The Devil's Good Girl
Chapter 171: Impulse

Chapter 171: Impulse

Fil pressed her lips into a tight line, gazing down at her phone as a message from Marcus popped up on the screen. Following that was Vincent, thanking her for coming. There were a few messages from other people but Fil didn’t bother opening all of them.

’What’s the point?’she wondered, turning her head to the window of the taxi’s backseat. ’I should’ve done this the night I caught my fiance and best friend red-handed.’

It was foolish.

That instead of walking out of their lives, she chose to stay just to hurt them the way they hurt her. She bent her beliefs and slept with a man she didn’t even know, all to hurt Vincent. She idled and stuck around, toeing the ring of fire without knowing she was actually within it.

’Why did I even let my emotions get the best of me?’ Fil closed her eyes and cocked her head back. ’I should’ve listened to Jack before.’

Why did she have to wait to see what she saw?

If only she had walked out earlier, she would probably still hate them. But at least she would hate a cheating boyfriend and a traitorous best friend. She would hate Marcus as an enabler for his friend’s cheating, and not as Kenzo’s bully.

Last night, Michael popped her bubble and now, all these thoughts surged through her mind like a flood. It felt like someone poured her a bucketful of ice, waking her up from a beautiful dream.

Fil slowly opened her eyes, tilting her head, and gazing at the side of her window. She pressed her lips, sighing heavily.

*

*

*

*

Although Fil promised to return to the hotel and even left luggage in there, she found herself standing in front of her apartment. She reached for the knob but didn’t open it. Instead, she hung her head low, defeated. But before she could wonder which emotion had won over her, the door slowly opened from the inside.

"At this point, I feel like I’m the owner of this place," said Jack as soon as he laid his eyes on her. "Knock next time."

Fil lifted her gaze at him, unsure whether she should feel relieved to see him here or terrified.

"Are you waiting for me to invite you in?" he quipped, cocking his head to the side. When she didn’t answer, he pushed the door wider. "Very well. Come on in, roomie."

But Fil didn’t play along like usual. All she did was stare at him, making him arch a brow.

"If you’re looking at me like that because you want to thank me for the gift, you’re welcome, sweetheart." Jackson smiled. "But if this is bad news, then —"

"Let’s break up."

The smile on his face remained as if he expected that much.

"I know we’re not together, but let’s break up," she continued, this time with more conviction. "I’ll also resign as the head of the Solana Project. Though that isn’t because of you. I’m quitting everything, Jack."

"Oh."

Fil drew a deep breath, assessing his reaction. "I know you can afford to rent out an entire hotel for an entire month or year, so I expect you to leave my place at the end of the day."

"Alright." He nodded and shrugged. "I’ll leave."

"Okay?" she repeated, brows furrowed. His only answer to that was a nod and a shrug.

Her hand balled into a tight fist, but she managed to control her emotions by breathing out heavily and slowly. She loosened her fist, rocking her head.

"Okay. Well, that went better than expected," she remarked with a forced smile. "Thank you for everything, Jack. I appreciate all your help and I had fun."

"It was fun, indeed."

Fil pursed her lips, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. However, she didn’t say anything else as she turned her back on him to return to the hotel. It would be awkward if she stayed while he packed up his things.

’I should be glad he understood,’ she told herself. ’But then again, what we had is nothing but sexual. To him, this is like losing a sex toy. He could find someone else after this.’

As Fil walked away, busy convincing herself this was the better outcome, she stopped when a pair of arms snaked around her waist. Her breath hitch as his body warmth pressed on her back, pulling her waist a little, and confining her with his arms.

"I always find myself looking at your back, and for many reasons, it doesn’t amuse me at all," he said as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "It’s like a premonition of today."

"Kim called today," he continued, not letting her have a word as he already let her. "She told me you weren’t fine, and she’s worried. So, I figured you’d come home early and made you something."

"Jack."

"I’m not trying to talk you out of it," he argued calmly. "All I want is to make sure this is what you truly want, and not something you decided out of impulse. You’ve already made a lot of decisions out of impulse. I don’t want this to be one because if this is truly what you want, I’d disappear on you... forever."

Fil held her breath for a moment, swallowing down the building tension in her throat. After a moment, Jackson slowly released her. He held her shoulders and turned her around.

"You are right, Jack. I already made a lot of decisions out of impulse," she said as soon as their eyes met. "But ending whatever relationship we have is not one of them. Letting you in is."

Meeting him was a coincidence and how their situation started on high emotions, including impulse. A decision made out of an impulse to hurt, to settle scores, and to forget. It was foolish. And where did that foolishness and naivety take her?

"I naively believed revenge could be easy if only I was willing to make a few sacrifices. But..." she trailed off, recalling the brief dream she had when she fainted. This time, however, it wasn’t Jackson who was strangling her.

It was herself.

"Last night, if not for you, I would’ve embarrassed myself in front of an entire crowd. Although that damage doesn’t matter to me, it just shows I’m not cut out for it, or maybe I’m just not ready," she continued. "Either way, I realized I don’t have to because I can do worse even without knowing it. I push people to their limits. I did it to them, and I’m doing it again."

Bitterness shone in her eyes as her lips quivered. "Jack, I do not want to push you beyond your limit. You’ve helped me over and over; you were there every step of the way. Back then, it was the makeover, then the Solana Project. Last night, it was Mr. Windsor and a hundred million gem. What’s next? Once all those things don’t work anymore, what’s next? Will you kill people who upset me, thinking it will make me happy? Or would you sleep with someone else to fulfill the thrill you don’t get from me anymore just to wallow in guilt right after?"

Hearing her explanation, Jackson took a step back. His eyes swirled with a tinge of surprise and confusion. Fil, on the other hand, pursed her lips into a thin line.

"Make sense." Jackson rocked his head, letting out an airy chuckle as if he didn’t see that coming. "How do I argue with that?"

He smacked his lips, running his tongue across his inner cheek. "If you came up with that argument, I assumed it really isn’t a decision made out of impulse?"

"Hah." He scratched those temples with his index. "So I guess I need to pack up my things?"

"Unless you promised me not to go that far for me," Fil remarked, taking a step closer to him. "Don’t go beyond and above for me if that includes hurting others. And if the moment you notice that I’m testing your limits, stop me. Tell me I’m wrong like always. Better yet, leave."

The surprise in his eyes shone even more as if this was truly what he didn’t expect. It was even more surprising than Fil dumping him.

"You want me to keep you aligned?" he asked quietly, and she nodded.

"I needed someone to put me back in my place, and not someone who will fuel my ego," she returned. "Can you do that? If you can’t, then you can go back to your hundred million penthouse."

Jackson cupped her cheek and stroked it with his thumb. His eyes softened as a subtle smile turned up on his face.

"I tried a new recipe," he said affectionately. "I told Eli his mother birthed the next top chef, but he doesn’t believe me. So, I tested some recipes before picking him up."

"My mother didn’t birth you and I’m not happy with the thought I’m sleeping with my long-lost brother."

He chuckled. "Don’t kill the mood. You’ve already given me enough scare for the day. Don’t push it."

With that being said, Jackson took her hand and took her inside to rest after the series of heart attacks she gave him.

Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om