Chapter 254

Alice frowned, "I really don't want to go. I'm exhausted."

She tried to refuse again, but Willie seemed hell-bent on dragging her along.

"Look, they specifically asked me to bring you. If you don't show, I'll never hear the end of it. Just do me a solid—come hang out for a bit. If you're really beat, you can take off early."

Since Willie had put it that way, refusing would make Alice look like a jerk. Plus, she'd just shot down his confession a few days ago. If she bailed on the alumni thing just to avoid him, it'd only make things more awkward between them.

In the end, Alice caved, "Fine, I'll go."

Having gotten his way, a flash of satisfaction crossed Willie's face. He opened the passenger door for her.

Alice hesitated, but eventually slid into Willie's car.

The vibe was weird because of his earlier confession, but they were still friends. She couldn't just ghost him over something like that.

Settling into the passenger seat, Alice turned to stare out the window. She honestly had no idea what to say.

Willie kept stealing glances at her. Remembering how she'd left that night in Samuel's arms, the resentment he'd been pushing down bubbled up again.

"Why so quiet? Feeling weird because I confessed?"

His sudden mention of it made Alice scramble to explain, "No."

"You don't have to pretend. I feel kinda awkward too. I had no clue you were already married. If I'd known, I definitely wouldn't have said anything."

Thinking about how Alice had shot him down and turned out to be married—to some guy who clearly had it out for him—Willie's bitterness grew.

He'd never been rejected like this before.

This was the first time he'd actually put himself out there for a girl, only to find out she was already married—to someone who obviously couldn't stand him.

"Willie, let's just drop it, okay? I already told you I'm married."

Willie let out a short laugh and quickly backtracked, "No, you've got it wrong. I'm not trying to chase you or anything. I just meant that if I'd known you were married, I wouldn't have confessed and made things weird. Don't worry—from now on, we're just friends."

Seeing that Willie had let it go, Alice felt a wave of relief wash over her, her guard coming down.

"Willie, you had me worried there. You have no idea how awkward I was feeling. Someone like you has probably never been turned down before. I thought you might be pissed."

Willie chuckled, "Is that really how you see me? Like I'm that petty? You can't force feelings. I'm not a hundred-dollar bill—not everyone's gonna like me."

Alice realized she'd been overthinking it. Since Willie had moved on, they could just be normal friends from now on.

Besides, it wasn't like they'd be seeing each other all that much anyway.

"So when did you and your husband tie the knot?"

When he mentioned Samuel, a flash of resentment crossed Willie's eyes. He still couldn't figure out what made him lose to that guy.

Was it just because Alice had spent so much time with him that she'd fallen for him?

"We got married a while back—before you came back to the States."

Alice pulled out her phone to shoot Samuel a text that she'd be home late.

Learning they'd gotten married ages ago, Willie's brows knitted together, "You were already married before I came back? But you told me you were just roommates."

Alice gave an awkward smile, "My relationship with my husband is... complicated. Back then, I didn't think we'd actually fall for each other. I figured we might split up any day, so I didn't tell anyone I was married."

At the time, she'd thought Samuel was a flake. They'd both had their own agendas—they could've called it quits at any moment. If too many people knew, it would just give them something to gossip about after the divorce.

Hearing she'd once considered divorce, Willie's eyes lit up, "You were thinking about divorce? Doesn't sound like you two were that solid."

Something about his tone rubbed her the wrong way. Alice couldn't help but frown, her voice taking on an edge, "That was before. Now I'm absolutely sure—we love each other and we're in this together."

Catching Alice's irritation, Willie's expression darkened. He could tell she was getting pissed and quickly backpedaled.

"I wasn't trying to question your relationship. Just making conversation. Don't read into it."

"Willie, I think my marriage is my business. I only told you I was married because you confessed the other day. But I don't like talking about my private life with other people."

Alice's meaning was crystal clear—she wanted him to back off.

Her relationship with her husband didn't need anyone else weighing in.

Sensing Alice's anger, Willie quickly retreated, "Okay, okay, I won't ask anymore. I was just curious, so I threw out a few questions. If you don't want to answer, no big deal."

They fell silent after that. Willie's eyes narrowed slightly. Alice had once considered divorce, which meant their relationship wasn't rock solid.

At that thought, Willie couldn't help but smile.

So what if she was married? If two people weren't right for each other, they could still get divorced.

At the restaurant, their classmates had been waiting. When they saw the two walk in together, everyone erupted in knowing squeals.

"You two came in together—talk about making an entrance!"

"Right? Out of everyone here, you two are hands down the hottest couple."

Hearing everyone's teasing, Alice's face tightened with annoyance, "Cut it out. Willie and I are just friends."

Alice's words fell on deaf ears. Everyone kept egging them on, "Don't be shy! We're all old friends here. If you and Willie got together, we'd be thrilled for you."

"Seriously! Willie's been single all these years, and we all know who he's been holding out for. Coming back to the States this time was probably for a certain someone, right?"

Listening to everyone's teasing, Alice's frown deepened, disgust rising in her chest.

If she'd known they'd pull this crap, she never would've come.

Did everyone except her know about Willie's feelings?

Willie caught Alice's mood shift and, worried that if everyone kept this up she'd get pissed and bail, jumped in to shut it down.

"Alright, knock it off. Don't talk nonsense. Alice and I are just regular friends."