Chapter 14 Who Does He Think He Is ? He wasn't about to suffer another humiliating slap across the face ! Rebecca's eyes widened in shock . " Alistair , are you challenging me ? You actually dared to fight back ? " Alistair pushed her hand away . " Rebecca , I'd rather not stoop to fighting with a woman like you . " His warning came in an even tone , his expression barely changing - yet it carried as much intimidation as if he'd shouted at her . Rebecca stumbled backward , her mind reeling with shock . This wasn't her imagination . Alistair seemed like a stranger ! Suddenly , Rebecca felt like she was meeting him for the first time . Rebecca stood frozen for barely two seconds before quickly recovering . She glared at Alistair with a mocking smile . " Alistair , know your place ! The more you act like this , the more I can't stand you ! " Alistair looked at her , completely baffled . " Whether you like me or not , why would I care ? " he replied coldly . des for OUT THERE ON Chapter 14 Who Does He Think He Is ? 2/9 Actually , he hoped she wouldn't like him at all . Who would want the affection of a crazy woman ? The very thought made his skin crawl . Rebecca kept her eyes fixed on him . This unfamiliar version of Alistair made Rebecca's heart race with anxiety . She hadn't realized that something important was slipping from her control , something she desperately wanted to hold onto , fearing that once released , it would be gone forever . Her eyes fell on the beautifully wrapped gift box in his hands . " I really underestimated you , " she sneered . " Looks like Vivienne has a soft spot for you . But let me warn you . Vivienne isn't exactly a step up . She's just playing with you because you're something new . Do you honestly think she likes you ? " Even someone as dense as Alistair could now see that Rebecca had completely misunderstood his relationship with Vivienne . At first , he was bewildered . Vivienne was supposed to be her best friend , after all . She shouldn't describe Vivienne as such a casual girl . Then it hit him . This was Rebecca after all . The same Rebecca who , when he " misbehaved " , would force him to stand barefoot on the freezing balcony in winter wearing only thin pajamas , making him face the wall all night with the windows wide open . Chapter 14 Who Does He Think He Is ? 3/9 Even when he caught a terrible cold the next day , barely able to stand without passing out , she still expected him to prepare three meals daily for her and Daniel , only to call him useless afterward . Someone like her didn't deserve friends . Alistair didn't care about being falsely accused himself , but he felt it was unfair to Vivienne . " It's not what you think . There's nothing between Vivienne and me , " he frowned , " and frankly , it's none of your business . " He didn't want an innocent Vivienne getting dragged into this mess and had no interest in arguing with Rebecca . Instead , he threw out a question . " Does Richard know you're meeting with me behind his back ? Don't forget , no matter what , I'm still the ex - husband who lived with you for six years . " Before Rebecca could answer , Alistair walked away . He was trying to remind Rebecca . Aren't you so concerned about your crush's feelings ? Then stop getting tangled up with your ex - husband and making him uncomfortable . But Rebecca heard something completely different . He's obviously jealous of Rick . Heh ! What right does he have to be jealous of Rick ? He's deliberately getting involved with Chapter 14 Who Does He Think He Is ? 4/9 Vivienne just to get under my skin . How childish and ridiculous ! As Vivienne drove away from home , a Mercedes boldly blocked her path . Glancing at the license plate , Vivienne raised an eyebrow in surprise . She rolled down her window and smiled at the driver . " Rebecca , come on , don't be difficult . I need to get to my restaurant right away . I have so many things waiting for me . Another time , I promise we'll hang out properly , okay ? " Unlike Rebecca and Anne , who only knew how to enjoy their privileged lives , Vivienne was busy running her own business - a pizza shop she'd started from scratch . Rebecca said nothing , just stared at her coldly . Vivienne finally noticed something was off , and her casual smile faded as her brows furrowed slightly . " What's wrong , Rebecca ? " Rebecca's mouth twisted into a sneer , her voice dripping with sarcasm as she launched into what felt like an interrogation . " You tell me , Ms. Everett . " Vivienne looked thoughtful for a moment before something clicked . " How long have you been here ? " Rebecca's smile deepened . " About an hour ? " Vivienne fell silent . Alistair had left exactly an hour ago . Rebecca must have seen them together . Chapter 14 Who Does He Think He Is ? This realization didn't particularly worry Vivienne . 