John actually regretted it immediately. He just couldn't control his temper after all these years surrounded by flattering people, but he didn't mean to hit Eric that hard.

"I told you. Don't argue with me for an outsider." John's voice was still harsh and cold while he tried to hide his guilt, "that friend of yours doesn't sound like a good person. Don't see him again."

Eric pushed him away and sat up. He touched his swollen cheek, his smile bitter and soft. "You are not a good person either, John. How about we stop seeing each other too?"

"I was so happy to be with you at the beginning. Life was tough at that time, but I still felt time flew in a blink. Then seven years passed, ten years passed... While I thought we've overcome all the difficulties and could peacefully spend the rest of our lives together, you changed. What an ironic joke... But I know, people change only because they want to." Tired, Eric closed his eyes. He didn't want to waste his last bit of time and energy on John anymore. "Let's separate for some time first. I've had enough living in this empty apartment by myself."

While talking, Eric had been wearing a slight smile on his face. His voice was clear, soft, and calm as if it was just a casual chat by the dinner table with his lover.

John fell into silence for a while before he started to speak in a sharp tone. "Are you giving up just because I found out about your affair? Are you asking me to let you go? Then you and the other man can live happily ever after? This is not how the business works, Cleese."

Eric only found his words ridiculous. "My shares in the company are not enough for you? Do you want me to leave you more money to make up for your priceless youth?"

"Speaking of the shares, it reminds me that when we bought this apartment, you were not willing to sign the contract. It is still put under my name now." John sneered, "I don't need you to make up for me. Just leave. Well, I guess your rich boyfriend will soon buy you a much bigger house."

Eric's calm mask finally cracked under these tarts words. His brows twisted into a frown as his eyes were full of fatigue and disappointment. The slight smile faded away from his face, and he sighed softly, "is it necessary? It's been 14 years, and you are gonna deny all of it?"

John suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his heart. He walked closer, wrapped his arms around Eric's shoulder, and lowered his voice. "Eric, I'm sorry. I was acting like an asshole. We are not going to break up, right? You know I always have a bad temper. Can you tolerate it for a bit longer?"

"No. I mean it." Eric moved away from his arms. John always said things like that, and he almost wanted to laugh this time. If it's not for all these years of toleration, he wouldn't even fall into a position like this. Eric sighed quietly and picked up his phone from the table.

A message was sent to Michael: "please help me arrange the chemo. Thanks."

Eric's hand hung in the air, trembling. He could even feel the bulging veins on his temples due to anger. "Stop messing around with me, Eric Cleese."

"I'm serious. You know I'm a perfectionist and how stubborn I can be."

Clenching his teeth, John grabbed Eric's wrist and dragged him outside. "Good for you! Then just leave right now! Get lost!"

He thought it was just another ordinary argument between lovers, only a bit more serious than the ones they had before. However, the weight in Eric's words set his emotions tumbling. He didn't have time to think about whether it's anger or fear, only knowing that he needed to vent them all out immediately.

Eric was locked outside by him, only in his leisurewear and winter slippers.

It's not very cold in this high-end apartment building hallway, but Eric's body couldn't take any toughness in his current situation. Trembling, he had no choice but to curl up by the door with his head hidden between his knees.

Soon, his nose started to bleed again. He wiped the blood with his shirt, and the sharp pain in his head made him dizzy. Coldness sneaked into his body and his heart, where an empty hole was created, letting a gust of wind blow inside. He didn't understand why the man he had loved for fourteen years was more and more like a stranger to him.

Eric was burning up. In a daze, he saw some light at the end of the dark, cold hallway. The tall, handsome boy from his high school memories walked towards him against the light, holding a basketball. The smile on the teenage John's face at that time always made him think of a big fluffy dog.