My girlfriend's downfall
Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Chapter 51

The picture only showed the lower body of the man, so it was impossible to determine his true identity. However, from the spacious room, luxurious furnishings, and somewhat aged legs, the previous assumption seemed correct. Considering that only blond men had light yellow body hair, out of the eight names on the list, only three remained: Professor Mark, the finance teacher who taught Lily one or two courses—tall and in his early forties, with some balding golden hair;

Carl, the head of the International Student Management Center at Celestial University, with a bit of a beer belly, always smiling, with a red nose and curly golden hair; and Professor Leon, the head of my computer science department and Jack’s former mentor, in his fifties, with short golden hair and a ruddy square face, gentle but silent.

A little more evidence, and I could expose this bastard.

But what then? Call the cops? Without proof Lily was being coerced, they wouldn’t do anything. What was I supposed to do?

And another thing: the photo was too high-quality for a phone. If Logan took it with a camera, getting rid of the original would be that much harder. Did I need a whole new plan?

I didn’t have much time to think. I heard Lily opening the bathroom door. Quickly, i sent the pic to my phone, I knew I was going to need it later, if its about lily cheating on me it has gone on for too long, I also deleted the message from her phone and cleared the browsing history—so she wouldn’t know. I hurriedly put Lily’s phone back in her handbag, stuffed the paper with names into the pocket of the clothes on the floor, and threw myself onto the bed, pretending to be tired while waiting for Lily to come out. When she appeared at the door wrapped in a pink towel, I could see we were both exhausted from last night’s nightmare and the intense morning sex. We cuddled up on the bed and fell asleep until evening.

Just as it got dark, the phone’s ringtone suddenly woke me up. Groggy, I answered the call and couldn’t help but feel angry when I heard the voice—it was Logan.

I tried to keep my cool. "Hey, Logan, what’s up?"

"Hey, Ethan, has Lily come back?" Logan asked, sounding a bit too friendly.

This jerk! After cheating with lily Lily all night, he still had the nerve to call. I gritted my teeth and said, "Yeah, she’s back. What’s up?"

"Oh, nothing much. Mia’s making dinner tonight. Figured we’d invite you guys over," Logan said.

Mia? That was weird. Why would she suddenly invite us for dinner? Lily and I had met Mia a few times, but we weren’t close. I thought for a moment and said, "Uh, thanks, but no need."

"Come on, Mia’s serious about this. She said if you don’t come, she won’t let me off easy," Logan insisted.

What was going on? Surely Logan wouldn’t try anything with Lily with Mia around. This asshole was stringing Lily along, all while keeping Mia in the dark. It was infuriating! Although I didn’t want to see Logan’s face, maybe this was a chance to figure out what was going on between him and Mia. "Alright, fine. See you later." I hung up, a knot of unease in my stomach. "Was it Logan? What did he say?" Lily asked, holding my waist, a bit nervous but trying to act casual.

"Yeah, it’s no big deal. He and Mia invited us for dinner," I said, trying to sound casual.

"Dinner? Why?" Lily whispered.

In the dim evening light from the window, I could see the surprise and embarrassment flash across Lily’s face. I asked, "What’s wrong, Lily? Don’t want to go?"

"No, it’s fine, let’s go," Lily said softly, leaning against my chest, lost in thought. Once Lily and I arrived, we found the dinner was quite fancy, and Mia’s cooking skills were impressive. Although the four of us appeared harmonious on the surface, the atmosphere was indescribably awkward.

We were two couples, performing the charade of happy relationships. But beneath the surface, it was a tangled mess. I’d seen Mia and Logan together, seen Logan with Emily. He acted devoted to Mia, but he was obsessed with Lily, manipulating and coercing her. And yet, here we all were, pretending nothing had happened.

Lily and I brought a bottle of red wine, and after we’d all had a glass, Mia finally came out with it. She was dead serious about Logan and needed to know if he was faithful, if he was "the one."

Love made you do crazy things, right? Especially when the guy in question had been acting shady with Lily the previous night and messing around behind both Mia and Emily’s backs for the past month.

