My Boyfriend Stole Charm From Others

My boyfriend was incredibly handsome, but he slept with my best friend.

He even erected a tombstone for me in the cemetery.

Right next to it was his.

But then I discovered that the photo on his tombstone wasn't of him. It was of another ugly guy.

1

My boyfriend was Dominic Powell, and he was stunningly handsome.

He was so charming that young women would stop him and rush up to ask for his contact information, regardless of the fact that he and I were holding hands. He was breathtakingly good-looking.

But something about him felt off.

He was never photographed.

I was a plastic surgeon and could say with professional confidence that he was blessed with insanely good looks. He could easily rival the hottest celebrities of the moment. Honestly, he could surely be a star.

At the very least, he could be a social media influencer or a still model.

But he was not.

He always avoided cameras.

I even thought about using his photo to promote our clinic.

Once, I got angry and told him that I had to take a picture of him and post it on my social media.

He refused. He'd rather buy me a $3, 000 handbag to appease me than let me take a single photo of him.

"Are you so precious and untouchable?"

We ended up quarreling that day.

To make matters worse, I had a group of girlfriends who liked to gossip.

In our friends' group chat, they kept pestering me. "Millie, we've heard your boyfriend is incredibly handsome! He is like a movie star. When are you going to let us see him? What does he look like? What's his type? Tell us.

Do you have any photos of him?"

What could I say?

I could only tell them that he didn't like being photographed.

Then Yolanda Jenkins, one of my more competitive friends, chimed in. Her boyfriend was a minor internet celebrity known for his good looks. "Pfft, you can't even show us a photo of him. I think I know how handsome he is."

I felt a mix of embarrassment and frustration.

And then, a chilling thought struck me.

Did he dare not be photographed?

What if he was... on the run?

2

I was anxious and hired a private detective to look into Dominic and see if there was anything suspicious about him.

In the meantime, I vented to my friend Bethany Douglas about Dominic's aversion to being photographed.

Bethany laughed when she heard my conjecture. "Did you forget what my boyfriend does for a living? I'll ask him to help you check."

I hung up the phone and felt a bit relieved.

Meanwhile, Yolanda was still mocking me in the group chat.

That evening, Dominic came to pick me up from work.

"Dominic, let's take a selfie together," I said.

For a split second, his body stiffened.

Then, he, who had always been gentle to me, pushed me away and said in an uncharacteristically cold tone, "I have something urgent at work." With that, he left in a hurry.

It was another failed attempt.

I felt like I was becoming obsessed. I followed him to the parking lot. He was already in his car and starting the engine. He was completely unaware of my presence.

He stared straight ahead, and his profile was illuminated by the dim light. Even in the blurry shadows, his sharp features and smooth skin made him almost unearthly aloof.

I secretly took out my phone and snapped a photo of him sitting in the car.

A few moments later, he drove off and texted me. "Millie, I really had something urgent today and couldn't take you home. I'm sorry."

He didn't mention that he refused to let me take a photo of him at all.

But I already had a photo of him, so I was satisfied and didn't feel like pressing the issue any further.

As I replied, "It's okay," I eagerly opened the photo I had just taken.

And then, I froze.

In the photo, there was a man driving the car.

But he wasn't handsome. Not even close. His features were blurry and unremarkable. He looked like just an average guy.

I was shocked.

Just then, my phone rang. I answered in a daze, and Brielle Pearson's sweet voice came through. "Millie, weren't you supposed to bring your boyfriend to meet us today? We are waiting to meet the incredibly cute guy. Where is he now?"

I smacked my forehead. I had completely forgotten about it.

Yolanda and Bethany had been arguing nonstop in the group chat, so they had decided to organize a gathering to meet Dominic in person. They said they would know if he was cute or not, and the photo of him was not necessary.

They planned to have the gathering that day.

But I'd been so caught up in photographing him that it had completely slipped my mind.

I had no choice but to go there alone.

When I arrived at the restaurant, Brielle greeted me with her usual sharp tongue. "So? Did your super-hot boyfriend turn into thin air?"

"He had something come up at work," I said with a forced smile.

Yolanda said with a smirk, "We've never seen your boyfriend. How do we even know he exists or not?"

