Chapter 2

02

After taking a hot shower, I turned off my phone and went straight to bed.

I slept surprisingly well.

The next morning, as I got dressed for work, the front door swung open.

Kelsey stumbled inside, visibly drunk, her cheeks flushed with an unnatural redness. She was leaning heavily against Damian, her hand tightly gripping his waist.

The moment she saw me, she barked orders without hesitation.

“Mason, I am starving. Go make some breakfast for Damian and me.”

“Make sure to cook something spicy. Damian likes spicy food.”

Catching a glimpse of the fresh bite marks beneath her collar, I felt a sudden wave of relief that I had not married her.

Damian did not even bother looking at me. He helped Kelsey to the couch and poured her a glass of water.

I stood there in silence, letting the cold tension fill the room.

Damian finally broke the silence, speaking with unearned arrogance.

“Mason, how could you leave Kelsey at the beach all by herself?”

“We told you to pick her up yesterday, but you turned off your phone. Do you have any idea how scared she was, stranded so far away?”

He did not sound like a home-wrecker at all. He sounded more like her husband than I ever did.

I fired back without missing a beat.

“She was surrounded by a massive crowd of friends, not to mention her devoted protector. I was not worried in the slightest.”

Damian choked on his words, momentarily at a loss.

Kelsey seemed to snap out of her drunken haze and picked up on my sarcasm.

“What did Damian say that was wrong?” she shouted angrily. “If he hadn't taken me in last night, I would have slept on the street!”

“He even took the time to drive me home this morning. Instead of thanking him, you are throwing a tantrum. Where is your conscience?”

I let out a cold sneer.

“Oh, so I should thank him? Thank him for taking my bride-to-be out on a wild trip for days right before our wedding?”

Kelsey let out an exasperated sigh.

“Mason, can you stop acting crazy? I already told you, it was just a bachelorette getaway.”

“Damian and I are completely innocent. Nothing happened between us. What you saw on the beach was just a game of Truth or Dare.”

“We are about to get married. Do you really have zero trust in me?”

Her voice grew louder and her face twisted with disgust, as if I were the one who had committed a crime.

I scoffed, stepped forward, and yanked her collar aside.

A mess of dark, undeniable hickeys covered her neck.

“Innocent?” I mocked. “This is your definition of innocent?”

“Do you honestly think I am blind, or do you just have no shame?”

Seeing this, Damian stepped up and tried to shove my hand away.

I did not hold back. I slapped his arm away with force.

Kelsey screamed in fury.

“I told you it was just a joke! It has nothing to do with Damian!”

“He was only looking out for me. Show him some respect!”

Damian chimed in smoothly.

“There is nothing going on between us. If something were going to happen, it would have happened years ago, long before your wedding.”

What a brilliant excuse. If something were going to happen, it would have happened years ago.

Even at this point, they still had the nerve to stand in my house and lecture me.

“Why should I show respect to a shameless homewrecker?” I asked coldly.

Kelsey stood up, glaring at me with venom in her eyes.

“Mason, what the hell are you trying to say? If you want to be together, act right. If not, let’s just break up!”

She assumed I would do what I always did: panic at the mention of a breakup, beg for her forgiveness, and do whatever it took to please her.

This time, she was dead wrong.

“Fine, Kelsey,” I said calmly. “You got your wish. We are done.”