When a Henpecked Man Finally Sees Daylight

Errol's POV

Sacha’s face filled the screen, panic clear in her voice as she hurried to explain, "Errol, don't get it wrong! I just lost a bet, that’s all. There’s nothing going on between Craig and me."

Before I could respond, Craig leaned into the camera with his usual innocent facade. "Come on, man, we were just messing around. Sacha and I are best friends, nothing more. If anything was going to happen between us, it would've happened a long time ago. You’re not that insecure, right?"

"Don't worry, I didn’t misunderstand," I replied calmly, a strange serenity washing over me. "Have fun." With that, I ended the call.

Barely thirty minutes later, Sacha barged through the door, followed by her usual entourage—Craig included. She never brought her friends over, but tonight was different. Tonight, they had come to put on a show.

A petite, doll-faced girl named Mabel Byrd stepped forward first. Her voice was sugary, but her eyes darted nervously. “Errol, I’m so sorry. It was my fault. I was the one who suggested the bet. The loser had to feed the winner a drink, and it wasn’t just Sacha. We all fed Craig, you know, just for fun.”

I smiled politely and replied, “No need to explain. Everyone drinks to have a good time.”

Mabel blinked, visibly taken aback. She had expected me to get angry, to call out their lies, as I had done in the past. But my indifference seemed to unsettle her more than any confrontation would have. Quickly recovering, she plastered a smile back on her face. “I knew you weren’t a petty guy, Errol. Haha, you two are couple goals, seriously. Sacha is always bragging about how lucky she is to have you—barely lets you out of her sight because she’s afraid we’ll snatch you away.”

“Yeah, Sacha is so annoying,” another friend added. “We’re all her close friends, yet she guards you like treasure.”

“How’s the engagement party coming along?” asked another. “When you two get married, I have to be one of your bridesmaids!”

Sacha’s friends surrounded us, deliberately shifting the conversation to the engagement. Just as I was about to respond, Craig sauntered over, beaming. “I told you Errol wouldn’t be upset,” he laughed. "You guys really didn’t need to rush over here and make it look like he’s some sort of jealous boyfriend."

On the side, I noticed Sacha shifted uncomfortably, her eyes darting to Craig as he moved closer. She hesitated, taking half a step forward, like she was trying to stop him—but then she faltered, as if unsure of what to do.

Craig, however, was unfazed. He smiled wider and patted me on the back as he said, “Errol, don’t worry. As long as I’m around, no one will ever hurt Sacha. I’ll always protect her.”

Bothered by his hand on my shoulder, I glanced at it, only to see a ring on his finger. The one Sacha and I had custom-ordered a month ago for our engagement. Only one ring like that existed as it was custom-made. Yet here it was, resting on Craig’s hand like some cheap accessory.

“Nice ring,” I remarked.

Suddenly, the noisy living room fell deathly silent, and Sacha’s face drained of color.