I was about to respond when Brielle, quick as ever, grabbed my phone before I could react. "Let me help you call him. We must see him today."

She accidentally clicked her way into an open photo album on my phone.

She let out a loud, exaggerated laugh and exclaimed, "Millie, is this your boyfriend?"

Yolanda immediately snatched the phone for a look and then let out a derisive chuckle. "So this is the super-hot guy you were talking about?"

Bethany glanced over as well and was puzzled. "That's not her boyfriend. He doesn't look like that."

"Let's just drop it. Millie is on the verge of tears. We don't need to keep exposing her like this," Brielle said.

Yolanda snorted, "You're so vain, Millie. You even roped Bethany into lying to us for you. Did you do that just because my boyfriend's latest video hit two million views, right? You don't have to do better than I at every turn."

I was just about to speak when I suddenly heard Dominic's voice. "Millie."

I turned my head, and Dominic was there.

He was dressed in a sharp suit, with a faint sheen of sweat on his forehead. He was clearly having rushed over. "Millie, I'm so sorry. Something came up at work, but I wrapped it up as quickly as I could. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

From across the restaurant, I could feel the eyes of other women stealing glances at us.

At that moment, he fulfilled every ounce of my vanity.

I stole a quick glance at Yolanda.

She was staring at Dominic without blinking, and her jaw dropped open.

3

Brielle's eyes lit up as she openly sized Dominic up. "Millie, you've outdone yourself. Where did you meet him?"

Dominic answered, "We are schoolmates."

I looked at him in surprise. "Do you remember me?"

He gently offered me a piece of mango and said, "How could I not? You were unforgettable."

"But weren't you the same?" I replied.

Dominic and I went to the same high school.

It was large, with an international division and plenty of standout students.

But Dominic was undoubtedly the most famous of them all just because he was ridiculously handsome.

Back in high school, I was entirely focused on my academic learning and paid little attention to school gossip. But I still knew who Dominic was.

Whenever there was a commotion on the sports field, it was almost always Dominic playing basketball.

To be honest, I didn't like him much back then. Guys who have been handsome since they were young often end up a bit self-absorbed. He loved showing off, basking in the squeals of girls, and it was so noisy.

I never expected to meet him again after graduation.

But Dominic was different from the one I remembered. He was more humble, gentle, and composed. He was exactly my type.

I hadn't told him that we went to the same high school. I assumed he wouldn't remember me, given that he had always been the center of attention.

But he knew it.

When I got home, I dug out my old high school memorabilia. Someone as dazzling as him might have been featured in a promotional photo or something.

After searching for a while, I found him in a graduation campaign from a few years back.

He had a buzz cut, which highlighted his striking features.

I looked at the photo of him, then at the candid shot of him on my phone. Suddenly, I realized I was overthinking.

It was just the angle and lighting that made him look less photogenic.

Who was really flawless from every angle, anyway?

I was relieved and drove to Dominic's place.

I wanted to share all my silly thoughts with him and then curl up in his arms and laugh together with him.

But as soon as I opened the door, I saw a pair of red high heels boldly at the entrance. They were Brielle's.

Brielle had only met Dominic that day. How could they already be so close?

I suddenly felt uneasy.

I heard voices coming from the bedroom.

I tiptoed closer, and the door was wide open.

And the voices were unmistakable.

Brielle and Dominic were on the bed.

Clothes were scattered all over the floor.

Brielle's voice was sweet, broken into fragments. "You're so cute. How did Millie manage to find such a cute guy? Did you accept cosmetic surgery from her clinic?"

Dominic's voice was cold and cutting. "I found her. She didn't choose me. Do you really think she'd ever have trouble finding admirers? She's nothing like you. You're shallow."

Well, listening to their conversation, I'd think my best friend had failed to seduce my boyfriend.

But no matter how much Dominic insulted her or praised me, the fact remained that they were in bed together.

My best friend and my boyfriend had sex. He was calling her cheap and shallow while complimenting me.

What a sick joke was that?

I remembered the time we spent together. Dominic had always been eager to have sex with me.

I had always refused him, precisely because I loved him so much.

I was certain that we would get married, and I wanted to wait until our wedding night to give myself to him completely.