Chapter 2
I lifted my hand, telling him to shut up.
The car was so quiet it was honestly creepy.
I watched that car vanish into the rain, and suddenly, I found it almost funny in a bitter way.
Turned out that all that uneasiness I'd been feeling lately wasn't me being paranoid.
My leading man was really tainted now.
That night, I didn't go after him.
I went back to the villa we shared.
Jackson and I had picked out that villa together after we got engaged.
The house was huge, and the decor was exactly my style.
Jackson used to say that once we got married, this would be our home.
He said that while he was out in the garden, planting roses for me.
That man, usually so aloof and untouchable, was wearing a crisp, pricey white shirt, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, his hands covered in dirt.
I squatted down next to him, teasing, "Mr. Russell, aren't you totally ruining your boss persona right now?"
He looked up at me, his eyes shining with that gentle, twinkling light.
He said, "For you, Audrina, I'd drop any persona. Doesn't matter who I'm supposed to be."
But now, the first thing he gave up wasn't his image.
And this time, it was me.
I sat on the couch in the living room, waiting for him from ten at night all the way to two in the morning.
Jackson finally walked through the door.
He smelled like rain mixed with some unfamiliar perfume.
The scent was subtle.
But I still noticed it.
He walked in, saw me on the couch, and his brows instinctively furrowed.
Jackson said, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Before, he would've said, "Why are you still waiting up for me? Aren't you tired?"
See? When someone loved another person, even the first word they said was different.
I looked up at him and asked, "Where did you go?"
Jackson paused for a moment as he took off his coat.
"The office," he said.
I let out a bitter laugh. "The office?"
He looked at me. "Audrina Cline, what are you trying to say?"
He rarely called me by my full name.
Back then, he'd always call me "Audry", my little nickname.
When he was doting on me, he'd call me "Miss Cline."
Even when he was mad, he'd just say in a low voice, "Audrina Cline, stop messing around."
But now, he used my full name, "Audrina Cline."
It felt like all that was left between us was a cold, businesslike negotiation.
I didn't blow up right away. I just picked up my phone from the table, opened the photo, and handed it to him.
In the photo, Julia was leaning on his shoulder, wrapped in his jacket.
Rainy night, fancy car, a delicate girl, and a stoic guy.
Honestly, it looked like something straight out of an idol drama poster.
But the joke was on them; I was the real heroine in this story.
I looked at him and asked, "Who is she?"
Jackson glanced at the photo and didn't even flinch.
He didn't even look nervous.
That hurt even more than if he'd freaked out.
Because him staying so calm meant he'd already run through his excuses in his mind a hundred times, just waiting for this moment.
He said, "She's Julia Doyle, the new project assistant at the company."
I nodded. "Oh, so that's part of the job description now? Borrowing your jacket and getting cozy on your shoulder?"
"She had a fever," Jackson said, his voice flat. "I was just giving her a ride home."
"She doesn't have any family? No friends? No taxi? No ambulance?"
Jackson looked at me, his eyes full of impatience.
"Audrina, do you always have to be so pushy?"
That was the moment I finally froze.
Turned out that just asking my fiancé why he was driving another woman home late at night made me "pushy" now?
I looked at him and let out a sudden, bitter laugh.
"Jackson, all I did was ask, and you already think I'm being pushy?"
His brows furrowed even tighter.
"You're exhausting me right now," he said.
I didn't say a word.
The living room was silent for a long time.
Outside, the rain kept falling, soft and steady.
I looked at Jackson standing there, and suddenly, he felt like a total stranger.
His face hadn't changed.
Sharp eyes, a strong nose, dressed in a black suit, he looked like a weapon ready to strike.
But it felt like the Jackson who used to be all about me had vanished on some night I never even noticed.
Now, all that was left in front of me was a knockoff wearing the hero's skin.
I stood up and walked right up to him.
"Jackson, are you into her?" I asked.
He looked at me like I'd just said something totally ridiculous.
"Audrina, can you stop acting crazy?" he said.
I stared straight into his eyes.
"Just answer me."
He hesitated for a few seconds.
And in that silence, I already knew the truth.
He didn't even bother to deny it.
That was enough for me.
I didn't want to lose it; it was messy, but in the end, I still did because I still loved him.
When a woman really stops loving someone, she won't even bother to cause drama.
Acting out was a cry for help.
Yelling was fighting to hold on.
Tears were hoping someone would catch me.
I hurled the vase he gave me across the living room, shattering it in a burst of anger.