Fern was trembling head to toe, sobbing like her whole world was collapsing. She clung to me, desperate.
“Baby, please… calm down,” she begged. “Let’s just sit down, talk this out. Please?”
I peeled her arms off me and stepped back.
“Talk?” I said, voice flat. “You think I didn’t try that before? All those years swallowing my pride, trying to fix things? Did you ever listen? And now you wanna talk? Too damn late, Fern.”
“I messed up! I was wrong, I know I was!” She dropped to her knees with a heavy thud. “Please… just give me another chance. I’ll make it up to you, I promise!“}
“Jarrett!” her mother cried, face streaked with tears. “Please, son, don’t turn your back on us. Let our family make this right.“}
“We’ll give you everything!” her dad added quickly, his voice strained with panic. “All the family’s assets–we’ll sign everything over to
you!
“Compensation?” I let out a cold laugh. “You think I care about your money?“}
I turned to Fern, locking eyes with her as I laid it bare, word by word.”
“What if I fuck nineteen other women?}
“What if I made you sit outside the bathroom door and listen to us moaning all night, hmm?}
“What if your mom and your dad died because of my affairs?!}
“Would you fucking forgive me?“}
She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Exactly. That’s what I thought. No one could forgive that.
“I’m done,” I said. “With you. With your family. From this moment on, we’re nothing to each other.“}
I turned my back on them and walked away.}
But that whole damn family came chasing after me, yelling my name down the driveway.”
But before they could reach me, a car screeched to a halt between us.
The door flung open. Out stepped Marlow.}
She stood tall, her gaze like steel. “Stay away from Jarrett,” she said coldly. “I won’t warn you again.“}
N
“You shut your mouth!” Fern snapped. “How dare you talk to me like that, huh? Who the hell do you think you are?!“>
Unlike her, her parents froze mid–step. Like they’d seen a ghost.
“M–Marlow G–G-” her dad stammered in shock.
“From Maryland…” her mom continued. “The Gottstein’s heiress?!”
“What?!” Fern’s face paled. She hadn’t known the real identity of the woman she had just messed with.
To be honest, I hadn’t known either–until a few days ago.
Marlow had always been a walking encyclopedia, always uncovering things no one else could. It made me wonder–was she really just a lawyer?!
When I asked, she didn’t hesitate. She told me everything.”
Now, Marlow turned to Fern with a smirk that could slice glass.
“Your family had everything. A winning hand–and you trashed it.”}
Then she looked at me, her voice softening,”
“As for Jarrett? This business genius you took for granted? He’s mine now.”
She slid her hand into mine and pulled me into the car.
The car sped off, leaving nothing but dust in the Schnitzers‘ faces.
Fern’s POVE
“It’s over,” Dad muttered, collapsing to his knees. “All of it… it’s over.”
Then both he and Mom fainted–right there on the pavement like the weight of everything had finally crushed them.§
I barely noticed. All I could see was the back of that car.
“Jarrett!” I screamed after him, my voice cracking. “Don’t go! Please… I’m begging you!”
Iran. Barefoot. Desperate. But two feet don’t beat four wheels. The car sped on without so much as a brake light flicker.
I tripped. Hard. Hit the pavement. Skinned palms, scraped knees, but none of it hurt as much as the truth–Jarrett… He’s really gone.
Jarrett’s POV
I watched Fern disappear in the rearview mirror–smaller, smaller, gone.
Then I did what I should’ve done long ago.
Deleted every message. Every photo. Every number. Every trace of her.
A few days later, Marlow offered me something I hadn’t expected; a real future.
Taught 19 Men How to Moan My Wife’s Name
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2:56 PM
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A few days later, Marlow offered me something I hadn’t expected: a real future.
She brought me on as lead consultant for the Gottstein family enterprise.}
At first, the boards didn’t take me seriously. Most of them only humored her.
Some even thought I was just another flavor–of–the–month romance. A useless project she’d get bored with.
But Marlow stood her ground. Backed me like she had something to prove.”
So I proved it.
In just six months, I closed deal after deal–international clients, forward–thinking strategies, market predictions that landed with precision. Quarterly profits? Doubled.
And suddenly, those same board members stopped doubting and started listening.
Meanwhile, the Schnitzers crumbled.
Fern spiraled. Night after night, she drank herself numb. Her parents too old, too tired–couldn’t keep the business afloat.
Mistakes multiplied. Revenues plummeted. Fifty percent gone. Suppliers pulled out. Business partners cut ties.)
And then came the final blow.
Her boyfriends–the same ones she’d once flaunted turned on her, going live online, exposing all their dirty secrets, posting nude photos
even.
Her name became poison. Social media tore her apart, calling her every name in the book–slut, whore, homewrecker.
Eventually, their family company went under and announced bankruptcy.
When I heard the news, I felt no sympathy, no regret, just a quiet kind of closure.
‘Some people get exactly what they deserve.
If her parents hadn’t tried to outsmart everyone with their lies…
If Fern hadn’t treated infidelity like a game, parading her lovers through our home like trophies…
Maybe–just maybe–things wouldn’t have fallen apart so spectacularly.
One warm, golden afternoon, Marlow showed up at my door again–flowers in one hand, that familiar spark in her eyes.
“Jarrett,” she said with a grin, half teasing, half nervous. “Six months ago, you told me rushing into something would be unfair. That we weren’t ready.”
She bit her lip, then took a breath.
“Well… what about now? Can I get my yes?”
She was pouting, and her eyes were brimming with hope.
I couldn’t help but smile, I pulled her close and kissed her ear.
“It’s a yes,” I whispered.
The past? That’s done.
The present? It’s the start for me–to learn how to love again like it’s the first time.
(The End)
