I'm not the Son-in-law

Chapter 1: "Her Betrayal"

In the hallways of Larvo University, heads turned as Marcus Xu, a strikingly handsome and charismatic performing arts student, strolled confidently down the corridor. His mere presence commanded attention, drawing admiring glances from both male and female students alike.

"Of course, you'll be amazed by my charm," Marcus thought with confidence. He was keenly aware of the attention he was receiving, and he relished it.

"Take a good look while you can. Once I become a superstar, you'll rarely catch me in person," he mused inwardly.

As Marcus walked, his easy smile and relaxed demeanor exuded an irresistible charm.

"Oh my gosh, it's Marcus Xu! He's so dreamy," a female student whispered to her friend.

"I know, right? He's like a walking work of art," another female student giggled.

"Man, how does he do it? He's got everyone's attention without even trying," a male student commented bitterly.

As Marcus passed by, students couldn't help but steal glances, their eyes lingering on his confident stride and magnetic presence.

"Why is he here, though?" another female student wondered aloud. She approached Marcus curiously, noting that this building was not typically frequented by performing arts students but rather by those in the commerce department.

"What brings you to this side of the campus?" she asked, her friend standing shyly beside her.

"Ah, I'm looking for Lisa. She's a third-year, Elissa Ramsey, marketing major," Marcus replied with his trademark kind smile. The girls' faces flushed immediately as they took a closer look at Marcus's face.

"We know her. There are only a few female students in the marketing major," the female student replied.

"Oh, really? Where is she?" Marcus asked excitedly, his grip tightening on the paper bag containing the luxury gift he had worked hard to buy for her as their anniversary gift. However, his excitement faded quickly as the girls informed him of something he never expected.

"She always stays with her boyfriend at the FGH lobby. They always make out there, so make sure to knock before going in," the female student said.

"What? Come again?" Marcus stuttered, perplexed upon hearing the news of his girlfriend having an affair.

“Lisa's dating someone else?” he exclaimed.

“Someone else? She's exclusively dating right now,” the female student said.

“Ah, is that so? Who is it again?” he cleared his throat, returning to his composure.

As an aspiring actor, he had an image to maintain, so he never dated anyone publicly. No one knew he was dating Elissa aside from their closest friends. He never expected it would backfire on him like this.

"She's with Reyster Sebastian. He's quite notorious here in our department, so be careful going in there. We can accompany you if you want," the female student offered.

Marcus blinked his eyes multiple times as he struggled to comprehend what he had just heard.

"Are you okay?" the female student asked.

"Do you know how long the two of them have been dating?" Marcus inquired, inwardly regretting not paying attention to what was happening around him.

It was only now that he realized he had been too focused on himself to notice something as significant as his girlfriend cheating on him.

"I think they've only been dating recently. I'm not sure. Why?"

"Oh, is that so? Thank you for telling me," Marcus said, forcing a smile.

Despite appearing calm on the outside, inwardly, he was boiling with anger due to the sudden betrayal.

"Oh, no problem. Make sure you knock before you go in there. Reyster is quite scary," the female student warned.

"Okay, thanks."

Marcus slowly made his way toward the FGH lobby. His heart thumped loudly as he prayed that the female student had been mistaken. Standing in front of the door, he hesitated for a moment before he could hear Elissa moaning from the other side of the room.

"Oh, Rey! That tickles. Stop kissing me there~hmmn…"

Elissa's words pierced through Marcus's heart. Despite clearly recognizing Elissa's voice, he still wanted to see with his own eyes that it was indeed Elissa, the one he loved, betraying him.

"Oh, f*ck," he cursed under his breath, his eyes widening as he slightly opened the door to peek inside the lobby, witnessing his girlfriend giggling while sitting on someone else's lap.

"Who's there?" Reyster asked, noticing the door slightly opening.

Marcus pushed the door open with a determined shove, stepping inside. Reyster looked at him with confusion while Elissa's face paled.

"Who are you?" Reyster demanded, standing up defensively.

"I'm Marcus Xu," Marcus introduced himself, his voice steady despite the storm of emotions raging inside him.

He locked eyes with Elissa, who looked away guiltily.

