Jackson's voice was quiet when he spoke, despite its intensity. "What are you talking about?"

My apprehension over his anger dissipated in a haze of my own fury. "I don't have time for this. Let me go." I tugged on my arm, but it was useless against Jackson's iron grip. His jaw looked as hard as granite as his eyes narrowed.

"Indulge me," he barked and I rolled my eyes at his domineering tone. "Repeat what you just said."

"Why? So I can relive my humiliation? Wasn't cheating on me with Claire throughout our whole relationship humiliation enough? Now you want to talk about it in detail?"

Jackson's grip on my arm tightened painfully, his eyes burning into me. "Emma, I slept with her once. Once! It was about a week after we broke up. I was rip-roaring drunk, drowning my pain in alcohol, and she just appeared out of nowhere. I had no idea what she was doing in L.A. but she was a friend and I trusted her to take me home. I was in no shape to drive. I don't remember the rest. I just know I woke up the next morning in bed with her, and I knew what we had done even though I didn't remember it. I was sick over it. I felt as if I had betrayed you, even though you had broken up with me."

I started to tremble at Jackson's words, not wanting to believe him yet wanting to believe him at the same time. It couldn't be true that Jackson hadn't cheated on me. That he had slept with Claire just once when he was drunk out of his mind. It was too painful to believe that we had been separated for years because of a misunderstanding.

I shook my head, telling myself that it was impossible. I looked at Claire, but I saw the truth written all over her face. She looked paralyzed with fear, rooted to the spot as her web of lies started to unravel.

"But Claire told me you two were sleeping together the entire time. I called you to tell you I had made a huge mistake. To beg you to take me back. But she answered your phone. She said you two had been sleeping together throughout our relationship and had realized you were in love when I was out of the picture." I paused, my voice shaking. "I didn't believe it and demanded to speak to you. I heard your voice in the background. It was you. I'd know your voice anywhere. She told me you didn't want to speak to me, that everything had already been said." I was shaking, remembering that I hadn't actually understood what Jackson had said because his voice was too far away and faint. I hadn't actually heard him say he didn't want to talk to me.

Jackson's eyes had closed during my explanation, and when they opened again they were ravaged with pain. "Sweetheart, it must have been the night I was drunk into oblivion. When I made the stupid mistake with Claire. I swear I don't remember your call. If I had known-" His voice broke, his body shuddering with emotion. "If I had known you wanted to talk to me, that you wanted me back...nothing would have stopped me." Jackson's expression suddenly grew enraged and he turned around abruptly, dropping his grip on my arm. He stalked towards Claire, his hands clenched into fists at his side, and she fearfully scrambled back until she hit the wall.

"Jackson," she squeaked, looking terrified. "I can explain-"

"You better fucking explain." Jackson's voice was low but thick with fury. He was heaving and I could see he was trying to control himself.

"I was doing it for you!" Claire cried, her words tripping over each other as she rushed to explain. "Emma was no good for you. We were meant to be together. When we first met, I knew you were the one for me. But you insisted we were better off as friends. I agreed because I wanted to stay close to you. But I knew one day you would realize that we belonged together. That we were soul mates. That's why you never became serious with any girl you dated." Claire's expression darkened and she looked at me spitefully over Jackson's shoulder. Her tone turned from pleading to caustic as her eyes bored into me. "Until Emma came along. Sweet little Emma, with her big brown eyes and innocent act. It made me sick to see you fawning all over her. I had to listen to her moans while you fucked her, knowing it should've been me! She had everything and I had nothing! Even messing up her presentation and getting her fired from her stupid job worked in her favor because she was free to go to L.A. with you. She doesn't deserve you, she's not good enough for you."

I was stunned by Claire's revelation that she had been the one to sabotage my work, but that paled in comparison to the realization that she had completely fabricated their affair.

Jackson slammed his fist against the wall next to Claire's head, shocking her attention back to him. "Shut up! You're nothing compared to Emma. I trusted you and you screwed me over. Why the hell did you tell me she married Sean?"

I didn't think it was possible, but Claire's complexion became even more ashen at Jackson's question. "I...I wanted you to forget her. She rejected you, yet you were still pining away for her. I knew you needed some closure. That's why I told you she married Sean." Claire's voice grew frantic as she continued. "Everything I did, I did for you! I love you, Jackson. Please, just give me a chance."

"You didn't do anything for me. Everything was for you. What exactly happened the night Emma called?" Jackson's eyes were glittering, his expression dangerous.

"She wanted to talk to you. I knew I needed to convince her to leave you alone. To let go of you. So I told her we had been having an affair. That we loved each other." Claire grimaced, having the gall to look irritated. "But she wouldn't believe me. She demanded to talk to you. I told you Emma was on the phone, but you were just talking gibberish. So I told her you didn't want to talk to her." Claire finished her sentence with a shrug, not seeming to care that she had ruined two lives with those lies.

"I was fucking out of my mind!" Jackson yelled, fury etched on every line of his face. "I doubt I was even fully conscious at that point!"

"Jackson," Claire implored, lifting her hand to touch his face.

"Get out," Jackson bit out, his voice strained. "Get out, or so help me God, I'm going to do something I regret."

Claire's hand dropped and she inched against the wall away from Jackson, her eyes wide with fear as she scurried away. She gave me one hateful glare before she left, but she was too petrified to say anything to me. When the door slammed behind her, Jackson and I were left staring at each other. I had watched the exchange between Jackson and Claire with shock, feeling detached from the situation. As if I were a spectator, and Jackson and Claire were back on stage performing a play.

I tried to process everything that happened but my mind rebelled against the notion that everything I had believed in all these years was a lie. That Jackson had never betrayed me. It was too painful to believe everything had been built on a sick lie from a disturbed individual bent on possessing Jackson.




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