The music throbbed through the club like a heartbeat—steady, intoxicating, and inescapable. The air was thick with expensive perfume, clinking glasses, and the hushed whispers of socialites trying to figure out who Jackim was.
Seated in the VIP lounge, he exuded an air of quiet power, his fingers swirling the golden liquid in his glass. The woman beside him, the one who had approached earlier, leaned in closer.
"You're different," she murmured, her eyes scanning his face.
Jackim smirked but said nothing.
He was used to this reaction now—the fascination, the curiosity, the hunger.
And across the room, Vanessa couldn't stop staring.
Her mind was spinning. Jackim? The same Jackim she had discarded like a used accessory?
How was this possible?
He had been broke. A nobody.
And now, he had wealth. Power.
He belonged to a different world.
One she was no longer part of.
Brian followed her gaze and clenched his jaw. "You're still thinking about that loser?"
Vanessa didn't answer.
Because the truth was, Jackim wasn't a loser anymore.
And that realization burned.
---
The woman, now fully engaged, tapped her manicured nails on the table. "You still haven't told me your name."
Jackim took a slow sip of his drink, his eyes scanning the room. "Names hold power," he said lazily. "And I don't give mine away for free."
She laughed, clearly intrigued. "Mysterious and rich. Dangerous combination."
He smirked.
At that moment, his phone vibrated.
The Mysterious Phone: New Task Available.
Jackim's brows lifted slightly.
Task: Buy an ultra-expensive drink and pour it in front of everyone.
Reward: Increased influence, VIP status boost.
Failure: None, but opportunity lost.
A small smirk touched his lips.
Fine. Let's play.
He signaled the bartender.
"Bring me the most expensive bottle of liquor you have. Unopened."
A murmur rippled through the bar as the bartender hesitated before nodding.
Minutes later, a $100,000 bottle of vintage whiskey was presented before him.
Jackim accepted it, turning it slowly in his hands. The label gleamed under the dim lights.
Every eye in the VIP section was on him now—including Vanessa's.
Without hesitation, Jackim uncorked the bottle—and poured it onto the floor.
Gasps filled the air.
Vanessa's mouth fell open.
Brian slammed his hand on the table. "What the f**k?!"
The woman next to Jackim exhaled sharply, her eyes gleaming with admiration.
Jackim set the empty bottle down and leaned back, completely unbothered.
"I felt like wasting some money."
A beat of silence.
Then—whispers.
"Who the hell is he?"
"Did he just pour $100,000 on the ground like it was nothing?"
"He's richer than we thought."
Vanessa's hands trembled under the table. That could've been mine.
She had left him for Brian.
And yet, right now, Brian looked like an insect compared to Jackim.
She had made the worst mistake of her life.
And there was no going back.
---