I arrived home, feeling the weight of the day on my shoulders. After parking my car, I headed straight inside. The house felt quiet, except for the soft clattering of dishes in the kitchen. There she was—Jenna, preparing dinner, her face lighting up when she saw me.
"Hey, you're home," she greeted with a warm smile. "I made dinner. Want to eat?"
I glanced at her, but my expression remained cold. I could see the hope in her eyes, the kind that wanted us to sit together, share a meal, talk. But I couldn't let myself get closer, not now. Not when everything was spiraling in ways I hadn’t expected.
“I already ate,” I lied, my voice flat. In truth, I hadn’t eaten all day, but I didn’t want to be near her right now. Not with the thoughts racing through my head, the guilt gnawing at me for leading her on like this.
“Oh…” Her smile faltered, but she quickly recovered. “Okay. I’ll just finish up here, then.”
I nodded, not saying another word. Without looking back, I walked past her and headed straight for my room, leaving her standing alone by the dining table. I could feel her eyes on me as I left, but I didn’t turn around.
Once inside my room, I shut the door and leaned against it, letting out a frustrated breath. What was I doing? Jenna didn’t deserve this, and yet I kept pulling her deeper into my twisted plan for revenge.
I couldn’t afford to let her in, no matter how much I was starting to care. This was about Aiden and Aira, not her. But the more time I spent with her, the harder it became to draw the line between what was real and what was part of the game.
I threw myself onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind racing. Everything was getting more complicated, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep pretending I didn’t care.
But I had to. For Aira.
Or at least that’s what I kept telling myself.
Aiden's POV (Continuation)
I was in my office when my investigator, Emman, knocked and entered, carrying the results of the investigation on Felix. He laid everything out on my desk—documents, reports, and a brown envelope filled with photos. I skimmed through the pictures, most of them showing Felix with different women. Typical. But then, as I kept flipping through, one photo made me freeze.
It was a picture of Aira. And next to her—Felix.
What the hell?
I stared at the picture, confusion swirling in my mind. How could they know each other? I never heard Aira mention Felix before. But here they were, smiling together like old friends. Or… more than that?
I glanced up at Emman, who stood waiting for my reaction.
"This picture," I said, holding it up. "Did you dig into this? How do they know each other?"
Emman nodded. "Yes, sir. Based on what I found, they were friends. But the word going around is that Felix had feelings for Aira."
I clenched the picture tighter, my mind racing. Felix… had feelings for Aira? How was this possible? Why didn’t I know about this sooner? All this time, I thought I knew everything about her, everything about who was in her life. And now Felix, of all people, had been there too?
"Did you find out anything else about their relationship?" I asked, my voice cold and steady despite the anger rising inside me.
"Nothing confirmed beyond that, sir. Just rumors that Felix was interested in her. But as for Aira, there’s no clear indication that she felt the same way," Emman replied.
I leaned back in my chair, my mind running wild with possibilities. Felix—pretending to be the decent guy, but all along, he was hiding this connection with Aira. Was this why he was always so focused on her? Was this part of the reason he kept messing with me?
I set the picture down and stared at it for a moment, my jaw tightening. This was getting personal, and Felix was going to regret ever crossing paths with Aira. If he thought he could mess with me and get away with it, he was dead wrong.
So, Felix and Aira were friends? And Felix's anger towards me, it all makes sense now. He must’ve known about my relationship with Aira. That’s why he’s going after me so relentlessly. He’s using Jenna to get revenge.
I had no idea Felix was part of Aira’s life. Our relationship was distant by the end. I’ll admit, I cheated on Aira. I hurt her. I got addicted to gambling, and eventually, I stopped caring about her altogether. We barely saw each other anymore, and I sought distractions, convinced our connection was fading. I loved Aira—at least I thought I did—but after meeting Jenna, my feelings for Aira evaporated.
I broke up with Aira without telling her about Jenna. Jenna didn’t know anything about Aira either. Even after we broke up, Aira kept trying—making efforts I didn’t appreciate. She didn’t want to let go, but I was done. I wanted out of the relationship, but she kept clinging to the hope that we could make things work.
Then, a few days later, I found out Aira had committed suicide. I didn’t know why. But a thought struck me: Was it because of me?
The weight of that realization never fully hit me until now. I pushed Aira away, and now Felix is using Jenna to get back at me for what I did.
I told Emman, my investigator, to leave me alone. I needed space to think, to process everything. The pieces were falling into place, and it was time Jenna knew the truth—that Felix was using her, manipulating her to get revenge on me.
I reached for my phone, dialing Jenna’s number, but she wasn’t picking up. Frustration surged through me. I couldn’t wait any longer.
Grabbing my jacket, I decided to head out and find her myself. I needed to tell her everything before Felix could do more damage. She deserved to know the truth about Felix’s real motives.