Jackson's POV
I got up to answer the door. But standing there was none other than Dwayne.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I snapped.
Yet he ignored me, leaning forward to call inside. “Penelope, you awake yet?”
I moved to shut the door, but he had already stepped in, blocking the entrance. “I’m here for Penelope, not you.”
“What are you doing here?” Penelope appeared, still in her pajamas.
With a smug smile, Dwayne brought his hand from behind his back, revealing a gift. “I meant to give this to you yesterday, but we were having such a good time at dinner that I forgot. Remember how I ruined your stockings last time? These are the same kind. You’ll love them.”
Stockings? My stomach turned. She had never once worn stockings around me. And yet here he was, openly admitting he had torn hers before, standing right in front of me, while handing her a new pair.
I caught the faint blush on her face, the shy smile that went with it.
“Do you have any shame at all? You, an other man, visiting here?” The fury I had held back all night finally exploded. I had spent hours convincing myself to hold on to this relationship, but now, seeing this, I couldn’t hold it in.
“An other man?” Dwayne scoffed. “Get your facts straight. In love, the one who isn’t wanted is the other man. Penelope, since you don’t want to say it, I will.”
He locked eyes with me and spat, “She’s way out of your league. You don’t deserve her.”
I had swallowed enough. At this point, my blood boiled over, and my fist connected with his face, sending him stumbling back a few steps.
Before I could follow through, Penelope’s hand cracked across my cheek. Her eyes burned with anger as she barked, “What the hell are you doing?”
She hit me to protect him. That fire inside me roared into an inferno.
“I’ll kill you!” I roared and charged at him, vision red with rage.
We went at it, but Dwayne was taller, stronger, and clearly spent time at the gym. And with Penelope pulling at me, it was two against one. I couldn’t get the upper hand.
The commotion drew out the neighbors, and people soon rushed in to break us apart.
“Penelope, why are you siding with an outsider against Jackson?” one of them shouted.
“Yeah, what’s going on here?”
“And who are you supposed to be?” someone else demanded of Dwayne.
“He threw the first punch,” Penelope said coldly, shooting me a glare before rushing to check on Dwayne.
Blood dripped from his nose, smeared at the corner of his mouth. Seeing that, Penelope’s face twisted in concern. “Are you hurt?”
But I was worse off than him, yet she didn't care at all. All her care, all her tenderness, was only for him.
Dwayne cast me a mocking look. “It’s nothing. Just a scratch.”
The neighbors were whispering now, piecing together what was happening. Someone quietly asked me what this was all about, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer. My face was burning with more than bruises.
Gently dabbing at the blood on his face, Penelope turned her cold eyes on me and demanded, “Apologize to Dwayne, or I’ll call the police.”
“You want me to apologize to him?” I stared at her in disbelief.
“Yes,” she said firmly. “Apologize to him.”
“Ah, damn it,” Dwayne suddenly groaned, clutching his wrist. “Penelope, I’m sorry. I broke the watch you gave me.”
I looked down and noticed the cracked glass on his wristwatch. I didn’t recognize the brand, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was the fact that she had bought it for him.
All these years, she’d never bought me anything. Back in college, she promised that once she graduated and started earning, she’d buy me a watch. I thought she had just forgotten. Turned out she hadn’t. She just never intended to buy it for me.
“Don’t worry,” Penelope comforted him. “I’ll get you another one.”
“This one’s a Rolex Submariner,” Dwayne said with a smirk, deliberately glancing my way. “It costs over ten grand.”