"Oh, I know you!" Reyster said with a wide smile, offering his hand for a handshake.

Marcus ignored Reyster's hand, his gaze still fixed on Elissa. "Lisa, what the hell is going on here?"

Elissa's face was flushed with embarrassment and fear. "Marcus, I... I can explain," she stammered.

"Explain what? That you've been cheating on me?" Marcus's voice rose, anger and hurt evident. "How long has this been going on?"

"Hey, calm down, man," Reyster interjected. "She's with me now. Just accept it and move on."

Marcus turned his glare at Reyster. "Stay out of this. This is between me and Elissa."

Reyster smirked. "You really think you have any claim here? She's been with me for weeks."

"Marcus, please," Elissa pleaded, tears welling in her eyes. "I didn't mean for it to happen this way."

Marcus shook his head, the betrayal cutting deep. "You should have just told me. You didn't have to lie and sneak around."

Elissa's tears began to flow. "I'm sorry, Marcus. I never wanted to hurt you."

Marcus took a deep breath, trying to contain his emotions. "You already did." He turned to leave, but paused at the door. With a swift motion, he hurled the luxury gift bag to the ground, the contents spilling out in a crumpled heap. "I was going to give you this today, for our anniversary, but I guess it doesn't matter now."

Elissa's eyes widened in shock, and Reyster's smirk widened in condescension as he looked at the expensive gift on the floor.

“How cheap? Is that all you can afford?” Reyster commented.

“Is that cheap for you? It’s kind of expensive for me," Marcus said bluntly. "Well, you prefer a cheap woman so does that matter?"

“Just accept you lose.”

“No. Thanks for taking out my trash,” he coldly said before turning his back.

As he walked out of the room, he could hear Reyster's mocking laughter and Elissa's sobs. His confidence and calm demeanor immediately shattered as soon as he closed the door. He rushed to his motorcycle and sped away.

"B*tch!" he cursed as he let the wind hit his face. His features contorted as he struggled to hold back tears.

He couldn't believe that the woman he loved had betrayed him today. Yet, despite his heartbreak, Marcus Xu chose to carry on with his day.

"Hey, man, skip class for today. You don't look well," Pablo Rusto, Marcus's classmate, said with concern as they waited for their professor to arrive.

"I can't skip class. I still need to study even if my girlfriend betrayed me," Marcus weakly replied.

Marcus Xu wasn't as wealthy as the other students at the elite university, Larvo University. He was aware of the sacrifices and hard work his brother, Miguel, had put in so he could attend such an expensive university.

"Well, with your face, you can get a new girlfriend right away," Pablo shrugged.

"I don't think I will date anyone again after this," Marcus replied, his spirits low.

"Chin up. At least you came out of meeting Reyster in one piece," Pablo said.

"You know that bastard?" Marcus sat up, suddenly interested.

"He's the school director's son. You really should start paying attention to what's going on around you," Pablo said. "He's quite a troublemaker, but anyone who goes against him gets expelled or suspended."

"Then do you know about him and Lisa?" Marcus asked, narrowing his gaze at Pablo.

Pablo avoided his eyes and awkwardly said, "Dude, I didn't know it would take you this long to notice she's cheating. Wait—I just didn't want to hurt you!"

Feeling a bit betrayed by his friend's silence, Marcus stood up and moved to another seat away from Pablo.

"Marcus! Marcus! Come out and check the LED!" Sofia, another classmate, suddenly stormed into the room, yelling.

"Okay, calm down. What's up with the LED?" Marcus reluctantly responded, not particularly interested in any announcements from the school's large LED screen at that moment.

“Bad news!” Sofia declared. "It's your video!”

Marcus's heart sank.

"My video?" he echoed, fear and confusion swirling inside him.

He followed Sofia out of the classroom; a crowd of students had already gathered around the large LED screen in the courtyard.

As Marcus approached, he saw himself on the screen. His blood ran cold as he realized what was happening.

"Oh," he muttered. "Who did this?"

Sofia looked at him with pity. "I don't know, Marcus. But everyone's watching."

Marcus felt a mixture of anger, humiliation, and betrayal.

"Elissa..." he whispered, realizing that his heartbreak was far from over.