chapter 3

Lexie shot up from her deep sleep, startled by loud, persistent knocks on her front door. Groggily, she glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand and sighed in frustration—it was barely 6:00 AM.

"Lexie?"

She heard her name again, accompanied by even more insistent knocks.

From the voice, she knew instantly—it was her lying, cheating ex, Rafael.

"Great, what a perfect time to ruin someone's sleep," she muttered under her breath, barely getting out of bed, not to open the door but to shoo away her unwanted visitor.

"Lexie, I know you're in there. Please open the door."

"What the hell are you doing here? Get lost!" she shouted, but Rafael kept knocking, practically trying to break her door down.

With no other choice, she swung the door open.

"What?!" she snapped, the door flying wide. Rafael stood there, eyes pleading, holding a huge bouquet of red roses.

"Let’s talk," he said, his voice full of desperation.

"I told you, get lost!" she spat, trying to slam the door, but Rafael blocked it with his foot.

"What do you want?" she demanded coldly.

"Just hear me out. These are for you," he said, extending the bouquet. She stared at it, her face unreadable.

"There’s nothing left to talk about, Rafael. You cheated on me, got my cousin pregnant, and now you’re marrying her. It’s all clear. You’ve got nothing to explain," she said flatly, pushing the door again.

But instead of leaving, Rafael shoved his way inside, infuriating her further.

"What part of ‘get out’ don’t you understand?" she snapped.

Rafael stayed quiet. Lexie was about to lash out when, out of nowhere, he grabbed her and kissed her.

"I love you, Lex. It’s you I love, not Amanda. Please believe me. I don’t want to marry her," he begged, his eyes welling up with tears.

Her shock was fleeting. Instead of sympathy, anger welled up inside her.

"Get out!" she screamed.

"Lex, please—"

"I said GET OUT!" she yelled, pushing him out the door with all her strength. As soon as he was gone, she slammed it shut.

‘I love you…’

His voice echoed in her mind, tormenting her. She squeezed her eyes shut as tears spilled down her cheeks.

"Lexie? What happened?"

Her cousin Claire appeared, looking concerned. The noise had probably woken her up.

"Rafael…" Lexie murmured.

That was all she could say. Claire, understanding the situation, rushed over and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Shh, I know it hurts. I’m here…" Claire whispered softly, but instead of calming down, Lexie’s tears flowed even harder.

"What the hell did I do to deserve this, Claire? What did I do wrong?" she sobbed.

"Nothing. They just betrayed you," Claire said sadly, pulling her closer.

"This man, Rafael’s uncle, Ram Jordan…"

"Y-yeah?"

"You said you planned to use him against your ex, right?" Claire asked, her brow furrowing.

Lexie wiped her tears and nodded. "Yeah, I’m not sure if it’s a good idea, but… yeah. I plan to use Ram."

Claire’s frown deepened. "How exactly do you plan to do that?"

Lexie paused before responding.

"Rafael cheated on me. Do you know why?"

Claire stayed silent as Lexie gave a bitter smile.

"Because I wouldn’t sleep with him. Because I told him to wait."

"But he couldn’t, and Amanda was there?" Claire guessed.

"Yeah, Amanda was there," Lexie’s voice cracked with pain as the tears began to fall again.

"Ram Jordan’s here now too. If I give him what I couldn’t give Rafael, do you think it’ll hurt him?" Lexie asked, almost as if she were in a trance.

"W-what do you mean?"

"I’ll give away the only reason Rafael cheated. I’ll give my virginity to his uncle, Ram Jordan."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Claire almost screamed, looking at her like she had lost her mind.

Lexie gave a sad smile and shook her head. "I think I am, Claire…" she whispered.

"Lex, I really don’t think this is a good idea. You’ll just hurt yourself more than Rafael," Claire said, her voice full of concern.

"Then what should I do?" Lexie asked.

"Do you really need revenge? You can just move on. Sleeping with a complete stranger won’t fix anything."

"You can either help me or stay out of it, Claire," Lexie said, her voice firm as she met her cousin’s gaze.

"I know you’re worried, and I appreciate it. I know this plan is stupid. But if it’s the only way to deal with the pain, then I’ll do it."

Claire sighed, falling silent for a moment.

"So what do we call this mission? Operation Help Lexie Get Laid?" she finally asked with a frown.

Lexie stared at her, and after a beat, Claire sighed dramatically.

"Fine. This is dumb, no offense, but I’ll help you."

Lexie didn’t respond.

"Like I’d let you do this alone," Claire added, rolling her eyes.

Silence fell between them for a few moments before they both broke into laughter.

"God, I wish you weren’t serious about this. But I know you are," Claire said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I am," Lexie confirmed.

"So, how do you plan to do this?"

"Oh my God, Ram Jordan, right?"

Lexie smiled, pretending to be surprised as she spotted Ram at the restaurant.

"Lexie, it’s you. Hi," Ram greeted with a friendly smile and extended a hand.

"Do you live around here? I keep running into you," she asked, trying to sound casual.

If she weren’t forcing herself to act normal, she probably would’ve rolled her eyes at how obvious it was that Claire had tracked him down. In fact, Claire was the one who’d sent her a text, saying that Ram might be at this restaurant. She’d rushed here right after leaving university, and Claire had been right.

"Yeah, I live near that university," Ram replied casually, pointing toward the campus gates.

"Come on, sit down. Have you ordered yet?"

"Oh, no, I just got here," Lexie said sweetly, sitting down without hesitation as Ram pulled out a chair for her.

She quickly ordered a sandwich and a banana milkshake when the waiter approached.

"So, are you free tonight?" she asked directly.

Ram frowned slightly. "I think so. Why?"

"Exams are over, so I thought I’d have some fun. Want to come?"

"Exams?"

"Oh, right. I didn’t mention—I’m a medical student at that university," she said, pointing to the school with a smile.

"So, you’re a kid. A college student?" Ram smirked.

"Not a kid. I’m 24. Legal," she said, putting on a confident face.

"You’re still a fetus," he teased.

"I don’t hang out with kids, Lexie," he added.

"I’m not a kid! Can we just grab drinks tonight?" she asked, frustrated.

"You’re asking me out? Like… a date?"

"If you want to call it that," she shrugged.

Ram sighed, sipping his coffee before shaking his head.

"I prefer my women sober. A drunk date isn’t my thing. Plus… kids aren’t my type."

Lexie clenched her jaw. "Sober, huh? Fine. And FYI, I’m not a kid. I’m 24! What are you, 50?"

Ram chuckled. "Exactly. You’re 24, which makes you a kid. And no, I’m not 50—but if I were, I’d be the best-looking one."

She couldn’t even argue with that. He really did look like a Greek god.

"So, how old are you then?"

"I’m 36," he said.

"Twelve years," she muttered.

"What?"

"You’re only twelve years older than me," she clarified.

Ram smirked. "Yes, which means I was already with women while you were still on binkies."

Lexie rolled her eyes.

"If you won’t go on a date with me, then just sleep with me," she blurted out.

Ram nearly choked on his coffee.

Lexie handed him a tissue and glared at him.

"I can’t even go out on a date with you, how much more f#ck you??"