Mia’s gut was screaming something was wrong, but she couldn’t bring herself to walk away. She had suspected something with Emily, but Lily was completely off her radar. So, she turned to us, probably the two worst people she could have asked for relationship advice.

With tears in her eyes, Mia asked Lily point-blank if Logan was seeing other women. Lily’s face went crimson. We both knew the truth, but admitting it was too mortifying. We mumbled some reassurances, telling her not to worry.

Logan wasn’t having a great time either. His eyes were darting around, and sweat was starting to show on his forehead. He was probably freaking out, knowing that if he got exposed, he’d be dumped, ostracized by everyone at Celestial, maybe even get his ass kicked and sent packing.

I was seething, consumed by jealousy, wanting to expose him, to punch his lights out. But if I did that, everything I had with Lily would go down the drain.

Lily’s face stayed flushed, and she kept avoiding eye contact with me and Logan. Under Mia’s constant questioning, she stammered. Logan’s face was pale as he tried to comfort the slightly tipsy Mia while sneaking glances at Lily and me.

We were all on edge, and somehow, we made it through the night. The dinner finally ended when Mia couldn’t handle her alcohol anymore. After that awkward dinner, Logan seemed to back off from Lily a bit.

For almost a week, she’d been staying at my place every night, and as far as I could tell, he hadn’t contacted her. Not that he’d lost interest, but Mia had been glued to him since the dinner, giving him no opportunity to stray.

Mia was a nice girl, slim with a good figure. Maybe not stunning, but her fair skin and sweet nature made her more than a match for short, stocky Logan. But the jerk wasn’t satisfied.

Anyway, a quarter of the month had gone by. If Mia continued to cling to Logan, maybe Lily’s ordeal would end without incident. It would be a lucky break. I hoped for it, but I couldn’t relax. Those photos were still out there, a ticking time bomb.

During the week, while Logan was out during the day, I’d been taking risks, trying to get into his room. I’d even managed to get onto his computer, searching through every CD, camera, and external hard drive I could find. As a CIS student, with a little preparation, I was confident I could find those pictures, no matter how well hidden. But I found nothing.

So, I figured the photos must be on Logan’s phone. If that’s the case, maybe I just need to find a way to destroy his phone, and that would solve the problem.

On Friday morning, with this on my mind, I sat in a cafe on Rainwood Ridge, not far from Emerald City, sipping hot coffee and staring at the empty street outside.

Rainwood Ridge is a pretty quiet place near the coast. With recent fishing restrictions, the once-bustling fishing industry had dried up. Now, the town’s economy was barely hanging on thanks to a few low-key tourist spots and a struggling logging industry.

I was there to collect data from a small research institute.

Usually, my mentor handled this, but he had some personal stuff to deal with, so I took over. Expecting morning rush hour traffic, I left early without breakfast. To my surprise, the area was so quiet, with hardly any cars on the road, it felt like a holiday morning.

I got to the research institute around eight, and with the help of one or two staff members there, I finished my work in about ten minutes. Then, I found a little café on what could be considered the main street and ordered a cup of coffee and some pastries.

The cafe was quiet, with just one or two early-rising elderly patrons.

I sipped my coffee, looking through the bright glass window at the gray sky, the distant sea with gentle waves, and the few unhurried pedestrians on the street. My heart was filled with a unique tranquility of a foreign morning.

But then, a figure emerged from the entrance of a clothing store across the street, shattering my peace.

It was a stunning girl, wearing golden high-heeled sandals and a black sundress that stopped above her knees, showing off her slender, enticingly white legs. Her green camisole hugged her full, proud chest, revealing a deep cleavage that made the few elderly men on the street steal glances. She had a white cropped jacket over her shoulders, carried a small handbag, and wore a delicate silver bracelet on her bare, snow-white left wrist. Even with minimal accessories, she exuded an irresistible youthful charm.

Her flawless fair skin and exquisite face stood out even more on this quiet street. The girl’s face showed a mix of joy and helplessness, but what shocked me the most was that this girl was my girlfriend, Lily!

What was she doing here? She had been getting up earlier than me lately, saying she needed to go to school to work on her thesis. Why was she here? i knew it she had started lying to me again I wouldn’t be surprised if she was here with another guy.