Chapter 2

2.

The next morning, I unlocked our front door.

The apartment was dead silent and completely empty.

I put on a baseball cap and a mask, then drove over to the complex where the fire had broken out yesterday.

Just outside the gate, a moving van was parked by the curb.

Janelle and that man were loading boxes together.

The little boy skipped around them, chattering excitedly.

"Mommy, how long can you stay with me this time?"

Janelle stroked his hair and smiled warmly.

"I get to stay with Jack for five whole days this time."

The boy jumped for joy.

Ever since Janelle and I started dating, she would go on business trips once or twice every month.

I used to think I was the luckiest guy alive to have such an independent, mature partner.

She understood my demanding schedule and had a thriving career of her own.

Now I realized those business trips were nothing but a cover.

In reality, she was returning to this home.

I couldn't fathom what she was trying to achieve by living this double life.

All day, I lingered in the shadows like a stalker, watching this picturesque family of three.

I didn't even remember how I got back home.

Sitting alone on the sofa, memories of how we met flooded my mind.

It was the night of my comrade's wedding, and I had drunk too much.

On my way home, the traffic lights blurred before my eyes.

Even though the pedestrian signal was red, I blindly stepped onto the crosswalk.

A speeding car slammed on its brakes, skidding straight toward me.

Dazed by alcohol and frozen by panic, I stood there paralyzed.

Suddenly, a powerful jerk yanked me backward.

"Ah…"

The sharp pain of hitting the asphalt snapped me awake instantly.

I scrambled to my feet and turned around to see a young woman sprawled on the ground nearby.

"Are you okay? I'll call 911!"

My hands shook as I dialed emergency services.

After the doctors examined her, I looked at her with pure guilt.

"I'm so sorry. You got hurt trying to save me."

She gave a bright, easy smile, saying it was nothing and that she just did what anyone would do.

While she was hospitalized, I brought her meals every single day and kept her company.

When she was discharged, she gave me her number.

From then on, we stayed in touch constantly.

On my birthday, she caught me completely off guard by confessing her feelings.

Her cheeks flushed bright red as she whispered nervously, "Jared, I really like you. Can we be together? I promise I'll take good care of you."

I responded by pulling her into my arms and kissing her deeply.

In our third year together, I proposed.

With tears in her eyes, she told me, "We can hold a wedding reception, but we can't sign the marriage license."

I asked her why in confusion.

She claimed her parents kept her documents locked away, trying to force her to marry a wealthy local businessman.

She said she was terrified of going back home.

The moment she said that, my heart ached for her, and I hugged her tight.

"It doesn't matter. As long as we're together, I don't care about a piece of paper."

From that day on, I never brought up the marriage license again, just to spare her the pain.

Looking back now, my entire life had been a pathetic joke.

A bitter rage surged inside me.

I grabbed my phone and dialed Janelle's number.

On the tenth ring, she finally answered, her tone laced with irritation.

"Jared, what is it? I'm working right now and can't talk. Didn't I tell you that before?"

"If it's nothing urgent, stop calling. My boss doesn't like it."

Hearing her cold dismissal, the courage I had mustered vanished completely.

She said hello a few times, but I stayed silent.

Just then, a man's voice filtered through the receiver.

"Babe, who's calling you this late?"

Janelle must have thought I had stepped away from the phone, because she casually replied that it was just work.

The man's voice turned needy. "I've missed you so much. It's been forever."

Right after, the sound of wet, intimate kissing came through the speaker.

Janelle's soft moans echoed directly in my ear.

It wasn't until the man whispered asking if she loved him that I slammed the end-call button.

In the dark living room, only my ragged breathing broke the silence.

Janelle's voice echoed in my head over and over.

Until the thread holding my sanity together snapped.

I broke down, screaming at the top of my lungs into the darkness.

As if screaming could rip the agony straight out of my chest.