Jackson's POV

It was Valentine’s Day, and I had prepared a gift for my girlfriend. Planning to surprise her, I drove over to her office, but instead, I saw her walking out of the building with another man. They were laughing together as they got into the same car. She then slid into the passenger seat like she was used to doing that.

I followed them quietly and dialed her number.

“Are you off work yet?” I asked, trying to sound calm.

“Still working late. I’ll be home later,” she replied.

Then the line went dead. The busy tone echoed in my ear made my heart sink.

Half an hour later, I watched the two of them walk into a restaurant known for its romantic atmosphere. They took a table by the window. Waiting outside, I snapped a few pictures.

I needed to hear her explanation with my own ears.

——

By ten o’clock, she and the man, Dwayne Cohen, stepped out of the restaurant and got back into the same car. I trailed behind, torn inside. If she went to a hotel with him, what would I do? Burst in and catch them red-handed? But we were only dating, not married. Would that even count for anything?

I followed them until the car pulled up in front of our apartment complex, where we shared. They got out. Dwayne leaned in to fix a strand of her hair, and when he tried to do more, she stepped back.

But from where I stood under the streetlight, it didn’t look like rejection. It looked like she was playing coy. She was smiling, flirting even, just like she did when we first started dating. And that same charm that once hooked me now made me sick to my stomach.

Dwayne then blew her a kiss, and she waved at him with a bright smile before finally walking inside.

Watching them, rage surged through me. I slammed my foot on the gas and drove straight into the complex in the car I had bought just to surprise her. Heads turned as I drove in, as the car was impossible to ignore. Both Dwayne and my girlfriend, Penelope Fuller, noticed me immediately.

After I parked, I went upstairs and got home before she did. There, I sat in silence, waiting.

When the door opened, I looked straight at her. “Go take a shower. The water’s ready.”

She gave me a quick glance and replied, “I’m tired. I’ll just sleep. You should, too.”

There was none of the playful charm she had shown Dwayne. With me, she was all impatient.

“Already ate outside?” I asked.

“Yeah. Just grabbed something quick while working overtime.”

“I meant in another way.” My voice turned cold.

Her eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean? I work my ass off every day, and you’re accusing me now?”

Wordlessly, I unlocked my phone, pulled up the pictures, and set it on the table.

But her face only hardened as she saw the photos. “You followed me? Do you even call yourself a man?”

She scoffed. “You’re suspicious of me before we’re even married. Maybe we should just break up.”

After that, she turned away and stormed into the bedroom. The door slammed shut behind her with no explanation, not even an attempt.

Anger and frustration burned in my chest. I shoved the door open. “You’re not even going to explain?”

“Explain what? It was just dinner. You’re overreacting. And since you were following me, you know I didn’t do anything.”

True, she hadn’t gone further. But what she had done was enough to make my chest ache.

“That man you had dinner with. That was Dwayne Choen, wasn’t it?” I pressed.

“Yes. Him.”

“On Valentine’s Day, he gave you flowers and you accepted them. Back then, you told me it was just a boss showing care to his employee. I told you clearly that I wasn’t okay with you accepting flowers from another man, and you promised it wouldn’t happen again,” I narrated, reminding her of the past.

Then I continued, “Three months ago, you didn’t come home all night. You said his kid was sick and, since he’s divorced, the child needed a woman’s presence. You told me it was just sympathy, that you were helping out, and you swore you’d always let me know in advance from then on.”

Jackson's POV

“So what about now? You lied to me about Dwayne again. That’s just the part I know about. How many more things don’t I know? Like all those business trips you’ve been taking this past half-year,” I questioned her.

“Think whatever you want. My conscience is clear,” Penelope shot back, her face cold.

“Clear? If the situation were reversed, would you be okay with it?” I pressed.

But she closed her eyes, signaling she was done with the conversation. “I’m tired.”

“I’m a man, I know exactly what someone like Dwayne has in mind. I don’t want to see you put yourself in that situation again.”

“You’re the one with the dirty mind. Not everyone is like you.” She then sat up and glared at me. “If it weren’t for Dwayne, would I be moving up at work this fast? It’s just one dinner. Are you going to drag this out forever?”

“If it weren’t for your incompetence, do you think I’d have to work this hard in this company?” Her voice rose as she grew more agitated. “If you were more capable, would I have to swallow my pride and humiliate myself in front of others? If you don’t have the ability, that’s one thing. But I didn’t have parents pulling strings for me. I had to earn everything on my own. Do you have any idea how exhausted I am? And you dare to act high and mighty when you don’t even make more than I? I just want to sleep. Stop bothering me.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but her phone rang. She glanced at the screen, then hung up quickly and headed toward the bathroom with the phone in hand.

“Was that Dwayne?” I asked.

“Wrong number,” she muttered before disappearing into the bathroom.

I sat in silence in the living room. Ten minutes later, she came out, and her expression had softened compared to when she was talking to me. When she caught me watching her, she glared at me before hurrying into the bedroom.

This time, I didn’t follow her. Instead, my thoughts drifted back over the years we’d spent together.

I grew up as an orphan and never attended school.

