something she desperately wanted to hold onto, fearing that once released, it would be gone forever.
Her eyes fell on the beautifully wrapped gift box in his hands. “I really underestimated you,” she sneered. “Looks like Vivienne has a soft spot for you. But let me warn you, Vivienne isn’t exactly a step up. She’s just playing with you because you’re something new. Do you honestly think she likes you?”
Even someone as dense as Alistair could see that Rebecca had completely misunderstood his relationship with Vivienne. At first, he was bewildered. Vivienne was supposed to be her best friend, after all. She shouldn’t describe Vivienne so casually.
Then it hit him. This was Rebecca, after all. The same Rebecca who, when he “misbehaved,” would force him to stand barefoot on the freezing winter balcony in thin pajamas, making him face the wall all night with the windows wide open. Even when he caught a terrible cold the next day, barely able to stand without passing out, she still expected him to prepare three meals daily for her and Daniel, only to call him useless afterward. Someone like her didn’t deserve friends.
Alistair didn’t care about being falsely accused himself, but he felt it was unfair to Vivienne. “It’s not what you think. There’s nothing between Vivienne and me,” he frowned, “and frankly, it’s none of your business.”
He didn’t want an innocent Vivienne dragged into this mess and had no interest in arguing with Rebecca. Instead, he threw out a question. “Does Richard know you’re meeting with me behind his back? Don’t forget, no matter what, I’m still the ex-husband who lived with you for six years.”
Before Rebecca could answer, Alistair walked away. He was trying to remind Rebecca: Aren’t you so concerned about your crush’s feelings? Then stop getting tangled up with your ex-husband and making him uncomfortable.
But Rebecca heard something completely different. He’s obviously jealous of Rick. Heh! What right does he have to be jealous of Rick? He’s deliberately getting involved with Vivienne just to get under my skin. How childish and ridiculous!
As Vivienne drove away from home, a Mercedes boldly blocked her path. Glancing at the license plate, Vivienne raised an eyebrow in surprise. She rolled down her window and smiled at the driver. “Rebecca, come on, don’t be difficult. I need to get to my restaurant right away. I have so many things waiting for me. Another time, I promise we’ll hang out properly, okay?”
Unlike Rebecca and Anne, who only knew how to enjoy their privileged lives, Vivienne was busy running her own business—a pizza shop she’d started from scratch. Rebecca said nothing, just stared at her coldly. Vivienne finally noticed something was off, and her casual smile faded as her brows furrowed slightly. “What’s wrong, Rebecca?”
Rebecca’s mouth twisted into a sneer, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she launched into what felt like an interrogation. “You tell me, Ms. Everett.”
Vivienne looked thoughtful for a moment before something clicked. “How long have you been here?”
Rebecca’s smile deepened. “About an hour?”
Vivienne fell silent. Alistair had left exactly an hour ago. Rebecca must have seen them together.
Chapter 14: Who Does He Think He Is? This realization didn’t particularly worry Vivienne. After all, Alistair had always been Rebecca’s go-to guy, and they were divorced now anyway. There was nothing wrong with her and Alistair connecting privately. They were both single adults. Besides, she’d openly asked Rebecca for his number in the first place. She had nothing to hide!
Rebecca’s expression darkened. “Vivienne, don’t you have something you want to tell me?”
Vivienne couldn’t help but laugh. “What exactly do you want me to say?”
Unable to contain herself any longer, Rebecca blurted out, “Did you turn me down because of Alistair?”
Vivienne shook her head. “Of course not.”
Rebecca laughed harshly. “I saw it with my own eyes and you’re still denying it? Vivienne, I thought you were my friend. What am I to you? I thought you were just joking around, but you actually took him home? What, did you introduce him to your parents? Were they impressed with my ex-husband?”
Vivienne just stared at her silently. Rebecca took the silence as guilt and continued her sarcastic laughter.
Chapter 14: Who Does He Think He Is?
“Rebecca,” Vivienne finally said quietly, “yes, I invited Alistair to my home. How is that any of your business?”
“How is it not my business?!”
“Rebecca, don’t forget you and Alistair are divorced. Your marriage was fake to begin with, and now you have Richard.”
Vivienne’s reminder only made Rebecca more furious. “Anne was right about you! Has Alistair brainwashed you? You’re throwing away years of friendship to side with him?”
Looking at Rebecca, Vivienne was reminded of high school. Rebecca had been just as upset back then, when she and Richard were still in that flirty, not-quite-dating phase. Some girl who had a crush on Richard had asked him about homework and chatted with him for a few minutes. Rebecca had happened to see it…
Years later, here was Rebecca showing the same jealous rage again. Except this time, it was over Alistair.
Vivienne sighed helplessly. “You’re overthinking this. It was my mom’s birthday, so I asked him to come cook dinner… But Rebecca, you and Alistair have gone your separate ways. Who he sees and what he does is his business, isn’t it? Are you sure you’re not just jealous?”
Rebecca bristled when Vivienne implied she had no right to control Alistair. She was about to argue back as if she’d just heard the most ridiculous joke, when Vivienne cut her off.
Chapter 14: Who Does He Think He Is?
“Rebecca, you need to be honest with yourself,” Vivienne said. “Are you still hung up on Richard, or have you started to care more about Alistair after spending so much time together?”
Rebecca couldn’t stand anyone comparing Richard to Alistair. Her brows furrowed in disgust. “Who does he think he is?” The “he” clearly referred to Alistair.
Vivienne just shrugged. Given their lifelong friendship, she’d done all she could. If Rebecca was going to be this stubborn, there was nothing more to say. But then again, Vivienne remembered how Alistair had pushed Rebecca away. Even if Rebecca realized how important Alistair had become to her, he probably wouldn’t take her back unless she completely transformed herself and fixed that terrible temper of hers.
Alistair returned home. He actually had a place to call home now. Before long, a famous designer arrived with several assistants to take his measurements. They kept calling him “Mr. Harlow” with service so attentive it made him uncomfortable.
It felt surreal to Alistair, going from a pitiful nobody to someone people treated like royalty. But then, a phone call yanked him back to reality. His father, Liam Harlow, rarely called him, and when he did, it was never about catching up or checking in. In fact, he never called unless he needed something.
This time, Liam explained he’d been suffering from severe back pain that hadn’t improved despite treatment. He wanted to know if Alistair could ask Rebecca about specialists who might help.
After a moment of silence, Alistair cut to the chase, saying that they were already divorced. It wasn’t like he hadn’t approached Rebecca with Liam’s requests before. Each time, she’d torn into him mercilessly.
“Divorced?” Liam sounded panicked. “What happened?”
Alistair didn’t want to share the humiliations he’d endured over the years with Liam. What good would it do to air his troubles? Even if he told the whole world and won everyone’s sympathy, that wouldn’t change history or rewrite his past. Since it couldn’t, he preferred to bear it alone, process the pain quietly, and try his best to forget.