THE MISSING EX-BOYFRIEND AND THE SWEET REVENGE

In the second month of Julian’s disappearance, I spotted him on a London street, completely by chance.

He was hanging out with his usual crowd, still wearing that same arrogant, reckless swagger.

“Julian, you ‘disappearing’ like this makes it hard for the rest of us to even see you once.”

“Couldn’t be helped,” Julian laughed carelessly, waving a hand. “That Evelyn girl kept clinging to me, controlling everything I did — she needed a lesson.”

“How’d you even come up with this disappearing act? Brilliant.”

“I taught him, obviously.”

The girl sitting right beside Julian tipped her chin up, laughing smugly. “You think that dim head of his could come up with a scheme like this on its own? Every bit of it was me.”

“True, true, true, you’re the most formidable one here.”

Julian reached over fondly and ruffled her hair.

I knew that girl all too well — Celeste, the one and only woman in Julian’s tight circle of friends.

“But playing it this big — what if Evelyn gets suspicious?”

“I already had Arthur help cover for me, no problem at all.”

The whole group suddenly understood, bursting into laughter.

“No wonder! With young master Arthur backing you up, who’d dare doubt it?”

“Arthur’s still the most reliable one here.”

Celeste pouted slightly, disdainful. “Obviously it’s because Evelyn’s just too stupid.”

I stood tucked in a corner, quietly waiting for Julian to push back on that.

But all I got was his voice, soft and coaxing: “That’s right, how could she ever be as smart or as pretty as you?”

The group around them hooted and teased again, as if they were long used to this scene.

“Julian, just settle things ‘in-house’ with Celeste already, why bother with a girlfriend at all?”

“I don’t eat grass that grows too close to my own den.”

“Get lost, like I’d even want you.”

The two of them kept insulting each other out loud, but under the table, their feet had already started brushing against one another without either seeming to notice.

As the conversation wound down, someone asked: this vanishing act can’t go on forever — when did Julian plan to come back?

“I’ll wait,” Julian said, thoroughly pleased with himself. “Wait until Evelyn’s driven half-mad looking for me. Then I’ll show up.”

I had originally planned to go to the police station today and file a proper missing-persons report.

But now, I’d changed my mind.

I stopped by a convenience store, bought a pile of my favorite snacks, then took my time going for a thoroughly relaxing spa treatment.

By the time I strolled back to the flat, it was already fully dark outside.

The room was pitch black, no lights on. I figured Arthur hadn’t arrived yet.

I’d barely finished changing out of my shoes when a pair of hands slid gently around my waist from behind.

My body went still. “Have you been drinking?” I asked.

Arthur didn’t answer the question directly, only lowered his voice and breathed warm air against my ear. “Where did you go today? Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

“Sorry, I didn’t have my phone on me.”

“Any word on Julian?”

“Mm, still nothing.” I let my voice trail off with a carefully calculated note of regret.

Arthur held me tighter, his breath lingering against the curve of my neck. “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t dragged him along hiking that day, none of this would have happened.”

He genuinely looked as though he were tormented with guilt —

— if only his warm tongue hadn’t chosen that moment to playfully flick against my earlobe.

Arthur was one of Julian’s closest friends. Ever since Julian’s disappearance, the two of them had been working the act together seamlessly, one tossing the ball and the other catching it.

Arthur had taken on the full role of “the guilt-ridden friend eaten alive by remorse.”

The only problem was, Julian was too much of a fool to have any idea —

that his good friend was carrying out his “atonement” in a manner that had gone thoroughly, deliciously off-script.