Chapter 5 Chapter Five: Millie

A few days ago

When I returned home, all I wanted was to change into something comfortable and take a nap, but finding my boyfriend cheating on me with the team owner's daughter was not on my to-do list.

I turned the handle, and the door swung open.

“Shit!” Conrad hissed.

His eyes immediately found mine.

For a moment, nobody moved. Conrad looked completely caught off guard.

The brunette beside him quickly scrambled to pick up her clothes from the floor, but unlike him, she didn’t look embarrassed.

She didn’t even look ashamed.

I stared at her, trying to understand how someone could look so calm after helping destroy another person’s relationship.

I looked back at Conrad, the man I had loved for four years.

“Care to tell me what the hell this is, Conrad?”

My voice sounded strange. It was quieter than I expected. Almost emotionless.

Honestly, I didn’t even know why I was waiting for any explanation.

“And please, spare me the ‘it’s not what it looks like’ excuse.”

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice from breaking.

“Because I already know exactly what it looks like.”

Conrad dragged a hand over his face before scratching the back of his neck.

“Actually, Millie…”

He glanced at the girl beside him before looking back at me.

“This is exactly what it looks like.”

My heart stopped.

I had expected him to lie. I had expected him to deny everything, to come up with some ridiculous excuse, or at the very least, pretend to feel sorry.

But he didn’t. He simply admitted it.

“You see…” He took a couple of steps toward me, moving away from the bed. “You’re no longer the one for me.”

I wished I could see even a hint of remorse on his face, but there was nothing.

“How long have you been cheating on me?” I finally found the courage to ask.

“It doesn’t matter.” He shrugged before stepping beside Alice. “You’re no longer the one for me, Millie.”

Every word was another knife driven into my heart.

“And you never had the courage to tell me?” I hissed, taking a step toward them.

I wanted to punch him more than anything. Instead, I clenched my fists at my sides.

“I was saving you unnecessary pain.”

I stared at him in disbelief.

Was he hearing himself?

“Are you for real?” I snapped. “I found you fucking some girl in our bedroom on our bed, and you’re talking to me about unnecessary pain?”

I was raging from the inside, and for the first time since I had walked through that door, I didn’t care if he saw how much he had hurt me.

“Some girl?” Alice finally spoke as she walked toward him.

I turned my eyes toward her.

She looked completely unbothered by the situation. In fact, there was still that smug smile on her face.

“Honey, you need to wake up.” Her voice was coated in confidence, like she owned the entire world. “You’re nothing compared to me!”

“I no longer need someone like you, Millie,” Conrad said.

My attention snapped back to him.

It didn’t escape my notice how he wrapped an arm around Alice's waist while she casually draped hers over his shoulder.

They looked like a couple. Like I was the outsider who had interrupted them.

“Alice is exactly who I need to become better,” he continued. “The perfect one for me.”

For months, Conrad had been talking about wanting to ‘climb the ladder’.

He wanted to become a better version of himself. He wanted bigger opportunities. I just never imagined that the opportunity he had been talking about was fucking the team owner’s daughter.

“Being with you is bringing me down.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat, refusing to let the tears fall.

“I’m a star hockey player, while you’re just…” His eyes traveled over me dismissively. “Some girl who works for the team.”

“Listen here,” Alice walked toward me, swaying her hips. “I feel benevolent today.”

She crossed her arms, standing in front of me.

“I’m going to give you the chance to keep your job,” She smirked. “I won’t tell Daddy to fire you.”

My hands shook with anger.

“But you need to get the fuck out of Conrad’s life!” She snapped, bringing her face closer to mine.

“Don’t worry, Millie.” Conrad stood beside his new girl. “We’re going to head out for a few hours to give you some time to pack.”

“Some time to pack?” My voice was full of disbelief. “I pay rent here!”

He laughed, shaking his head.

“But whose name is on the deed, Millie?”

“It’s okay, baby.” Alice pouted, caressing his cheek with her fingers. “The poor girl is in shock. She has just realized that she had never been enough.”

“I don’t have time for you,” Conrad said coldly. “I don’t want to find you here when I get back.”

Just like that, he walked out of the room.

He didn’t look back. Not even once.

He left me standing there with the woman he had chosen over me simply because she had the means to give him exactly what he wanted.

Alice waited until his footsteps disappeared before turning her attention back to me.

A smug smile spread across her face.

She stepped closer and leaned in, bringing her mouth close to my ear.

“Be smart, Millie.” Her voice was quiet, almost sweet, but the threat behind it was unmistakable. “People like you don’t get to be with hockey stars.”

I held my breath.

“You don’t want to end up homeless and unemployed, do you?”

My eyes widened.

She leaned back and looked at me, that same satisfied smirk still plastered across her face.

“You better start packing soon.”

She deliberately bumped her shoulder against mine as she walked past me.

End of flashback

“Fucking asshole,” Jude muttered under his breath.

“They deserve to rot in hell,” Niall said.

“I wish I could get back at Conrad,” I admitted.

I wanted to humiliate him the way he had humiliated me.

“How?” Jude asked.

I looked up.

His eyes were already on me, intense and unwavering. For some reason, his gaze made me feel strangely warm.

“He’d hate to see me with someone better,” I admitted, voicing the thought I had been keeping to myself. “I really want to make him regret what he had done to me.”

For a few seconds, neither of them said anything. Then Niall suddenly straightened in his seat. A wide grin spread across his face.

“I think I know the perfect plan if you want to get back at him.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“What plan?”

Niall looked between Jude and me, his smile growing even wider.

“You and Jude should get married!”

Jude and I stared at Niall in shock. He looked entirely too pleased with himself.

For a moment, nobody said anything. I looked at Jude, expecting him to laugh, but he didn’t.

“I think the alcohol is making me imagine things,” I muttered.

“Nope,” Niall said cheerfully. “You heard me perfectly.”

I slowly turned toward Jude. He was still staring at Niall. Judging by the look on his face, he was just as stunned as I was.