Chapter 2
Ethan frowned, acting like I was being unreasonable.
“It’s just an allergy, why are you making such a big deal out of it? I’ve never heard of anyone dying from allergies. Jessica almost fainted when she heard what happened to you.”
Ethan and I had a huge fight. He threw our wedding rings on the ground.
I packed my bags and left that night, moving into another rental apartment.
The next day, Jason appeared at my door.
“Can I stay here for the night? Don’t worry, I have money and I’ll be good.”
Actually, I already knew Jason was Jessica’s childhood friend. After finding out she was coming back, I had looked up all her social media accounts and found many photos of Jason.
Whenever she fought with Ethan or was upset, there were always photos of Jason quietly by her side.
Without a doubt, Jason was Jessica’s loyal puppy dog, the devoted second male lead.
Thanks to Jessica, I received the attentive care of this devoted second male lead for three months, and got to play the female lead for once.
Two months in, Ethan and I ran into each other while shopping. He glared at Jason beside me.
“Who’s this guy? It hasn’t been that long and you’re already with someone new. You’ve really disappointed me!”
I gave him what he wanted, acting haughty and replying, “None of your business!”
I pulled Jason into the mall. He pushed me against the wall in a changing room.
“Your husband doesn’t treat you well at all. He’s old and ugly, totally unworthy of you. Not like me - I only want to cherish you.”
I grabbed Jason’s collar, squeezing out two pitiful tears.
“I know, right? And that vixen still has the nerve to seduce him. I guess trash attracts trash!”
Hearing me talk that way about his beloved, Jason clenched his jaw but had to keep comforting me.
Pretending to be delighted by his comfort, I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him. His eyes widened in panic as he jerked backwards.
For the past month, although Jason had acted very fond of me, he was reluctant to get too physical.
I knew he found me less attractive than Jessica, being two years older. But he seemed to have forgotten that Jessica had sent him to sacrifice his body to seduce me.
Since that was the case, why keep up the act?
I pretended to be disappointed and let go of his collar, pouting with red-rimmed eyes.
“I thought you said you liked me? Why won’t you even kiss me?”
Jason’s eyes were a mess of emotions. He clenched and unclenched his fists before finally forcing out a stiff smile.
“Of course I’ll do anything to make you happy.”
I eagerly went to kiss him. He closed his eyes with a look of grim resignation. But I deliberately missed, brushing past the corner of his mouth before shoving him away. I ran out of the changing room with a coy expression, and sure enough saw Jessica outside with a thunderous face.
Seeing my flushed face and the lipstick mark on the corner of Jason’s mouth, Jessica nearly ground her teeth to dust.
“Broad daylight in a public place - have you no shame?!”
“Jessica, you’re the one who should be asking yourself that question. After all, you’re the one who’s taken shamelessness to new heights.”
Jessica’s face turned red. She sneered, “I’m standing up for Ethan! He works himself to the bone at the office to support you, while you’re lazy and now fooling around with some boy toy!”
The irony was, I had bought our house in cash, my salary was twice Ethan’s, and I paid for most of our expenses.
That’s why Ethan did housework - he felt guilty about freeloading.
I deliberately pulled the uncomfortable-looking Jason closer, saying haughtily,
“Jessica, you already have Ethan. Don’t tell me you want to steal this one from me too?”
Seeing that I seemed to have genuinely fallen for Jason, Jessica finally relaxed a bit. She looked at Jason and me like we were adulterers.
Afterwards, I went on a shopping spree in the mall, making Jason pay for everything.
His face got paler and paler as he hesitantly pulled out his card again and again.
After all, his job was mediocre, and I had nearly wiped out half a year of his savings in one go.
But he had no choice - wasn’t he pursuing me? Hadn’t he said he’d do anything to make me happy?
As we were leaving the mall, Jason said he needed to use the restroom. I nodded and followed him secretly.
At a corner, I saw him standing unhappily in front of Jessica.
“How much longer do I have to keep this up? I can’t stand that old hag for another day. Having to act cutesy with her makes me want to puke!”
Jessica stroked his head, swinging his hand back and forth.
“Bear with it a little longer for my happiness, okay? Didn’t you promise to be my knight in shining armor forever?”
Seeing Jason was still upset, Jessica bit her lip and gave him a quick kiss. Comforted by this, Jason cheered up and treated me even better in the following days.
But what people fear most is getting used to something.
Over our three months living together, Jason had grown accustomed to taking care of my daily life - cooking, doing laundry, picking me up from work, taking me out for nice meals.
At first he would stiffen uncomfortably when I took his arm, instinctively rejecting it. Now he would buy me gifts just to see me jump into his arms and kiss him.
The acting in his eyes grew less and less, while my calculations became clearer and clearer.
After learning his password and being able to freely check his phone, I looked through his group chat with his buddies more than once.
Jessica was the only girl in the chat. Jason reported on his progress pursuing me every day.
At first, he would boast in the group:
“I’ll have that old hag wrapped around my finger in no time. She already obeys my every word.”
“Took the old hag shopping today. She tried to kiss me - I got goosebumps, it was so gross. If it wasn’t for Jessica, I’d want to kick her to the curb!”
“Sigh, thinking about how devoted the old hag is to me, when I’m going to utterly ruin her reputation…I feel a tiny bit guilty.”
His buddies would cheer him on in the chat, saying there was no woman Jason couldn’t conquer.
They even planned that after Jason had me under his mental control, the group of them would take turns using me.
Jessica would also message him privately, acting concerned:
“I’m sorry, Jason. You have to put on an act with that disgusting slut for my happiness. If only I had fallen in love with you instead.”
Those words had Jason over the moon.
But gradually, Jason took longer and longer to reply to messages.
“Rachel just fell asleep so I couldn’t check my phone. Nothing special today, just did chores as usual.”
“Was making a midnight snack for Rachel earlier so couldn’t see the messages. She seems to like me a lot now. She even praised me for how neatly I peeled the crab for her today.”
“Taking videos is fine, but I should be the only one filming. She’s still a woman after all, that would be going too far. Isn’t there another way?”
Not just Jason’s buddies, but even Jessica started to sense something was off. She began interrogating Jason.
One night, I heard Jason on the balcony taking a call. Jessica’s crying voice came through.
“Why are you always doing laundry and cooking for that bitch? Have you fallen for her? Don’t forget you’re supposed to be seducing her, making her kneel and beg us for mercy! Not being her personal chef!”
Jason, who had always cared deeply about Jessica’s feelings, was silent for a full 30 seconds before answering.
“How could I possibly love that slut? I haven’t forgotten my purpose. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely torment her until she’s utterly ruined, as a birthday gift for you.”
“But from now on…don’t call me late at night anymore. She’s been under a lot of work stress lately and is a light sleeper. I’m afraid she’ll overhear.”
“Are you afraid she’ll overhear, or afraid of disturbing her sleep?!”
Jessica’s accusation followed immediately. I deliberately rolled over, making a small noise that caused Jason to instinctively hang up. He quietly came back to bed. Seeing I was still asleep, he let out a long sigh of relief.
Over these three months, despite his coaxing, I had never gone further physically with Jason. But I did allow him to sleep in my bed.
Jason carefully lifted the covers and got in bed. He gingerly put his arm around my waist and whispered in my ear:
“Rachel, I’m sorry.”
After he fell asleep, I opened my eyes, a mocking smile on my face.