Chapter 10 The Cheating Boyfriend

• Mid-January, 2018
• Grace drove down the road that led to Jarred’s house. She had put off breaking up with the man for the longest time, mulling it over and thinking of ways to evading the fallout for as long as possible. But she couldn’t put off breaking up with Jarred any longer.
• In the beginning, being alone made Grace feel more comfortable. But in the last couple of months, when she saw less and less of him, it was the first time since they started dating that Grace was sure she was uncomfortable with her relationship with Jarred before. It was time for them to break up. More so because Jarred held animosity toward Liam unlike everyone else who flocked to the little boy and showered him with love.
• Jarred saw Liam as an outsider encroaching on his time and though she felt horrible for choosing, she did end up choosing Liam in the blink of an eye.
• Olivia knew what Grace had planned to do and promptly took Liam and Edward for the biweekly grocery shopping trip. Not only would Grace have time to break up in a way that felt right to her, but also give her the space needed to process what she did afterward. There wasn’t a lot they had planned to do that day, but Olivia didn’t want to plan a lot of things in case Grace needed her.
• When she pulled in front of Jarred’s house, she noticed Emma’s car pulling out of the driveway. Emma threw Grace a dirty look as she passed by at great speed. Grace gasped at the realization of what Emma was doing at Jarred’s place. Grace had called Jarred before coming over, otherwise, she would have walked in on her step-sister and boyfriend, she had no doubt. Jarred must have rushed Emma out because he didn’t want to be caught.
• As much as Grace didn’t want to be with Jarred, it still stung that he betrayed her. Moreover, with her step-sister. Grace swallowed the ball of hurt stuck in her throat and felt anger prickle at her heart.
• Grace stepped out of the car and slammed the door shut, the loud sound only boosting her anger. Still, she slowly walked to the front door in an attempt to calm down and not make a scene when she needed to break up. She didn’t want to leave any issues behind once she walked out. If she had any uncertainty about her decision, seeing Emma had washed them all away.
• Jarred opened the door with a brilliant smile even before she had a chance to knock. Like he had been looking out the window the whole time, making sure Emma and Grace didn’t cross paths. “Gracy, I can’t believe you got time to come over. Come in!” He gestured wildly for her to step in past her.
• “I saw Emma. What was she doing here?” she asked out of sheer curiosity, wanting to know what excuse Jarred would come up with.
• “Her dad send over some fish for my parents,” he explained. There was a hint of nervousness in his voice when Grace cocked a brow.
• “That’s funny. Edward hasn’t gone fishing in a long time. He sent Emma to give you guys fish? He went out on a date with my Mom though. And Emma hasn’t come to our house in a few weeks.”
• Jarred’s eyes widened, suddenly remembering something.
• “Did you forget Edward now lives with us?” Grace pushed him.
• He shrugged. “She did bring fish. Maybe she stopped by before Edward left.”
• “You don’t hear how illogical you sound, do you?” Grace sighed. “Don’t lie to me, Jarred. You know I hate that.”
• “Gracy, baby—”
• "Don’t even start…" Grace said coldly. "Don’t call me that."
• “Call you what? Baby? Gracy? What? What is wrong?” He had the audacity to sound confused.
• “Both. You are not close enough to me to call me by affectionate nicknames. You are not allowed.”
• “Grace, I don’t understand what the fuck you are going on about. I am not in a mood to be put through a loop,” he commented, starting to get angry. He didn’t understand what Grace was trying to say. Grace laughed coldly.
• “I know you are cheating on me with Emma.”
• Jarred took an involuntary step back, as if burned by her words. “Grac—”
• “No.” She cut him off. “You don’t get to say a word. You listen to me. I am mad as hell that you chose to cheat on me instead of being a decent man and breaking up with me first. I am infuriated that you dragged my step-sister into this. Do you realize how awful every meeting we have will be from now on? What about Edward and Olivia who just got married? How will this knowledge affect them?”
• “Gracy, you can’t tell them, please. It was all a mistake. She threw herself at me. She seduced me!” he said, looking hopeful. Grace scoffed and Jarred’s eyes instantly turned hard.
• “Don’t pin this on Emma, Jarred. You know you slept with her because she had feelings for you and you used it. You knew you could manipulate her when I didn’t want to have sex with you. Trust me, I have never been more thankful for my decision to hold back on the physical part of our relationship.”
• This time, Jarred scoffed. “Oh, really? You hold out on me for years, Grace. You even had a hard time giving me a hand job. I am a man and I have needs. Need you could not fulfill and Emma was all too happy to supply. I was not going to allow you to yank me around in that capacity.”
• He looked thoughtful in an instant. He had no idea how hard it was becoming for Grace to contain her fury.
• “I have the perfect solution.” Jarred smiled at her. Grace stared at him in suspicion.
• "I promise to break up with Emma if you give it up to me,” he said like it was a good option.