Back to Love: A New Beginning
Chapter 384

Chapter 384:.

Derek and I went out for a simple meal. When we left the restaurant, he took me to a bar. I had been to that bar before. It was the same one I went to the night before I divorced Shane.

If I remembered correctly, this was Eric’s bar. As soon as we walked into the bar, Eric came over to greet us and took us to a corner booth. It turned out he had it reserved for us.

“Enjoy yourselves, okay? Make yourselves at home,” he said.

Derek looked down as he lit a cigarette.

“Why did you want to see me?” he said to Eric.

Eric scratched the back of his neck and laughed awkwardly. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. So it’s about time we got together.” As soon as he finished the sentence, I saw Felix walk into the bar.

When he saw us, he stopped dead in his tracks, bit into his cigarette and tried to leave, but Eric immediately ran to his side and grabbed his arm.

Then Eric pushed Felix toward our booth.

“If you had told me earlier that someone I dislike is here, I wouldn’t have come!” complained Felix loudly.

We all knew who he was referring to.

At that point, Derek fell silent. It seemed like Felix was still mad at him. He was acting like a rude child.

Compared to him, Derek was much more mature and rational, so he wasn’t going to be offended by Felix’s words.

Not long after, Eric pressed Felix to lie down on the couch and asked one of the waiters to bring him some wine and fruit. You could tell Eric wanted to play peacemaker today.

As Eric poured several glasses of wine, he tried to speak. But before he could say anything, Felix spoke in a voice laden with sarcasm.

“What, your new friend has committed a crime, and now you’re trying to befriend your old brother?”

“Can’t you talk a little nicer, Felix?” Eric slammed the bottle down on the table.

Felix pursed his lips and remained silent; his face, smoldering with hostility.

gⱯlnσν𝓮ℓs﹒𝚌o𝗺 is where stories live

Silently, Eric gulped down an entire glass of wine. The moment he set the glass down, some of the wine dripped from the corner of his mouth and he wiped it off with the palm of his hand. It was clear he was getting angry.

“Look, I don’t know what the hell is going on between you two, but you’ve been my best friends for many years. Why are you two acting like children, huh? Why are you making this shit up? I don’t care what happened between you two. Let’s not talk about anything that bothers us. Sit the fuck down, and have a drink. For my sake, okay?” With that said, he looked at the glass of wine in front of Derek.

“Derek, can you drink?”

Just as he was about to say something, Derek said, “Yes.”

It would be inappropriate for me to stop him now, so I just said, “In moderation.” Derek nodded and gently patted the back of my hand.

Later, only Eric was the one talking, while the other two men barely spoke.

In the meantime, I went to the bathroom. When I came out, I saw Felix outside the sink.

“Where is she?” he asked bluntly.

I looked at the head in response. “I don’t know either.”

Felix chuckled and scoffed, “Are you afraid she’ll tell the police? You’re her best friend, Eveline-how could I not tell you?” I let out an exasperated sigh.

To dispel his doubts, I pulled out my phone and showed him the message Louise had sent me the day she left.

Felix stared at the message for several minutes, petrified by its contents. He was aware that the message had many details that were cruel to him.

Louise was pregnant now, and she even told me that she wanted to live out the rest of her days with Layne. Felix finally pulled himself together. He handed the phone back to me and smiled bitterly.

“Damn! I’m so fucking stupid. We agreed that we should go our separate ways, so whatever happens in his life, it’s none of my business now. If he lives or dies, it shouldn’t matter to me.” When he got back to the cabin, he drank like there was no tomorrow.

He filled his glass himself and soon had emptied a few bottles all by himself. Eric advised him not to drink too much.

Clearly drunk, Felix said in a slurred voice, “Don’t be so cheap, man! You hardly ever pay the bill. Just let me drink. I’ll pay, okay?”

It wouldn’t be appropriate for Eric to stop him now, so Eric let Felix drink as much as he wanted. After Derek drank another glass, I nudged him in the arm, giving him to understand that he should stop.

After looking at me, he understood what I meant, so he put down his glass and said, “Enjoy the rest of the drinks. My wife and I are leaving now. It’s fine for men to stay late, but it wouldn’t be good for women to do the same.”

The moment Derek got up, however, Felix grabbed his arm.

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