The whole room was quieter than before. Alice and Thompson didn't say or do anything for a few
minutes. Just then, Thompson felt like smoking. He reasoned that his nerves would become relaxed
after a smoke.
But he considered that Alice was pregnant. It wasn't right for a pregnant woman to inhale cigarette
smoke. Because of this, he stood up and moved away from her.
As Thompson took out the cigarette, he kept his gaze on Alice. Then he asked politely, "Do you mind?"
In response, Alice shook her head and asked, "If you knew that it wouldn't last long, why did you agree
in the first place?"
At that instance, a smile appeared on Thompson's face. His eyes also twinkled. The response he gave
her afterwards was one that she would never forget.
"It's very simple. Love could be likened to smoking. Studies have shown that smoking is harmful to the
health. This fact is even written clearly on every cigarette box. Nevertheless, there are still many
smokers in the world today. The same goes for both of us. We know that no one can completely give
up on love. But we still pursue affection relentlessly. We refuse to consider the disadvantages of what
we're doing. Isn't it?"
Thompson coughed slightly. This was probably because he was smoking and talking at the same time.
The cigarette might have gone into his windpipe.
"You are right. I also never banked on this alliance from the very beginning. But, I still chose to trust you
without hesitation. People make irrational decisions when they're in a hurry. I guess this was what
happened to me. I didn't think over it before choosing you as my ally. Even so, I don't regret it. At least
now I know the kind of person I fell in love with. Our partnership helped me to understand Jacob's
personality."
Alice gritted her teeth in hatred. The gentleness she had just shown disappeared within a split second.
Now, her blood was boiling.
"Well, I need you to tell me about Jacob's personality. I want to hear the opinion of someone who loved
him."
Thompson shook the cigarette ash gently. He was trying to wade off the smoke. But it still lingered in
front of him.
Alice bit her lips angrily. She refused to answer his question immediately. Although she knew that
Thompson was mocking her, she had nothing now. Because of this, she reasoned that it was best to
endure his mockery. Something good might come out of it anyways.
It was probably because of Thompson's ridicule that Alice still felt relaxed. At least someone was there
for her to talk to. For a long time, she had shouldered an incomparably heavy burden all by herself.
There seemed to be something that had to be done all on her own. Even though Jacob wouldn't marry
her, Alice didn't die because of that. She handled the whole matter well. Although she was pained and
her heart became hardened, she was determined to live a happy life.
Now Alice's purpose of living had changed. Her goal was no longer to take back Jacob. Now, she
wanted to take revenge on him. She strongly desired that he paid for all the suffering that she had
passed through.
"Jacob is a despicable and ungrateful villain. He's fond of playing with other people's emotions. He is
so wicked! I think I was blind to have fallen in love with such a person,"
Alice said in a calm tone. However, the words she spoke were shocking. She had never said these
words to anyone. But she had always thought about it in her head.
"Haha! Alice, although you look like an abandoned resentful woman, I have to admit that you are right.
Jacob is indeed a cruel human being just as you described."
Thompson laughed devilishly and continued, "That's why I chose to connive with you in the first place.
You won't change your attitude because of other people's perception. Honestly, I like that very much.
Even though you hate Jacob, you don't hide it. You expressed your resentment with boldness."
Alice was flattered by Thompson's words. Her eyes beamed with delight. The words he said were truly
what was in his mind. In the beginning, Thompson had thought that Alice and Jacob would one day
become enemies. This was part of the reasons why he agreed to be her ally.
"No wonder you are always mysterious. This behavior of yours is the reason why I chose you. You
rarely speak, but you can see through everything. I think that's very commendable."
Alice looked at Thompson and smiled bitterly. They weren't praising each other sincerely. The flattery
was just for mutual benefit. Although Alice wasn't going to gain anything from the flattery, the brief
feeling of comfort was enough. Her whole life was becoming a sad tale and this helped to ease the pain
a little.
"What are you going to do next? Will you abort the baby?"
Thompson stared at Alice with seriousness written all over his face. Actually, he felt a little nervous
whenever he talked about the baby. He hadn't felt this way in so many years. Fortunately, he knew the
reason for his excitement.
As he continued to smoke his cigarette, Thompson tried to hide the happiness which was showing
slightly on his face. This was because he clearly defined the relationship between him and Alice. He
had praised Alice just to make her feel valued. This didn't mean that he actually respected her from his
heart.
