CHAPTER 3
1218 Words
Jason’s POV
I pulled into the six-meter driveway of my mansion and turned off the engine.
The glass walls stood tall in front of me as I sat in the car, hands resting idly on the wheel.
These days, I dreaded coming home.
I took a deep breath and got out, fumbling briefly with my keys as I made my way inside.
The living room was completely empty. Instinctively my shoulders relaxed. Things were much easier when she wasn’t there.
I walked quietly toward the kitchen for some water, passing the bare dining table along the way.
There used to be a time when Melissa would run downstairs the moment she heard my car, dinner already set, chatting away before I even had the chance to sit.
None of that seemed to matter anymore.
As I approached the fridge, the note taped to it caught my attention.
‘Dinner’s in the microwave.’
I opened it. Chili. Take-out, for the umpteenth time. I grabbed the container without much thought, shoved it into the fridge, and picked up a bottle of water.
Twisting the cap open, I headed upstairs, taking slow sips as I climbed.
The frames lined along the staircase wall always seemed to stare me down. They were impossible to ignore.
First was our wedding photo. Then another. Melissa during her pregnancy shoot, hands cradling her stomach, a wide smile on her face. There used to be one of the two of us together, her belly between us, but Melissa took it down.
I didn’t protest; they felt less like memories anyway and more like displays. A reminder of a past I couldn’t undo, no matter how hard I tried.
I went straight into my study and shut the door behind me. Only then did I fully relax.
This was my space. Safe and controlled.
I sat down and pulled my work folder from my bag, flipping through meeting notes, forms, names.
Until one stopped me.
Gloria Cole.
Twenty-five.
Her photo was clipped neatly to the front.
My eyes lingered on it longer than necessary. There was something about her I hadn’t been able to shake off since we had coffee together. Something familiar, though I couldn’t place it.
In that instant, the door flew open.
Melissa walked in, phone pressed to her ear. “Yes, I’ll tell him now,” she said with a nod, then held it out toward me. “Your brother’s on the line. He wants to talk to you.”
“Tell him I’ll call him back.”
“He’s on the line now.”
“I’m busy.”
She sighed, before lifting the phone again. “I’m sorry, Marvin,” her tone softened. “I’ll make sure he calls you back.”
She ended the call and turned to face me, hands on her hips.
“Why are you ignoring Marvin?” she questioned. “He said he’s been calling you all week.”
I rested my chin on my hands and met her gaze. “Hello to you too.”
She scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Oh please. If you really cared to greet me, you’d have come to the bedroom instead of running to your little hideout.”
I stayed silent. I really wasn’t in the mood for another argument today.
“Why aren’t you answering your brother’s calls?” she insisted.
“I’ll speak to him when I’m ready.”
She paused, staring at me for what felt like a full minute, then stepped closer to the desk.
“Look,” she said, dragging the chair across as she sat down. “The board wants a new CFO. Marvin can’t keep stalling for you. You have to call and let him know you’re ready, or they’ll give it to someone else.”
I shuffled papers in front of me, deliberately avoiding her gaze.
“I’m not interested,” I muttered.
Her hands edged forward, resting on the desk. Her expression softened, just slightly.
“Jason… we have no money. Aren’t you tired of receiving handouts from your brother? When it all runs out, how do we maintain this house? How do we survive?”
I still didn’t look up.
“I’ll make sure there’s money available,” I replied, almost under my breath.
Her fist came down hard on the desk.
“What the hell is wrong with you?!” she snapped. “This company is rightfully yours, and you let your brother have it. Now you want to throw away the only chance you have to get it back. And for what? So you can play savior to a bunch of alcoholics?”
I slammed the folder down between us.
“Don’t you dare insult my work.”
She could rip apart everything else in my life. But not this. Not the only thing that had managed to give my life some meaning again.
She leveled her gaze at me, unflinching.
“Or what? You’ll kill me like you killed my baby?”
The words hit me like a punch I hadn’t seen coming. Whatever response formed in my mind couldn’t make it past my lips.
“You’re the most selfish, self-centered man I’ve ever met,” she added.
“Selfish?” I growled, barely holding myself together. “You’re the one who totally pushed me away after the accident.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she laughed, sarcasm dripping from every word. “I didn’t run into the arms of my baby’s murderer for comfort.”
“It was a f*****g accident!” I yelled, my voice tearing through the room. “You think I don’t replay it every day? That I don’t wish it was me instead?”
A heavy silence hung between us.
I could see the tears well up in her eyes, refusing to fall.
My chest ached at the sight.
“Melissa,” my voice fell lower than intended. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t,” she cut in at once.
She leaned forward, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Listen to me carefully, Jason Donovan.” Her fingers pointed at my chest. “Either take this job, or I walk away from this marriage.”
She stood and turned toward the door.
“And find somewhere else to sleep tonight.”
The door slammed, echoing through the room like a gunshot, rattling the desk, and sending papers sliding to the floor.
I remained glued to my seat for a moment, my gaze fixed on the door, my mind still circling the ultimatum.
I rubbed a hand over my face and exhaled.
I stood, making my way to the papers scattered across the floor, when something outside caught my attention.
A car was parked a few feet from the gate, engine running, headlights off. I couldn’t make out the model in the dark, only that it wasn’t mine. A faint glow flashed briefly from inside it, then again, like a phone screen being lifted.
I moved closer to the window, pulling my phone from my pocket, angling it toward the street, trying to catch the plate number. Before I could focus, the headlights came on and the car sped off, vanishing into the night.
I stayed where I was, the papers forgotten on the floor.
Who was watching me?
- Writer
