My Girlfriend of 7 Years Cheated on Me

I rubbed my face and took a taxi to the bar.

Even if she was just a friend, a girl alone at a bar at night was unsafe. Besides, she was my girlfriend.

But I didn't expect to see Celeste crying, clinging to a man's neck when I arrived at the bar.

That man was Xavier.

Xavier saw me first. He gave a mocking smile and stroked Celeste's back. "Celeste, your boyfriend's here."

The bar was noisy, but I felt my heart pounding.

I strode over. I pulled Celeste away and punched Xavier in the face.

Xavier staggered from my punch. I grabbed his collar, gritting my teeth. "Where the hell are you touching?"

Before Xavier could answer, Celeste grabbed my clothes. "Let go!"

My grip loosened. She shielded Xavier, questioning me, "Austin, are you crazy? Why do you hit him?"

Xavier was protected by her. He gave me a taunting smile, speaking gently, "Celeste, don't be mad. Your boyfriend might have misunderstood something."

His smile deepened. "Celeste slipped while getting something. She fell into my arms. I just helped her. There's nothing between us. Don't misunderstand."

I gritted my teeth, my temples throbbing. Ignoring Xavier, I asked Celeste slowly, "You called me here to show me this?"

To see her in another man's arms, protecting him?

Tears still on her face, Celeste slapped me. "Austin, are you reasonable? I said we're just friends. If you hadn't pissed me off, would I be at the bar? A drunk harassed me earlier. Without Xavier, I wouldn't be safe now!"

She questioned me, "You're still my boyfriend. Where were you when I was being harassed?"

I didn't expect she had been in trouble. I instinctively wanted to explain, "The traffic was heavy..."

But I stopped halfway. "Why did you come to the bar?"

Celeste rarely came to bars. Once, when I came with a friend, she got very angry. She said only players came here, and my coming was disloyal to her.

Since then, I never set foot in a bar again.

Celeste's crying paused. She was panicked.

Xavier explained, "Celeste called me. She cried hard, saying you two had a quarrel. I was here, so I asked her to come over."

Celeste got defensive. "Yeah, it's because of you! You embarrassed me. When I left, you didn't even try to stop me!"

She had drunk a bit. The smell of alcohol was obvious. Her gaze was a bit unfocused.

But she remained defiant. "People say there's a seven-year itch. I didn't believe it before. You wouldn't have treated me like this before!"

To Celeste, all the mistakes were mine.

I didn't want to argue with a drunk. I grabbed her hand. "Let's go home first."

Celeste flung my hand away. "You don't care about me, right? You don't trust me, right? Go back yourself. I'm not going back. That's not my home!"

She pushed Xavier onto the sofa and grabbed a bottle of wine from the table. "Come on, Xavier. Let's drink until we drop tonight!"

Xavier sighed helplessly. His tone was full of indulgence. "I really can't handle you."

He looked at me. "Why don't you sit down and apologize to Celeste? As her boyfriend, you did go a bit too far."

Celeste was dissatisfied and asked him, "Are you his friend or mine? I don't need his apology. He shouldn't have bothered me tonight!"

She took out her phone. She tapped a few times and showed me the screen. "Didn't you want us to get a room? I booked one. We'll go soon!"