She Only Drank Coffee with Another Man

When I nearly got shredded by a freaking stray dog, where's my girlfriend? Right there at some fancy boutique with her guy from work!

She saw me, the blood, and everything, but the worst part? She lifted no damn finger to help. My own girlfriend just leaned in close to that guy and whispered something while shooting me this look—like I disgusted her.

"Nah, no way a cute dog like that would bite him. Bet he's just pulling that stunt to get my attention. Come on, don't bother with him."

Later that night, I found a half-used box of condoms by our own bed. Freakin' cheese-flavored—the one scent I can't stand.

Right then, something inside me just snapped. Calm as I could be, I just picked up my phone and shot a text to an old friend.

[Hey, I'm interested in that project. Let's discuss it when you're free."]

——

The second I hit send, my phone started ringing.

"Dude, that's awesome! I swear, with you on board, our company will definitely go public in no time! Believe me, it's been so tough without you these past years!"

We exchanged a few words for a moment, and I hung up just as Meredith staggered through the door.

Her breath smelled of booze, her cheeks flushed, and there was pleasure in her eyes and at the corners of her lips.

The funny thing is, back when we first met, she wouldn't even touch a drink.

I remember those candlelit dinners on our anniversaries—romantic, except she'd just wave the wine away, saying she was allergic, and leaving me to drink alone.

But ever since Devon joined the company, Meredith came home drunk more often than not.

"Randall? Still up? Heat me a glass of milk," she slurred.

She didn't even look up from her phone. Just bossed me around like usual.

Didn't take a genius to guess that she was chatting with Devon.

He's this genius programmer she just hired. Came in and solved two big tech troubles for the company right away.

And on top of that, he's got that gentle personality and good looks… No wonder my girlfriend was pretty much glued to his side.

"The milk got expired."

I said it casually without even looking first.

She scrunched up her face, pouted like a little girl, kicked off her heels, and flopped down on the couch in a huff.

"Jeez! There you go again, Randall! Seriously, what's the matter if I hang out with my employees? For Pete's sake, you've gotta stop being passive-aggressive every fucking time!"

"Listen, Devon's a valuable asset, okay? And I'm his boss, remember? Of course, I gotta pay attention to him! 'You think I enjoy going out all the time? Come on, I'm just doing it for us!"

"Oh, by the way, you studied computer science too, right? If you had even half of Devon's skills, I wouldn't have to spend my days faking smiles with him, you know."

She lay back on the couch, her eyes half-closed as she kept mumbling in a daze.

She seemed to have forgotten that I graduated at the top of my class, that my graduation project was what helped her start that tech company, and that I made it become the top in the industry.

I literally gave up my career for years to support her! And now… how come I'm just some useless guy in her eyes?

But I didn't argue. I just quietly walked into the study and started sorting through my files for the work handover.

She must've waited for a while and eventually noticed that I wasn't coming to run her a bath, so she got up reluctantly, stumbled over, and leaned against me.

The smell of smoke on her was so strong that I held my breath and turned away.

She smelled like Devon's favorite brand of cigarettes.

"Come on, honey, don't be like this. Can we just wash up and go to bed? I'll even wear that little dress you like…"

Her tone was a little too sweet, and I knew that too well. It was the kind she only used when she felt guilty.

And, of course, she forgot—I was bitten by a damn dog this morning. The bite was still stinging, and I was not even supposed to get it wet.

It was like a freaking hellhound! That thing straight up sunk its teeth deep into my leg and wouldn't let go! My blood was literally pouring on that street!

The doc had to give me a rabies shot and told me I'd lost some motor function in my leg, meaning I was screwed. I couldn't do anything physically intense anymore, not even sports.

After treating my injury, the doctor shook his head, saying, "I'm so sorry. If you'd gotten here half an hour earlier, we could've saved the nerves."

Probably seeing I wasn't in the mood, Meredith dropped her pride for once. She grabbed my hand and guided it to her chest.

But I jerked my hand away, and she looked humiliated. Just as she was about to lose her cool, her phone lit up as a song played. It's that damn "Love of My Life," a special ringtone—for Devon.

I'd already told Meredith how much it bothered me, but she just brushed me off, calling me narrow-minded. What was I supposed to do other than let it slide, or try to? Still, every time that damn ringtone played, it scraped at me like someone dragging nails across a chalkboard.

Just like that, a smile plastered on Meredith's face, and she just shoved me aside and glided back to the bedroom.

A little while later, I checked the company's group chat and found that Devon had sent a message a minute ago.

[Guess you knocked out before I could get my goodnight from you, President Webber!]

That bastard even threw in a bunch of cringey colorful hearts and shy emojis that made me flinch.

Then came a screenshot—my girlfriend, asleep on a video call, with the picture of Devon grinning. Proof of her cheating on me was right on my face, and I felt like I'd been kicked in the stomach.

To make matters worse, our idiot coworkers jumped in.

The group chat quickly blew up with replies like [Looks like someone found his sleeping beauty!] and other garbage.

Half a minute later, the asshole deleted his stupid message and that damn screenshot. [Sorry, folks. Wrong chat], he said. The coward went offline right after.

But the idiots of the company didn't stop teasing the 'genius' hire and the CEO.

I couldn't help but send a thumbs-up and mute the damn chat. Then I opened the contract Jude had sent over. I signed it without any hesitation.