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.”

Jackson's POV

“My salary has increased now. I can afford it,” Penelope said softly. Her gentle voice cut into me like a knife. She had spent her very first paycheck entirely on her family, and from then until now, not a single cent of her earnings had ever been spent on me.

Dwayne turned to me. “That won’t do. He has to pay for it.”

Penelope caught on immediately, glaring at me. “So an apology’s not enough anymore. You’ll need to compensate him, too. We still have the receipt for that watch. It's fifteen grand.”

In that moment, my heart completely died. “Fine. I’ll pay for the watch. But what about all the money I’ve spent on you all these years? How about you calculate that and pay me back?”

“You call yourself a man?” Dwayne sneered. “What about Penelope’s wasted youth. How do you plan to pay for that? Penelope, don’t waste your breath on him. Just call the cops and let him see who really owes what.”

And she did. She actually called the police.

The neighbors tried to talk her down, insisting it wasn’t worth involving the authorities over something like this. But soon enough, the officers showed up. Since I had thrown the first punch and damaged Dwayne’s watch, both were undeniable facts. According to the police, the only way to resolve it was through compensation. As for the money I had spent on Penelope through the years, that couldn’t be addressed legally.

They told me that if I compensated him quickly and secured their forgiveness, I could avoid facing further charges.

But Penelope pressed harder. “Pay up. Then kneel and apologize to Dwayne, and we won’t push this any further.”

Since this was the case, I asked for a phone call. Afterward, I waited quietly. What I didn’t expect was for Penelope’s parents to arrive so fast. Normally, coming in from their village would take at least two hours. Yet here they were in just thirty minutes.

I wanted them to see the truth, to witness what their daughter had become, and to judge for themselves whether she should be the one paying compensation.

“Mr. and Mrs. Fuller, what brings you here?” Dwayne greeted them warmly, as if they were already close. Watching that, my heart sank even lower.

The four of them, Dwayne, Penelope, and her parents, huddled together, whispering.

Soon, Penelope’s mother came storming over, pointing a finger in my face. “You’re worse than an animal. Penelope wanted to break up with you, and you threatened to kill her. And today you actually raised your hand against her.”

Her words stabbed deep. My chest tightened with pain. “Search your conscience. Don’t you fear heaven’s punishment for saying something like that?”

“Bah!” She spat at me. “With Mr. Cohen here now, we’re not afraid of you anymore. Officers, you must make sure he’s punished properly.”

Dwayne looked at me with contempt. “We’ll do this Penelope’s way. Kneel, apologize, and transfer the money. Then I’ll drop it. Otherwise, you’ll rot in jail.”

I turned to Penelope. “You really want me to do this?”

“You’re still threatening my daughter?” her mother screeched. “Officers, look at his attitude! Scum like him deserves prison.”

“You’ll regret this,” I said at last, my voice suddenly calm, but cold.

Dwayne smirked. “What, some ‘every dog has its day’ nonsense? Guys like you, bottom feeders, can only live in those fantasy novels. I’ll give you ten seconds. If you don’t kneel and pay, get ready for jail.”

I stared him down and grimly said, “Give me your bank account number.”

He blinked in surprise, but then rattled it off.

When his phone buzzed with the deposit notification, Dwayne stared at the screen, checking it over and over. Then he shoved it toward Penelope. “Penelope, didn’t you say this loser handed over every cent of his wages to you? Looks like he’s been hiding plenty of money on the side. Guess he’s been up to more than you thought.”

Jackson's POV

Penelope shot me a glare. “You disgust me. This is what you call being honest with me?”

Her mother chimed in, voice sharp as a whip. “Animal. Thank God my daughter didn’t end up with you. Always claiming you treat her well, and yet you’ve been secretly hoarding money behind her back.”

I ignored them and turned to the officers. “Can I leave now?”

“Leave? Not until you get on your knees and apologize to Dwayne,” Penelope snapped.

“Enough,” one of the officers intervened. “The money’s been paid. Let’s just end this here.”

“End it? He was the one who threw the first punch!” Penelope shouted. “If he doesn’t kneel and apologize, I’ll push for the harshest punishment.”

“Go get the injury checked first,” the officer replied calmly. “If it qualifies as serious, we’ll take him in.”

But we all knew Dwayne’s bruises didn’t amount to much. Helpless, Penelope just glared at me, eyes full of venom. “Pack your things and get out of here. I don’t want to see your face again.”

“I’ll move out,” I said evenly, “but you and I still have unfinished business to settle.”

“Officer, did you hear that? He’s threatening my daughter again,” her mother barked.

Dwayne only smirked. “Don’t take it to heart, Mrs. Fuller. This is what a bottom-feeder says when he’s desperate to save his pride. I almost hope he does try something. It’d be a good chance for him to learn what kind of pull I have here in this city.”

His eyes then shifted to me, sharp with arrogance. “Listen here, kid. If you don’t kneel today, I’ll make sure you regret it. Go on, test me.”

Despite that, I didn’t bother responding. I just confirmed with the officers that I was free to leave, then grabbed a cab back to the apartment complex I was renting at.

Lately, there had been a car parked in the neighborhood that everyone couldn't stop talking about. It was a Bentley Continental, sleek, white, and impossible to miss. People stopped every day to snap pictures, speculating who the owner might be. Penelope herself even once posed next to it.

When I got home, I walked right up to that Bentley and slid into the driver’s seat. Yes, this car was mine.

Yesterday, Penelope didn’t see me because I had driven this car to her company. I had been planning to surprise her, to share my joy. To show her I wasn’t the orphan she thought I was anymore.

I leaned back in the seat, trying to relax, when my phone rang. It was my biological father.

“Jackson,” his voice came steady, “everything’s arranged. I personally oversaw it, so there will definitely be no mistakes. Tomorrow, Penelope will get the surprise of her life.”

“We broke up,” I said flatly.