She Bet on Love, I Married Another

Chapter 5: Special Treatment

Alex

“When did you even leave the house?” Julie demanded, her brows raised skeptically.

I almost laughed.

So, she still didn’t know I wasn’t in the house with them.

I knew it, of course. But actually finding out just how little she had noticed was hilarious.

In fact, it could probably win the comedy of the year.

Julie was a comedian.

“Wait.” Julie shook her head when I didn’t answer, her eyes dropping to the suitcase in my hand. “What, Alex?” she snapped. “Don’t tell me you actually stalked me to the airport?”

I stared at her in shock.

What?

“Since when did your controlling and possessive behavior get this sick?” she demanded harshly, her expression a mixture of disappointment and disbelief, her lips pressing into a thin line.

I smiled.

“I think you have it all wrong, Julie. I didn’t stalk you.”

“You aren’t?” Julie’s brows remained raised in question. “Then what’s all this? Just because I said I would register our marriage after I’m back? You can’t wait for a whole month?”

Oh, I couldn’t believe I was hearing this.

I maintained my smile regardless.

Gone were the days when I would become agitated and furious over her silly remarks.

Not anymore.

“Anyways, you’re just overthinking this. I’m traveling on my own. It’s merely a coincidence that we’re meeting like this,” I explained as calmly as I could.

“Nonsense.” Julie laughed, clearly not believing me.

I didn’t know what she thought she was, anyway.

Perhaps she had already convinced herself that I would always need her in my life.

Well, that used to be true.

“Julie,” John called softly, drawing her attention to him. “Don’t be harsh on Alex. You know how much he loves you. He’s just like this because he’s jealous.”

“But it’s becoming too much,” Julie ranted. “He’s always thinking about himself and not others,” she continued, speaking as if I wasn’t standing right in front of them.

But what did I expect from someone who could confidently talk down about me when I was only a door away?

She genuinely believed that no matter what happened, I would always be here waiting for her.

Well, that used to be a thing.

“But even at that,” John continued, “We all know Alex cares so much about you. It’s understandable that he would do this. So don’t blame him, please.”

He said it so softly, as if he truly meant well for me.

Julie immediately turned to me.

“Did you see that, Alex?” she snapped. “This is how a real man should be. Can’t you just learn from John and stop being so miserable?”

I regarded her for a moment before looking past her at John.

His eyes gleamed with quiet amusement, a provocative smirk barely concealed behind his pressed lips.

He was enjoying this.

He always tried his best to appear innocent and understanding in front of Julie, but I knew that wasn’t who he truly was.

Well, now I was enjoying this too.

They looked nothing more than a bunch of actors to me.

Julie’s eyes hardened on me, anger flashing across her face.

“Don’t even think these stalker tricks will make me jealous or change my mind.”

“Seriously?” I decided to play along.

“Of course!” she barked furiously. “And I’m warning you, Alex! If you keep following me and acting all crazy, I will push our wedding back by another month!” She threatened me without even blinking.

If I hadn’t already made my decision to leave, I would have been panicking.

Perhaps I would have even started begging and rubbing her feet just to stop her from making such a decision.

But would someone who truly loved me make threats like this?

Would she willingly postpone our wedding because her partner was jealous?

The answer was painfully clear.

Julie never loved me. Not the way I loved her, anyway.

“So behave!” Julie added quickly. “Don’t do something you’ll end up begging me over later, because I won’t respond!”

She finished speaking and turned toward John, whose gaze had initially been fixed on me, silently mocking me.

“Come. Let’s go.”

John shook his head briefly, the silly smirk disappearing from his face and being replaced by a gentle, almost sad expression.

“Are you sure we should do that? Why don’t we just allow him to come along?”

“No!” Julie protested immediately. “I will not allow that! This trip was for the two of us. He should wait!”

John looked at me with that same sympathetic expression. “Don’t worry. We’ll be back before you even notice.”

Julie tugged at him slightly, not even sparing me another glance.

They walked away, or rather, Julie stormed off because she was clearly fuming.

I watched them until they disappeared from sight.

A grin finally escaped me.

Okay.

I had thought last night would be the last time they saw me.

Apparently, this morning would have to do.

I turned toward the check-in queue but stopped.

The line was massive. Even Jude and Julie had joined it.

Just as I was about to step forward, three well-dressed airport staff members stopped in front of me and bowed slightly.

“We’re sorry for just showing up, Mr. Alex,” one of them apologized.

I nodded once, waving it off. “That’s fine.”

“We’re terribly sorry for the delay,” another one added. “But your itinerary has been upgraded to business class. We’ll handle your luggage personally and ensure that you receive the highest level of service throughout your trip.”

I raised an eyebrow. Business class?

“Please, follow us to the VIP lounge,” the staff member said politely.