The Girlfriend Selection

During my stay at the hospital, I found out Ayla was in the room right next to mine.

Her injury was barely anything, but she must've known I was here. She checked in anyway, just to get under my skin.

Fred stayed with her almost the entire time. He only came to see me occasionally, as if I was an afterthought. When he saw the bandages wrapped around my legs, something like concern flickered in his eyes.

But it didn't last. His tone quickly turned into blame.

"Couldn't you just be a little more reasonable? You just had to pick a fight with Ayla and ended up like this. She was just trying to help, coming over to cook something for you."

I ignored him.

"Come on. Don't stay mad. Ayla's just my secretary. We've been together for five years. Don't you trust how I feel about you?"

Before I could respond, her voice drifted in from the next room, soft and sweet.

"Fred, I'm hungry! Come feed me!"

His eyes flickered. "She burned her hand. It's hard for her to eat on her own. I need to help her. I'll be right back. Get some rest."

I watched him walk out.

A moment later, laughter and playful voices spilled through the wall from next door.

That was when I noticed that he had left his phone behind on the nightstand.

I picked it up and opened it, pulling up that group chat like muscle memory.

They had already been talking again.

[Dude, why have you been giving Hannah lower scores lately? Your company anniversary gala's in a month. If you keep this up, she's gonna lose. You still planning to propose or what?]

[Man, girls who know how to play the game really get to you. I'd pick Ayla, too. Marry her, keep her at home looking pretty, then come back every day and have a good time.]

[Hannah's been with you for five years. If you don't marry her after all that, she might just lose it.]

[Why not introduce her to us instead? We'll help her get over it.]

The chat filled with laughter, the kind that made my skin crawl.

Then, Fred replied.

[Hannah's been acting up lately. Hence the docked points.

[But I can tell she still loves me. Otherwise, she wouldn't be jealous of Ayla.

[As for the proposal, I've already set everything up for the gala. When the time comes, I'll just pick whoever I want on the spot.]

I quietly took screenshots of the key messages and saved them.

Then I put the phone back exactly where it had been and lay down, closing my eyes to pretend that I was asleep.

When Fred came back and saw me resting, he didn't notice anything and left again soon after.

I picked up my own phone and called my private assistant, giving instructions to start preparing a few things.

One month from now, I would make sure those men lost everything.