Chapter 251: Jealousy
Brad cocked his head and gave me a look. Maybe my pissed-off face was funny to him, 'cause he started grinning.
I pinched his waist, hard.
Still laughing? Was it that hilarious? Here I was, losing my cool, and for what?
Brad grabbed my hand and kissed it. The warmth of his lips kinda calmed me down.
"Love's like a seed. It only grows when it finds the right soil. Miss Jenny, you saved my life, and I'm grateful. I'll take care of your injuries and even compensate you. I'll do anything for you that doesn't cross moral or legal lines. But the love you're looking for? I can't give you that, not even a bit. Don't do this again. A girl should value herself. If you don't, how can you expect others to? I'll pretend today never happened. Monday's appointment is still on. It's late now, sorry for disturbing your rest. I've paid for the hotel. See you Monday."
Brad turned and left, no hesitation.
"Brad," Jenny called out, her voice cracking with heartbreak.
Brad stopped but didn't turn around. "Oh, by the way, I hired a female caregiver for you during the day. She'll take care of you 24/7. It'll be more convenient. Call me if you need anything, but I don't want a repeat of today, okay?"
The bedroom door closed behind me, muffling Jenny's sobs. I could barely make out her words about being heartless and unfair.
Fairness? In love? Love shows up when it wants to. It belongs to whoever it belongs to. Who demands fairness in love? She came late, she wasn't loved, and she tried to mess up my thing with Brad. If she got fairness, what about mine? Who do I ask for it?
Brad, looking all serious, walked out of the suite under the watchful eyes of the taller guy.
We walked through the hallway, into the elevator, and back to the room. Brad didn't say a word, looking super pissed. He didn't even look at me, just dragged me along.
Did he sense my slight doubt about him? Did he have to be so sensitive? With his patience and hesitation, shouldn't I be the one angry? Why was he the one getting mad?
I yanked my hand away and started running. If he could be mad, so could I.
I barely took two steps when he grabbed my right hand, pulling me into a clean, fresh-smelling embrace.
"Why are you running? And you think you have the right to be mad for not trusting me?"
"Your eyes couldn't even look away from her, and you want trust? If it were me, would you trust me?" I cried out, feeling wronged, almost in tears.
I wasn't that upset at first, but once I started talking, I felt so full of grievance that I couldn't help but cry.
Brad laughed at my outburst. He held me close, gently patting my back like soothing a baby. "Alright, don't make me worry. No more crying. There was no beauty at all. I just didn't expect her to be so bold and didn't react in time. If we're talking about beauty, she doesn't compare to you in my heart. Not trusting me? Is that a lack of confidence in yourself?"
"All men are bad."
"Not me. I'm Jane's loyal partner, always faithful to you."
"Really?"
"Really, more genuine than pure gold."
Alright then.
I guessed he could keep trying to be my boyfriend.
Brad, with his loyalty, passed fifty percent of the probation.
But to be safe, I decided to spread out the remaining fifty percent throughout Jenny's treatment process.
The world’s nuts, and plans? They never keep up with the chaos. Who knows what hits first, tomorrow or some random accident?
If, and I mean if, something wild happens, at least I can say I tried.
About those two times Brad and I almost got it on today, we gotta chill on that, especially since the probation is dragging out.
Brad stayed silent until we got to the room. I didn’t know what to say either. I wanted to apologize, but his pissed-off face made me zip it.
That night, we just held each other and slept. I could tell Brad was still mad about my little trust issue.
Even as I dozed off, I kept seeing Jenny with her clothes half-off in my head.
If I hadn’t insisted on going over, would Brad, a single dude, have stayed as cool as he did with me when he saw that tempting scene? Especially when he was already turned on, could he have resisted? Maybe once, but ten times, twenty, a hundred?
This wasn’t about trust; it was just basic human nature.
Jenny’s treatment might take a while. As long as she’s crushing on Brad, this could happen over and over. What would Brad do then?
Back in school, Brad was mad at me for ages because of Jenny. Now, years later, it’s the same story.
Both times he got mad at me, it was because of Jenny. Does that mean she’s special to him?
I wanted to wake him up and ask, but thinking about why he was mad—the first time was a love letter, the second was distrust—I didn’t have the guts.
People shouldn’t mess up.
I didn’t distrust him, but the scene was just too much, and I lost it.
He got mad at me for that. My distrust was tiny; it was mostly jealousy, hardcore jealousy.
A guy who doesn’t get my jealousy is so unromantic. I was so mad at him.
I don’t know how long I sulked before I finally crashed.
In my dream, I replayed the scene of me confronting Brad and Jenny over and over, which made me feel awesome. Then, it turned into Jenny growing long, cold fangs and lunging at me. Her fangs pierced my shoulder blade, and blood flowed, hurting like hell.
Brad stood behind Jenny, coldly staring at me, not caring about my fear and pain.
I called out to him over and over, but he ignored me.
Then the scene shifted to a stage covered in roses. Jenny, in a pure white dress, had a diamond ring on her finger, placed by Brad. The ring sparkled with colors. Brad lifted her veil, bringing his lips closer to hers, about to kiss.
I shouted in anger, "Don’t kiss!"
I suddenly opened my eyes to see a familiar face, a familiar light above, but unfamiliar cold sweat on my body.
Brad turned over and pulled me into his arms, his big hand gently rubbing the back of my head, lovingly saying, "Don’t be afraid, I’m here."
On a night that almost drove me mad, Brad’s words nearly brought me to tears.
Yeah, don’t be afraid, Brad’s here.
Those words really calmed my uneasy heart.
But I couldn’t fall back asleep. I checked my phone; it was 2:45 AM. Around 5:30, I felt sleepy again and dozed off.
My internal clock was always on point. At 6:00 AM sharp, I woke up.
Though I was awake, my body, having barely slept, protested hard. My eyes were sore, and my head felt heavy like it was filled with lead. I tried to get up several times but couldn’t, so I fell back onto the bed to keep lying down.