CHAPTER 1 CHEATING

Matthew's hands trembled slightly as he aimed the power washer at the mud-splattered sedan in front of him. The roar of the machine drowned out most of the world, but he could still feel his phone, buzzing in the pocket of his uniform. 

He saw Ashley's name on the screen, heart skipping a beat. She wasn't feeling well this morning, was something wrong? He quickly picked up the call,

"Hey sweetie”

"Listen, I'm at the mall with my friends and I want to buy a diamond bracelet for myself. Since you never buy me anything anyway, just send me $300 and I'll consider it a well deserved gift."

Ashley’s voice snapped on the other side, sounding impatient.

There was a frown on Matthew's face, but he still spoke in an upbeat tone,

"Okay, sweetie."

Before he could finish, the line went dead. Ashley had hung up.

With a sigh, he opened his banking app. The balance stared back at him: $200.89. He didn't have enough money to buy her the bracelet.

It was just a matter of $300, was he so worthless that he couldn't even manage it? Just then, an idea clicked in his mind.

Wiping his sweaty palms on his overalls, he walked towards the store manager's office. The door was slightly ajar, and he could see Mr. Peterson, the manager, hunched over some paperwork.

Knocking lightly, Matthew stepped inside. "Excuse me, Mr. Peterson, I need to talk to you about something."

Mr. Peterson didn't look up. "What is it? Make it quick, I'm busy."

"Sir, I was wondering if I could get an advance on my salary."

Mr. Peterson's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing into a glare.

"Go on! I dare you to complete that sentence, and I'll fire you within seconds!"

He barked.

"Do you think I'm sitting on top of a money pile? You bloody shameless idiots, all of you are the same! Nobody here wants to work for a single day, but wants to be paid just for breathing! Let me tell you, I'm not giving you a single penny! So just get out of my office, right now!"

Matthew opened his mouth to protest but Mr. Peterson screamed again.

"And don't let me see you leave the car wash a single second before seven o'clock, understood? Or I'll deduct your salary further."

Matthew didn't say anything, he just lowered his head in shame.

Mr. Peterson scoffed loudly, a sneer forming on his face.

"This is exactly why I shouldn't have pity on you low-class people! All you know is to beg. Just get out, or I'll make sure you won't even have this job anymore!"

Matthew's shoulders slumped as he walked out of the office, the door clicking shut behind him. The humiliation was still fresh in his mind, but he had to take care of Ashley first, she must be waiting for him to send the money.

He didn't have the heart to disappoint her by telling her the bad news. So, he clicked on her thumbnail in his banking app, transferring $150.

Just as his thumb was about to press the ‘call’ button next to her name, his phone rang again. It was Ashley.

As soon as he picked up, her voice rang out like a knife through the speakers.

"What the hell is the meaning of this! You miserly son of a bitch, why can't you ever just let me be happy? I asked you to send just $300, not millions! if you're no better than a homeless beggar, then you should have just told me then and there! Why the fuck did you send me half the amount? Do you just have half a brain or what?”

 “I'm already regretting the decision to date a bumbling fool like you, don't make me hate you more!"

She snapped, before adding,

“If you can't even send me 300 dollars, then you can forget about us!"

“Ash, at least listen to me–"

But once again, Matthew was greeted by the beeping tone, indicating that Ashley had already left.

Matthew felt hopeless, his heart filled with guilt. His girlfriend, whom he loved more than anything in the world, had just asked for one simple thing, and he wasn't even able to give her that?

He tried to call Ashley again, hoping to explain the situation and calm down her anger by promising to buy her the bracelet with his next paycheck, but his call went straight to voicemail.

"The number you have dialed is currently switched off.”

Matthew sat in the small break room of the car wash, his head in his hands. He felt angry and frustrated, most of all at himself. He didn’t have the money Ashley had asked for, and now she was furious with him. He could still hear her words echoing in his mind, and he couldn't even reach her on her phone.

Matthew was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice a luxury car pulling into the car wash. A cicada green Lamborghini parked in one of the bays, and as the window of the passenger side rolled down, snippets of a conversation leaked out, along with the sound of a song playing in the background.

"Don't worry, now I just need to get rid of my boyfriend as soon as possible and then I'll be all yours, darling. And in any case, that idiot won't say anything, he is nothing but a big loser!"

She complained loudly to the owner of the car.

“Then don't think about him, just come here and kiss me, okay?"

Matthew thought the voice sounded familiar, but he didn’t lift his head at first. By the time he turned, the woman's face was hidden from view as she was leaning into the driver's side to kiss the car owner.

"I’ll be back in a minute, I need to use the restroom…”

The woman stepped out of the passenger seat, her high heels clicking on the concrete floor.

The car owner, a well-dressed man named Michael, smirked as he looked at her from top to bottom, and replied.

"I'll be waiting for you."

As the woman walked away, Michael got out of the car. He noticed Matthew sitting dejectedly on a nearby bench.

"Hey, you!" Michael called out, striding over to Matthew. When Matthew didn't immediately respond, Michael kicked his foot a couple of times.

"Are you deaf, or blind?! Or do you get paid to mope around all day? Can't you see that I've been waiting? Get up and wash the car!"

Matthew looked up, still dazed from his thoughts.

“Huh?"

"Idiot, do you even know who I am?" Michael sneered, his eyes narrowing with disdain. "You think I have all day to wait for some low-life like you? You must be the laziest, most useless piece of trash I've ever seen. Just hurry up and wash the car, you idiot. Or do you need someone to explain that to you slowly, so your tiny brain can understand?”

“Oh… yes, yes sir. I'll wash it.”

Michael’s words jerked Matthew into motion. He quickly grabbed a bucket with soapy water and a sponge, trying to focus on the task at hand.

“Hurry up with it! And mind you, if there's a single scratch on his car because of you, consider yourself as good as dead! Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," Matthew replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

But as he was wiping down the windows, his eyes fell on something inside the car—a pair of red silky underwear on the back seat. The crotch was spread out like a trophy, gleaming with thick white stains against the satin material.

Matthew quickly averted his gaze, feeling like he was invading their privacy. But for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that this underwear seemed familiar.

This underwear seemed to be the same type of underwear he had bought for his girlfriend a few days ago. Just then the woman from earlier returned to the car. Her expression hardened as she saw him.

Matthew froze, “Ashley, what are you doing here?”