Zachary had once tried to delude himself into believing that Tessa and Stephen had not slept together. As it turned out, it was just his wishful thinking.

However, now that the kiss marks on Stephen’s body stared at him in the face, Zachary’s vision darkened for a second. There was a loud buzzing in his ears, paired with the vicious hammering of his heart against his ribcage. He was unsteady on his feet, his legs threatening to give away at any moment.

In the next second, Zachary let out a howl akin to a wounded beast as fury burned

in his reddened eyes. With a roar, he lunged at Stephen. Stephen took a step back, maneuvering his body sideways to dodge Zachary’s attack.

He took advantage of the opening and drove his fist mercilessly into Zachary’s face while also kicking him.

Pain exploded across Zachary’s face from the blow. His mind was buzzing from the impact. He stumbled backward, his body colliding against the wall of the hallway with a loud thud.

Stephen scoffed at him. His eyes filled with condescension as he commented, “Zachary, I already gave you a chance. Three years ago, when you and Tess were together, I convinced myself that as long as she was happy, you would have my blessings. And how did you treat her?”

It was as if an invisible hand was squeezing Zachary’s heart repeatedly. The pain made it hard for him to breathe.

Stephen didn’t give Zachary time to catch his breath. Then, he asked again, “Zachary, what right do you have to question me?”

The words would prove to be fatal to Zachary. He suddenly felt lost and untethered. Stephen was right. What right did Zachary have at that moment? He was the one who ruined his relationship with Tessa and pushed her into the arms of another man.

Stephen looked at Zachary scornfully as if he was looking at a bereaved dog. It was men like Zachary whom he looked down on the most. Folks like him did not know how to cherish what they had until it slipped through their fingers, only mourning what they had lost when it was gone.

He looked down on men like Zachary the most. He didn’t know how to cherish what he had until it slipped through his fingers, only mourning what he had lost when it was gone.

Zachary’s regret had come too late. To whom did he want to show this pitiful appearance? He was quiet for a while, after which his bewildered expression was wiped clean, as if he found a proper reason to explain his actions.

He swiped at his mouth, a smirk curling his lips. The smudged blood near his lip made him look even more unhinged and insane.

“Of course, I have the right. Because I love her! No one loves her more than I do!”

Stephen was furious to the point of laughing aloud. He cocked an eyebrow, questioning, “You love her? Heh. Even a dog can tell how laughable your statement is.”

Zachary was about to retort when Tessa’s voice suddenly echoed from behind Stephen. Her tone was a mixture of surprise and anger.

“Zachary? What are you doing here?”

Tessa was about to drift off to sleep when she heard shouting and

fighting at her door. She had quickly changed into a proper set of clothes and rushed to the entrance to find out what was happening.

When she realized it was Zachary at her door, she was no longer sleepy and instead glared at Zachary. Her incensed gaze made it resemble like she was looking at someone she loathed to the core.

Zachary turned to Tessa after

hearing her voice. The first thing he noticed was the unnatural redness coating Tessa’s face. Next was the haze of desire that hadn’t

swn y

completely receded from hereyes.

As his eyes traveled downward, he saw the love bites marking the pale skin of her throat.

At that moment, he understood what heartbreak felt like. When he was just talking to Stephen, Zachary could still fool himself into thinking that Stephen was lying to rile him up.

There was still a sliver of hope in his heart. However, after seeing the proof of their lovemaking on Tessa’s body with his own eyes, Zachary thought he might actually lose his mind.

They had really slept together and the reality broke Zachary. It was as if someone had sliced off a part of his heart and left it to bleed out. The pain was suffocating.

“Tessy,” Zachary croaked out, his voice thick with tears. “Please… I’m begging you. Don’t be so cruel to me. How could you…”

He hopelessly thought to himself, “How could you sleep with another man?”