Stuart covered his eyes and suddenly started laughing.
Jair kept going, "Look, if you're feeling down, I'll join you for a drink this once. But after that, we move on, alright?"
"How do I move on?" Stuart choked up, "I really hate myself. The old me was just blind, deaf, and dumb."
"You didn't know about this, and even without knowing, you still fell for Josephine. That means Angela didn't really win either."
"Don't try to comfort me," Stuart said. "I get it logically, but emotionally, I can't handle it."
He tried to drink again, but Jair stopped him. "If you keep this up, I'm calling Josephine."
"No," Stuart said painfully, "How can I face her?"
"So, you're just never gonna see her again? She's got plenty of guys after her. Rex still wants to be with Josephine. You just gonna let that happen?"
Stuart stayed silent.
Jair pressed on, "Or are you saying you can just watch Josephine be with another guy?"
"No," Stuart wiped his face, "That would kill me."
"Why do you keep talking about dying? You got the guts to die but not to start over? If you know you messed up, then make it right and treat her better."
"I know," Stuart said, "It's just, I'm in so much pain. Whenever I think about what I did, I just want to..."
"Alright," Jair patted his shoulder, "I'm sure Josephine doesn't want to see you like this. You know, when she found out you mistook Angela for your savior, her first reaction was to keep it from you."
Hearing this, Stuart felt even worse.
Jair continued to console him, "Josephine guessed that knowing would make you uncomfortable. She didn't expect you to find out anyway. But she said she didn't mind. If you had known it was her who saved you and treated her specially because of that, it's not what she wanted."
Stuart said, "I know all that, but I'm still in pain."
"So what do you want to do?" Jair's anxiety grew. If Stuart were his soldier, he would have kicked them already. Avoiding problems instead of solving them, what kind of man was that?
Stuart shook his head. "I don't know. I feel like I can't face her."
"Then don't see her," Jair said, "You wronged her and hurt her, so just don't see her anymore. Live your own lives."
Stuart didn't say anything, but the pain on his face was evident.
Jair was just speaking out of frustration. Someone like Stuart could never give up on Josephine.
As a friend, he couldn't say anything harsh at this moment. He could only say, "It's up to you. Your marriage was only three years, but there are many more years to come. You can spend the rest of your life making it up to her."
Stuart nodded.
Jair added, "Even though I've never been in a relationship, I advise you not to always think about compensating. Otherwise, your relationship will be off."
"I know."
"If you know, then why are you still so down?" Jair glared at him, "Come back with me! If you drink yourself into the hospital again, no one will care for you!"
Stuart pinched the bridge of his nose.
Jair continued, "I suggest you go find Josephine now. No, go home and sober up first. With all that alcohol on you, what woman would like that?"
He then remembered, slapping his forehead. "Look at me, I forgot to call Josephine." He called, but no one picked up.
Stuart said, "She's probably busy."
Jair decided to send her a message instead.
"Thanks," Stuart stood up, "I'm heading home now."
Jair was concerned, "I'll take you back."
"No need," Stuart said, "I know what to do now."
Jair sighed in relief as a driver picked up Stuart. He then got into his car and texted Claudia, who didn't respond.
Jair chuckled, "No wonder they're good friends, both so busy." He started the car and left the club.
By the time Josephine saw his message, an hour had passed. Knowing Stuart was okay, she finally felt relieved.
Noticing Jair's mention of Stuart drinking heavily, Josephine felt irritated. Why wasn't Stuart looking after himself? After a moment's thought, she messaged Stuart.
Stuart replied instantly: [I'm downstairs.]
Josephine was puzzled and replied: [Downstairs?]
What did he mean?
Stuart: [Josephine, are you done? Can you come downstairs? Let's meet.]
Was he downstairs at the research institute?
Josephine paused for a few seconds and typed: [It might take a while.]
She was about to enter the lab again, and who knew when she'd be out.
Stuart replied: [I'll wait for you.]
Josephine put down her phone. Her assistant called her, so she had to put all her thoughts aside and focus on her work.
As she finished, she knew it was late without checking the time, with night having fallen outside. It had been five or six hours since she replied to Stuart. Was he still there?
Josephine changed her clothes and went downstairs, immediately spotting Stuart's car. She was stunned for a moment and was about to walk over when her phone rang. It was Laura calling.
Josephine didn't step out the door and answered.
"Josephine, where are you?"
"At the research institute, just finished."
"We're going for a late-night snack!" Laura said, "I have to tell you, Claudia and Jair seem to have made significant progress!"
"Really?" Josephine was delighted, "What happened?"
"Come over, I'll fill you in! Claudia's joining us too!"
"Sure, drop me the location," Josephine replied, peeking outside. "I might run a tad behind."
"No problem, just be careful on your way!"
Ending the call, Josephine opened the door to find Stuart stepping out of the car.
"Josephine," Stuart called out.
"Sorry to keep you waiting so long," Josephine said.
Stuart looked at her without saying anything. Josephine felt a bit embarrassed under his gaze. She raised her hand to smooth her hair and asked, "What's wrong?"
Stuart looked down at her, "I want to hug you."
Josephine hesitated because the entrance to the research institute was bustling with people coming and going. Before she could think further, Stuart had already walked over and wrapped her in his arms. His grip was gentle, as if he was trying hard to restrain something.
Josephine could feel his body trembling. He held her, lowering his head to greedily inhale the faint fragrance from her neck, as if he was holding the whole world. If he could, he wanted time to stop at this moment, for having her in his arms was enough.