I was supposed to surprise my boyfriend, Jayden, with the pregnancy test results today. Instead, a police officer called, saying I needed to bail him out. He’d been caught in a prostitution sting operation at a hotel.
Anger replaced my worry the moment I stepped into the police station. Jayden sat on a plastic bench, his shirt unbuttoned halfway down, revealing red marks on his chest.
His arm was wrapped tightly around Scarlet—the sister of his dead best friend. The sister he always claimed was "just family."
He hadn’t even told me he was with her.
"What took you so long to come?” Jayden’s voice cut through the room as he stood, jostling Scarlet, who clung to him like her life depended on it.
“Scarlet’s in pain,” he snapped, his gaze cutting into me.
My lips parted, the truth sitting heavy on the tip of my tongue. But I bit it back, forcing a calm I didn’t feel. “I was... doing something.”
Jayden scoffed, the sound cold and dismissive. “What something is that? More important than me and Scarlet?”
I stared at him, feeling the weight of his words settle over me like a lead blanket. There was no point in arguing, no need to ask for explanations. The evidence was staring me in the face. The red marks. The hotel sting. The too-close embrace.
I forced my feet to move, stepping toward the officer at the desk. “I’m here to post bail for Jayden Swift and Scarlet Carter,” I said quietly. My voice didn’t shake. I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of seeing me falter.
Minutes later, they followed me outside, Jayden’s arm still protectively draped around Scarlet. She flinched when the cold air hit her, leaning further into him like a fragile bird.
The car was parked under a dim streetlight. I unlocked it and climbed into the driver’s seat, gripping the wheel tightly to stop my hands from trembling. Scarlet hesitated outside the car, biting her lip.
“I don’t want to sit in the back,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “It makes me... anxious without you.”
Jayden frowned, turning to me with a tone that brooked no argument. “Lilian, switch with her.”
“No,” I said, my voice firm. “This is my car. I’m your girlfriend. Isn’t it enough that I already bail you out, Jayden? Where is your money in the first place—”
“Lilian,” he cut me. “I don’t have time to argue. Can’t you see that Scarlet is not feeling well?”
Scarlet’s eyes immediately filled with fake tears. “I-I can’t sit in the back, Jayden,” she whimpered. “Please, I don’t want to be alone.”
“Lilian,” Jayden snapped, his frustration bubbling to the surface. “Be considerate for once. She’s still recovering—from her brother’s death, from this whole... mess at the hotel.”
My jaw tightened, the words spilling out before I could stop them. “Why were you even in a hotel with her, Jayden? What were you two doing?”
His face darkened, and for a moment, I thought he would answer me. But instead, he wrenched the door open and pulled me out of the driver’s seat with a grip that left no room for resistance.
“If you don’t want to move to the backseat,” he said, his voice ice-cold, “then just go take the bus.”
I stumbled backward, my breath catching as he guided Scarlet into the passenger seat. She slid in without a second glance at me, her tears already replaced with a faint, satisfied smile.
Jayden didn’t spare me a single look as he climbed into the driver’s seat. The door slammed shut, the sound echoing in the empty parking lot.
The car roared to life. I stood frozen as it pulled away, the tail lights disappearing into the distance.
And then I was alone.