I met Penelope after she finished high school and started working odd jobs. Her family wasn’t well-off. Her mother was sick, and her father was disabled, so they couldn’t afford to send her to college.

After a month of knowing her, I had already fallen for her. I worked up the courage to pursue her, and we got together. Since then, I'd been paying for her tuition and living expenses, using the savings I had built up after years of working. I even helped cover her mother’s medical bills.

Those early days were sweet. She was gentle and affectionate. People at work often envied me, saying I was lucky to have landed a college girl for a girlfriend, that our kids would have a brighter future because of her. I believed it too, so I cherished our relationship all the more.

We had always planned to marry once she graduated. But things started to change during her senior-year internship.

Once she got into a big company, she saw more of the world’s glamour. And with me, she grew more impatient by the day. By the time she graduated, she was constantly nitpicking and criticizing me. It hadn’t even been a year since then, but I could barely remember what it felt like to hold her.

She was from a rural village. Everyone back home knew about me. They all say I was hardworking, dependable, kindhearted, and willing to support her. I knew she hadn’t broken up with me yet, partly because of that. She didn't want people gossiping, calling her ungrateful.

But deep down, I knew her heart wasn’t with me anymore. It was with Dwayne. He was older, but he had money. Even though he was divorced, his wealth put him miles ahead of me.

Breaking up was only a matter of time. The truth was, I just couldn't swallow it.

Sometimes I wondered if maybe I was being paranoid. After all, I hadn’t caught her in anything concrete. I’d never worked in a big company, so maybe I just didn't understand how things worked. Maybe she really had no choice but to entertain clients like that.

As my anger cooled, I made a decision. I would hold on. I would try to protect what we had.

I didn’t sleep that night. At six in the morning, someone knocked on the door.

Jackson's POV

I got up to answer the door. But standing there was none other than Dwayne.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I snapped.

Yet he ignored me, leaning forward to call inside. “Penelope, you awake yet?”

I moved to shut the door, but he had already stepped in, blocking the entrance. “I’m here for Penelope, not you.”

“What are you doing here?” Penelope appeared, still in her pajamas.

With a smug smile, Dwayne brought his hand from behind his back, revealing a gift. “I meant to give this to you yesterday, but we were having such a good time at dinner that I forgot. Remember how I ruined your stockings last time? These are the same kind. You’ll love them.”

Stockings? My stomach turned. She had never once worn stockings around me. And yet here he was, openly admitting he had torn hers before, standing right in front of me, while handing her a new pair.

I caught the faint blush on her face, the shy smile that went with it.

“Do you have any shame at all? You, an other man, visiting here?” The fury I had held back all night finally exploded. I had spent hours convincing myself to hold on to this relationship, but now, seeing this, I couldn’t hold it in.

“An other man?” Dwayne scoffed. “Get your facts straight. In love, the one who isn’t wanted is the other man. Penelope, since you don’t want to say it, I will.”

He locked eyes with me and spat, “She’s way out of your league. You don’t deserve her.”

I had swallowed enough. At this point, my blood boiled over, and my fist connected with his face, sending him stumbling back a few steps.

Before I could follow through, Penelope’s hand cracked across my cheek. Her eyes burned with anger as she barked, “What the hell are you doing?”

She hit me to protect him. That fire inside me roared into an inferno.

“I’ll kill you!” I roared and charged at him, vision red with rage.

We went at it, but Dwayne was taller, stronger, and clearly spent time at the gym. And with Penelope pulling at me, it was two against one. I couldn’t get the upper hand.

The commotion drew out the neighbors, and people soon rushed in to break us apart.

“Penelope, why are you siding with an outsider against Jackson?” one of them shouted.

“Yeah, what’s going on here?”

“And who are you supposed to be?” someone else demanded of Dwayne.

“He threw the first punch,” Penelope said coldly, shooting me a glare before rushing to check on Dwayne.

Blood dripped from his nose, smeared at the corner of his mouth. Seeing that, Penelope’s face twisted in concern. “Are you hurt?”

But I was worse off than him, yet she didn't care at all. All her care, all her tenderness, was only for him.

Dwayne cast me a mocking look. “It’s nothing. Just a scratch.”

The neighbors were whispering now, piecing together what was happening. Someone quietly asked me what this was all about, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer. My face was burning with more than bruises.

Gently dabbing at the blood on his face, Penelope turned her cold eyes on me and demanded, “Apologize to Dwayne, or I’ll call the police.”

“You want me to apologize to him?” I stared at her in disbelief.

“Yes,” she said firmly. “Apologize to him.”

“Ah, damn it,” Dwayne suddenly groaned, clutching his wrist. “Penelope, I’m sorry. I broke the watch you gave me.”

I looked down and noticed the cracked glass on his wristwatch. I didn’t recognize the brand, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was the fact that she had bought it for him.

All these years, she’d never bought me anything. Back in college, she promised that once she graduated and started earning, she’d buy me a watch. I thought she had just forgotten. Turned out she hadn’t. She just never intended to buy it for me.

“Don’t worry,” Penelope comforted him. “I’ll get you another one.”

“This one’s a Rolex Submariner,” Dwayne said with a smirk, deliberately glancing my way. “It costs over ten grand.”