Chapter 1 Having Doubts About My Girlfriend

In the days leading up to the New Year, our house was constantly filled with waves of visiting relatives and friends. After seeing off the last of our guests, my girlfriend Lindsey Stirling and I collapsed onto the soft, cozy couch in our living room.

"Babe, you've worked so hard these past few days." Lindsey lifted her soft feet and placed them on my lap, and I massaged them for her.

"I'm completely worn out. So, how do you plan to make it up to me?" She lay back on the couch with her mobile phone. Her fingers moved swiftly across her phone screen, the clattering of her typing filling the room as she messaged someone whom I had no idea about.

"How about a nice dinner tonight? Get yourself ready and put on some makeup. I'll take some nice pictures of you for your social media."

Several notifications popped up on her phone, one after another. I asked who it was, but she just smiled and kept typing away.

I got up and inched closer to her to take a glance at the screen. The display showed a profile picture of a man from the waist up, labeled as "Kenny." Just as I was about to take a closer look, she noticed and quickly locked the screen before shoving her phone beneath her.

"What are you doing? Why are you being so paranoid?" she snapped.

"I was just talking to you, but you ignored me," I said.

She paused for a moment, then responded with a defensive edge. "So what? You don't have anything better to do than snoop around?"

I took a deep breath, suppressed my anger, and forced myself to smile and not argue with her. "Alright, babe, go put on your makeup. I'll make sure to take some great photos of you tonight."

Her expression softened slightly. "That's more like it. This place is such a mess right now. Clean it up a bit while I get ready."

With a mock salute, I grabbed the broom from the balcony. After tidying up the living room, I noticed she was still in the bedroom, putting on her makeup.

I didn't know what got into me, but I decided to clean under the couch and coffee table as well. When I reached beneath the couch, I pulled out a condom wrapper branded "Dr. Dixie." It was already opened, and the blue packaging sent a jolt through me.

In the two years I had been with Lindsey, I had never bought that brand. I had always been a loyal user of "Mr. Kingo" instead. So, where did this come from? Without even realizing it, my mind instantly flashed to that profile picture of Kenny on Lindsey's phone.

Just as I stood there, lost in my thoughts, Lindsey called out coquettishly from the bedroom, "Honey, I can't go out with you tonight. One of my girlfriends just asked me to go shopping. I'll make it up to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Which friend? Do I know her?"

"It's Kenny Hudson, you know, the one I mentioned before. You've met him."

My hand clenched into a fist. 'Oh, so it's that Kenny again,' I thought.

I sat down on the floor, trying to think about my next move. My gaze wandered to the couch, and a bitter thought crossed my mind. 'If my suspicions are right, then this 20,000-dollar couch that I bought has been completely disrespected.'

I had been renting this place for two years now. The couch that came with it was so uncomfortable that, a while back, I decided to splurge and buy one I had been eyeing for a long time. I planned to move it to my own place when I finally bought a home next year.

While I was lost in thought, Lindsey finally emerged from the bedroom. It was so chilly in February, yet she wore black stockings and knee-high boots, coupled with the mink coat I had given her as the New Year gift. She rarely wore makeup when we went out, but today, she had on a full Western-style look, one I didn't see her wear often.

"Where are you going? Let me drive you there."

"No need, honey. I've already booked a ride. You've been so tired these days, so just stay home and relax."

"Alright, take care."

"Love you, babe. I'm off." She sprayed on some perfume at the entrance, and I felt another wave of unease.

However, I felt that I was a little narrow-minded to have doubts about her just because I saw her chatting with that fella. As such, I decided to observe a while more and see what was really going on.