Not only would Thompson not accept her, he also looked down on her. Actually, he didn't hold Alice in
high esteem. Despite the fact that she was arrogant and opinionated, in Thompson's eyes, she was
just an ordinary woman. He felt like there was nothing special about her.
Hence, he wasn't too surprised when Jacob chose Sara over Alice. Thompson always felt like Sara
was way out of Alice's league. But he couldn't tell this silly woman in front of him how he truly felt. He
didn't want to upset her more than she already was.
This meeting wouldn't be the last that they would have. In fact, he was sure that they would have to
meet again as the matter was becoming more complicated. Now that Alice was pregnant, it was
actually a great threat to Jacob. Of course, Thompson knew all the details of the situation.
Since he knew all that would play out, he felt that the situation was in his favor. At that moment, he
wanted to use this advantage judiciously. Even if he wasn't going to use it to win Sara over, he could
use it to deal with Jacob. This matter was enough to wreak havoc on him.
In the past, Thompson had suffered severely from Jacob's trouble. Now it was his turn for revenge.
Perhaps he would double his vengeance. He wanted to pay Jacob back with twice the suffering that he
went through.
It was Jacob's fault that he chose such a 'good' ex-girlfriend. As he thought about this, Thompson's
heart continued to leap for joy. The future held a lot of interesting twists and turns for this situation. How
could he not be excited?
As Alice stared blankly at Thompson, she felt goose bumps and the hair on her skin also stood up.
Although she didn't understand why, she didn't fully trust Thompson. There was something that didn't
seem right about him.
So Alice decided to tell him half of the truth and a false story. In this way, they would be even and
Thompson wouldn't have an advantage over her. She didn't care whether it was true or not.
All that she cared about was to defend herself from both the truth and the lie.
"No, I won't. I will not give into Jacob's wishes. I don't want to abort my child. I'm disappointed by his
attitude towards me. Honestly, I feel so heartbroken. I never expected Jacob to treat me like this. I've
loved him sincerely for so many years!"
Alice's voice was shaky at that moment. Assuming she didn't know the kind of person Thompson was,
she might have cried.
If she broke down in tears now, he would probably just stand beside her and say with a smirk on his
face, "Why are you crying over something so trivial? Stop crying."
Therefore, it was better for her to control her emotions than to let Thompson make mockery of her. To
Alice, tolerance was more important than life. She was happy that her self-esteem was still intact in
front of him.
As a matter of fact, if a person had no dignity, then that person would lose everything. Hence, Alice had
been trying so hard to maintain her dignity. She guarded it jealously because it was the only thing she
had left.
But in a relationship, as long as one of them began to struggle hard, self-worth would no longer exist.
Building a healthy relationship was a collective responsibility and not just for one person alone. As she
thought about this, Alice couldn't help but laugh at herself. She also had a depressing look on her face.
"So you hate him, don't you?" Instead of trying to ease Alice's pain, Thompson went straight to the
point. He was eager to know exactly how she felt about Jacob presently. This would help him in his
dubious plan.
Alice nodded in the affirmative. Of course, she was filled with immeasurable hatred for Jacob. This was
the sole reason why she had called for the meeting. If she didn't hate Jacob, she wouldn't be there.
Previously, it was her love for Jacob that motivated her. But now, it was the resentment she had for him
that was her driving force. Although love and hatred were opposite sides of a coin, they could transform
into each other under certain circumstances.
From this point of view, Alice felt that she wasn't doing anything wrong. To her, she was only acting
according to the situation she found herself in. Everything was Jacob's fault and she was just an
innocent victim.
Alice probably forgot about all the atrocities she committed in the past. She reasoned that Jacob
shouldn't have stopped loving her. He should have continued to love her despite all her flaws.
This was Alice's logic. She was already imbibing what Thompson had just told her about smokers.
Although smoking was harmful to health, smokers didn't care about the disadvantages. Even though
their relationship had ended, people who were once deeply entangled couldn't just be separated
immediately. They would still have to meet each other from time to time.
Their relationship was built gradually. It wasn't something that grew overnight.
Everything started from the very first day they met. And as they spent several years together, the
connection grew into an entanglement that spanned a whole lifetime. Not minding all these, Alice still
had the confidence that she now hated Jacob.
"Of course, I hate him! That's why we are still cohorts. You hate him just like I do, right?"
Alice blurted out the question. At that instance, anxiety was written on her face. She was obviously
eager to know Thompson's opinion. She hoped that they were on the same
page.
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