JENNIFER'S POV
Saturday mornings were usually peaceful for me—lazy sunlight, warm pajamas, and silence. But today was different.
A loud knock rattled the front door.
"Jenny!" Alex shouted from the living room. "Do NOT open it. I swear if it's who I think it is—"
"It is who you think it is," Katherine replied, peeking through the curtain with narrowed eyes. "Unbelievable. I thought he had shame."
I didn't even bother asking.
I already knew.
Steve.
Of course, it was Steve.
"Jennifer, I know you're in there," his voice called through the door—tired, desperate, forcing guilt into every syllable. "Please… just give me a minute."
Alex folded her arms. "A minute to do what? Ruin her life again?"
Katherine looked back at me. "Do you want us to handle it?"
I inhaled slowly and shook my head. "No. I got this."
Alex's eyes widened. "Jenny—"
"I'm not forgiving him," I said quietly. "I just want to end this properly."
They exchanged a look, then stepped aside.
I opened the door.
Steve stood there with messy hair and sleepless eyes, wearing the same jacket I had bought him months ago. He looked somehow smaller.
"Jen," he breathed, like seeing me physically hurt him.
"Don't call me that."
"I'm sorry. Jennifer, thank you for opening the door."
"What do you want, Steve?"
He flinched, but recovered quickly.
"I—I need you to hear me out. I owe you the truth."
I crossed my arms. "About what? The cheating? Or the lying? Or the fact that you were—" I stopped myself, lowering my voice. "With a man."
His face fell. "That's what I want to talk about."
"My mom… she's really sick." His voice wavered. "I didn't know who to talk to. I felt like everything was piling up and I messed up. I know that doesn't excuse anything, but I swear—"
"Stop."
My voice came out sharper than expected.
He froze.
"You cheated, Steve. You broke my trust. Whatever personal pain you were going through, I would have helped you. I was helping you."
My throat tightened, but I pushed through it.
"But you didn't talk to me. You betrayed me."
He swallowed hard. "I know. And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Jen. I don't want to lose you."
"I told you not to call me that."
"You've already lost me, Steve,"
There was a sharp silence that followed. Pain flickered across his face. "Is… is there someone else?"
I blinked. "What? No. How dare you?"
He nodded slowly, but his eyes didn't believe me.
I stepped back. "Goodbye, Steve."
And closed the door.
Alex was immediately at my side. "Oh my God, that was so badass."
Katherine hugged me quietly. "You did the right thing."
Maybe I did.
But my chest still felt oddly heavy.
---
Monday — One Week Later
Work had finally gone back to normal.
Or at least, it should have.
But a very specific, very intrusive thought kept popping into my mind every few hours, no matter how many times I mentally shut it down:
Nathaniel Holmes.
His Name was popping in my head every 30 seconds.
He checked out two days ago and didn't even bother to pass by once.
*Was he avoiding me?*
"I doubt that. The Nathaniel Holmes trying to avoid catching glance at me? Jennifer Wilton? Impossible."
I hated that I noticed these things.
Around noon, as I was arranging guest reservations, my phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
My stomach did a stupid flip.
I answered cautiously. "Hello?"
A familiar voice replied, smooth and controlled.
"Jennifer."
I held my breath.
"It's Nate."
Of course it was.
"Oh." I swallowed. "H-hello."
"Before you accuse me of stalking again," he said dryly, "your coworker gave me this number. She recognized me from last week when she saw me outside the hotel."
"Veronica?"
I mentally facepalmed. That girl loved gossip more than food.
"Yes." Nate paused. "You weren't answering the hotel line, so I figured this was easier."
I almost choked. "I was busy."
"Clearly."
The silence that followed felt heavier than it should have.
Then he said, oddly casual, "I'm going to the club tonight. Come with me."
I blinked. "No."
"No?" he echoed, as if he had never heard the word directed at him in his entire billionaire life.
"No," I repeated. "It's a very busy week. I have shifts. Reports. Guests. A life."
"I see."
Another pause.
I could almost hear his jaw tightening.
Then the line went dead.
I frowned at my phone.
"Did he just… hang up on me?"
Alex, who had magically appeared beside me, whispered, "Who hung up? Was it Hot Nate?"
"What are you doing here?" I freaked out as if I had seen a ghost.
"What do you mean what am I doing here?"
"I was out on an errand close by so I decided to stop by to have lunch together." She replied. "Yo, Chill Jen." She added and began to walk closer suspiciously.
I shoved the phone under a folder swiftly before she could grab it from my hand. "It's Nobody serious. It certainly isn't Nathaniel."
She smirked like she didn't believe a word.
---
Later That Evening — Outside the Hotel
My shift had barely ended when a black Mercedes pulled up beside me.
The window slid down.
Nate.
Leaned back, arm resting on the edge of the window, looking unfairly composed.
"You're off work early," he said, almost accusingly.
I blinked. "How do you know that?"
He stared at me. "Because I asked your manager to discharge you."
My mouth fell open. "You what—?"
"You said you were busy right?"
"Come on, you needed the evening off, don't deny it," he said simply.
"I did not!"
"You do now."
He got out of the car, walked toward me, and stopped barely a foot away.
"Get in."
His calmness annoyed me more than his arrogance.
"I'm going home," I said firmly.
"I'll drive you."
"No."
"Jennifer," he sighed, "I am trying very hard not to pick you up and place you inside the car."
My cheeks warmed for absolutely no reason.
I pointed at him. "Don't 'Jennifer' me."
His mouth twitched. "Then stop making it so easy."
Despite my irritation…
Despite the chaos of the last week…
I felt my lips threaten to curve.
Just a little.
And for the first time since everything fell apart, something inside me loosened.
Dangerously.