Chapter 001

Jescyka’s POV

I didn’t go looking for the truth that Friday night. Honestly, I just wanted to see Marvy smile. One real smile, not the polite, half-hearted ones he’d been throwing at me lately.

On the way, I stopped at his favorite shop and picked up a bottle of “Château Margaux”, the one he swore made every bad day better..It felt kind of stupid, showing up unannounced with wine like I was trying to bribe the relationship back to the way it was. But I told myself it was the right thing to do because I loved Marvy. Or maybe it was a reminder…hey, we used to be happy once.

Marvy had been distant for weeks. Too many late nights, too many “work emergencies,” and way too many moments where his eyes were on me, but his mind was somewhere else entirely. I kept trying to make excuses for him…stress, deadlines, burnout…anything but what I already knew deep down.

I thought maybe a small gesture would fix it. Maybe I could pull us back before we slipped completely out of reach.

But when I pushed open his office door gently to make my entrance sneaky and sexy in a way, that little fantasy shattered before I could even take a breath.

Melissa was on his lap. Not just sitting, but straddling him. Her blouse was half open, her skirt shoved high, his hands gripping her hips like they belonged there. Lipstick smeared across his mouth. Melissa’s laughter was light, breathy, familiar in the worst way. She leaned in and kissed him again, and he didn’t stop her.

My first thought wasn’t anger. It was disbelief. Like maybe my brain just refused to compute what I was seeing.

And then I noticed it, the necklace around Melissa’s neck. The one Marvy had given me for my birthday. He told me it was one of a kind, imported, “made just for you.”

Yeah. Right. Guess he got a buy-one-get-one deal.

The bag slipped from my hand before I could stop it. The bottle hit the floor with a sharp crack, and wine splattered everywhere—dark and red and messy, like spilled blood. I didn’t wait for them to notice. My body just moved and I ran.

I don’t even remember how I got outside. My chest hurt, my eyes burned, but not a sound came out.

By the time I got home, I was numb. I sat on the couch, staring at the wall, hearing nothing but that stupid laugh replaying in my head. Every little excuse he’d fed me started clicking together like a puzzle I’d been too blind to solve.

I don’t know how long I sat there. Maybe an hour, maybe two. Long enough for the tears to dry, leaving my skin tight and sore.

Then the door creaked open.

Marvy walked in, calm as ever, carrying flowers and that same fake smile that used to melt me. “Hey, babe,” he said, his voice all smooth with lies. “Why do you look so lost?”

He chuckled softly, like I’d done something silly. He reached out, brushed a strand of hair from my face. “Rough day, huh? You look like you’ve been overthinking again.”

My throat felt tight, but I didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just watched him, wondering how he could walk around so normal when my world was in pieces.

Then he dropped to one knee, like in the movies, right there in front of me, still smiling like he hadn’t just blown my world apart.

He pulled out a little velvet box and flipped it open. The diamond on the ring sparkled under the light too bright, like it was mocking me.

“Jescyka Charm,” he said softly, “will you marry me?”

For a heartbeat, I forgot how to breathe. My brain went blank, caught between shock and anger.

Was he serious right now?

Did he really think I hadn’t seen him with Melissa? That I’d somehow missed the lipstick, the hands, the moaning in his office?

Was he pretending none of it happened?

Or had he lied so much that even he didn’t know what was real anymore?

I felt sick.

He was kneeling there, acting like a man in love, while the proof of everything he’d done was still drying between us.

And then, because the universe clearly has a sick sense of humor, a pair of lace panties slipped from his blazer pocket and landed on the floor.

The interesting part? They weren’t mine and it was not new because it was totally wrinkled.

I couldn’t breathe, my stomach dropped immediately.

Marvy didn’t notice at first, he was too busy staring at me, waiting for the reaction he had rehearsed.

When he finally saw them, his shoe twitched like he could just push them away and erase the truth.

I wanted to scream. Instead, I forced my lips into a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. “I just… need some time to think.”

For a split second, his smile slipped.

Then he recovered, smooth as ever, all charm again. “Of course, baby. Take all the time you need.”

He left the flowers. The ring then kissed my forehead like nothing had happened.

When the door clicked shut, the whole place fell quiet, so much tension in the air.

I looked at the mess—the flowers, the ring, the panties—and felt everything in me collapse.I picked them up with two fingers and tossed them into the trash. 

And after that, I did the only thing that made sense.

I called the one person who wouldn’t make me explain.

“Ethan,” I said, my voice cracking halfway through his name. “I need you.”

He didn’t hesitate. “I’m coming.”