5/9 After all , Alistair had always been Rebecca's go - to guy , and they were divorced now anyway . There was nothing wrong with her and Alistair connecting privately . They were both single adults . Besides , she'd openly asked Rebecca for his number in the first place . She had nothing to hide ! Rebecca's expression darkened . " Vivienne , don't you have something you want to tell me ? " Vivienne couldn't help but laugh . " What exactly do you want me to say ? " Unable to contain herself any longer , Rebecca blurted out , " Did you turn me down because of Alistair ? " Vivienne shook her head . " Of course not . " Rebecca laughed harshly . " I saw it with my own eyes and you're still denying it ? Vivienne , I thought you were my friend . What am I to you ? " I thought you were just joking around , but you actually took him home ? What , did you introduce him to your parents ? Were they impressed with my ex - husband ? " Vivienne just stared at her silently . Rebecca took the silence as guilt and continued her sarcastic laughter . Chapter 14 Who Does He Think He Is ? 6/9 " Rebecca , " Vivienne finally said quietly , " yes , I invited Alistair to my home . How is that any of your business ? " " How is it not my business ?! " " Rebecca , don't forget you and Alistair are divorced . Your marriage was fake to begin with , and now you have Richard . " Vivienne's reminder only made Rebecca more furious . " Annet was right about you ! Has Alistair brainwashed you ? You're throwing away years of friendship to side with him ? " Looking at Rebecca , Vivienne was reminded of high school . Rebecca had been just as upset back then , when she and Richard were still in that flirty , not - quite - dating phase . Some girl who had a crush on Richard had asked him about homework and chatted with him for a few minutes . Rebecca had happened to see it … Years later , here was Rebecca showing the same jealous rage again . Except this time , it was over Alistair . Vivienne sighed helplessly , " You're overthinking this . It was my mom's birthday , so I asked him to come cook dinner … But Rebecca , you and Alistair have gone your separate ways . Who he sees and what he does is his business , isn't it ? Are you sure you're not just jealous ? " Rebecca bristled when Vivienne implied she had no right to control Alistair . She was about to argue back as if she'd just heard the most ridiculous joke , when Vivienne cut her off . Chapter 14 Who Does He Think He Is ? 7/9 " Rebecca , you need to be honest with yourself , " Vivienne said . " Are you still hung up on Richard , or have you started to care more about Alistair after spending so much time together ? " Rebecca couldn't stand anyone comparing Richard to Alistair . Her brows furrowed in disgust . " Who does he think he is ? " The " he " clearly referred to Alistair . Vivienne just shrugged . Given their lifelong friendship , she'd done all she could . If Rebecca was going to be this stubborn , there was nothing more to say . But then again , Vivienne remembered how Alistair had pushed Rebecca away . Even if Rebecca realized how important Alistair had become to her , he probably wouldn't take her back unless she completely transformed herself and fixed that terrible temper of hers . Alistair returned home . He actually had a place to call home . now . Before long , a famous designer arrived with several assistants to take his measurements . They kept calling him " Mr. Harlow " with service so attentive it made him uncomfortable . It felt surreal to Alistair , going from a pitiful nobody to someone Chapter 14 Who Does He Think He Is ? people treated like royalty . But then , a phone call yanked him back to reality . 8/9 His father , Liam Harlow , rarely called him , and when he did , it was never about catching up or checking in . In fact , he never called unless he needed something . This time , Liam explained he'd been suffering from severe back pain that hadn't improved despite treatment . He wanted to know if Alistair could ask Rebecca about specialists who might help . After a moment of silence , Alistair cut to the chase , saying that they were already divorced . It wasn't like he hadn't approached Rebecca with Liam's requests before . Each time , she'd torn into him mercilessly . " Divorced ? " Liam sounded panicked . " What happened ? " Alistair didn't want to share the humiliations he'd endured over the years with Liam . What good would it do to air his troubles ? Even if he told the whole world and won everyone's sympathy , that wouldn't change history or rewrite his past . Since it couldn't , he preferred to bear it alone , process the pain quietly , and try his best to forget .