Chapter 2

The fellow employees quickly started commenting below about "eating dog food," thinking the person in the picture was me.

I don't know how I managed to fall asleep that night. When I opened my eyes, it was already seven in the morning, with three hours left before the cruise ship's departure.

I washed my face and applied ice to my swollen eyes.

I didn't want to appear so pathetic in front of Jolene, nor did I want Garrison to laugh at me.

When I arrived at the dock dragging my luggage, I suddenly became nervous.

I didn't know in what capacity I should face them – as the clingy ex-boyfriend or the rightful boyfriend coming to catch them in the act?

Wearing sunglasses and a mask, I tried to blend in with the crowd of passengers, hoping my colleagues wouldn't recognize me.

After returning my luggage to the room, I walked to the staff lounge, a path I knew all too well. Hearing movement inside, I was inexplicably compelled to peek through the door crack.

"Jolene, did you really break up with Quint? I heard from colleagues that you two were together for five years."

Garrison was leaning back in his chair, slowly eating the tangerine Jolene had peeled for him.

Hearing my name, Jolene frowned, her expression turning irritated."We broke up a long time ago. Don't mention him anymore. I never liked him. If you hadn't gone abroad back then, I would have never agreed to be with him."

My hand, propped against the wall, couldn't help but tremble. I never imagined she'd grown to detest me to such an extent.

Garrison flashed a satisfied smile, stood up, and wrapped both arms around Jolene's waist. Then, he used his mouth to feed an orange slice into Jolene's.

As Garrison pulled back, Jolene abruptly pulled him into her embrace and kissed him.

The kiss lasted a full minute. When Jolene looked at Garrison, her eyes held a glimmer of desire.

"Garrison, let's get married. I never want to be apart from you again."

Garrison's lips curved into a slight smile as he gently pinched Jolene's cheek.

"Jolene, as long as I'm always in your heart, I'm yours."

Watching their intimate display, I couldn't control my heavy breathing. My heart felt like it was being stabbed by needles.

I pulled out my phone and, with shaking hands, sent Jolene a text.

"Jolene, I don't want to break up."

Jolene saw my name pop up on her phone screen. Without even opening the message, she immediately hit delete."Why don't you look at what Quint said?"

"What else could he say? Just the usual begging me to stay. It's annoying to even look at. If I'd known he'd be this hard to shake off, I never would have agreed to be with him in the first place."

So, for these five years, Jolene had never loved me. It had always been a one-man show.

With a thud, my phone slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor.

The door to the lounge burst open suddenly. I lost my balance and was knocked to the ground by the door. My sunglasses fell off too, leaving me sitting awkwardly on the floor, looking up at them.

"Quint, you're like a stubborn stain that won't come off. Now you've even chased me onto the ship. What will it take for you to leave me alone? I'm begging you, please."

Seeing me fall, Jolene didn't even bother to offer a hand to help me up, finding it too disgusting. There wasn't a shred of concern in her eyes as she looked at me.

My heart was breaking, but I forced myself to stand up.

"Jolene, so in these five years we've been together, you never felt anything for me, not even once?"

Seeing the seriousness in my eyes, Jolene froze, a flicker of hesitation passing through her gaze.

I pressed on with my questioning.