4. Moonlight

“What is wrong with you?” He asked, pushing Jason on the chest, if the young man hadn't maintained his balance, he would have fallen with his head to the ground.

Shocked to see this familiar-looking stranger in his house, Jason stared at him for a moment, then to Melissa and back.

“Who are you?” He asked,

“Who is this?” He turned to Melissa who seemed rather excited than surprised by Alex's sudden intervention.

Without responding to Jason's question, Alex walked away from him and lifted Melissa off the floor, and just there, their proximity reminded Jason of where he had seen this man, the photograph.

“You should be happy that I haven't called the cops on you!” Alex yelled, staring Jason in the eye.

“You dare to hit a woman? How shameless of you.”

Jason stared at Alex from head to toe and could not believe that this was the man Melissa was cheating on him with. His physical attributes were not appealing and the same could be said for his net worth.

His name was barely known in the industry, yet his seemingly ungrateful wife found him attractive. At the same time, Jason remembered that he wasn't just any man but her high school boyfriend, the one she called her moonlight, even the pet name was irritating to remember.

“Really, him?” Jason asked, his eyes fixed on his wife who clung to her moonlight like a damsel in distress.

“Melissa , this is the man you have been sleeping with…

“And so what, Jason?” Melissa cut him off, with tears in the corner of her eyes, but Alex placed his finger on her lip and asked her to be quiet.

“I'll handle this,” he said and turned to Jason with a furious gaze. He sized Jason up and asked Melissa to sit down on the couch for a second, helping her like a little child learning to sit up.

Every one of his actions got into Melissa 's eyes, not only did he care about her, but was bold enough to confront her husband in an attempt to keep her safe,

“Where have you been all my life?” she thought to herself, but was unable to put up a smile.

Alex walked up to Jason, and looked him in the eyes in an attempt to be intimidating, but Jason looked unfazed, his eyes fixed on the man to whom his wife was attracted.

“Don't you dare, ever again in your miserable life raise your hand at her or you will regret it, hope I'm clear about that…

“Just walk away,” Jason interjected, and turned back to Melissa ,

“Are you trying to tell me that five years’ worth of relationship is what you are willing to trade for this piece of junk here?”

While Jason was yet to finish his statement, Alex slapped him across the face, and the unexpected hit caused Jason to react in defense, pushing Alex to the ground in a fit of rage.

“How dare you!” Melissa stood up from the sofa and rushed to help her moonlight off the ground.

“Why would you push him like that, do you know who he is? You haven't achieved half of what Alex has in your lifetime, Jason, you are not the man I thought you were.”

“Melissa …

“Just shut up Jason, shut up!” She snapped not letting her husband say a word,

“Look, I don't want to do this with you anymore okay, let it just end here, you have become nothing but a shame, I am Melissa Blackwood, a name that is seen across the globe, I can't be with someone like you, let's face it, we are not compatible, we are not meant to be okay, let's just get divorced.”

Her last words hit Jason's ears like a gunshot, her insults pierced through his bones, but this single word shattered his heart to a million pieces.

“You are joking,” He uttered in disbelief, and averted his gaze, looking at Alex with sheer hatred.

He had done so much for this woman, and aside from making her a star, he had done the basics to make her happy. Since there was a team of professionals hired for his job, Jason chose to live with her, in the house he owned, and give her a normal life.

He didn't want to be that busy husband who never had time for his wife because of work, he provided everything, such that Melissa hadn't spent a single penny on herself. He intended to reveal a part of his true identity to her, along with the largest share of his entertainment industry, not only would she be an actress, but own an entire entertainment enterprise.

Now he just stared at her in disgust, the wife he once loved now asking for a divorce and even went as far as taking out a draft of the divorce paper from her purse and asking him to sign.

Alex on the other hand has a sinister grin on his face, it didn't Unfold as he had expected but either way, he got the upper hand. He had intentionally asked his assistant to take the picture and send it to Jason to hasten the divorce, but he was glad to see everything happen in his favor.

“Just sign it and get lost!” Melissa yelled, throwing a pen at him and wiping off the tears from the corner of her eye.

“This is what you want Melissa ? Is this really how you want all we had to end.” Before he could finish his statement, Melissa cut him off with a loud voice,

“Just sign it!”

Without saying another word, Jason picked up the pen from the floor where it had fallen. He signed the paper on his palm and folded it in half. If this was how the wife he loved so much was going to treat him, then he had no choice but to quietly leave.

After all, he spoiled her, and made her what she was but did it in secret, what she had just done was proof of her love for money and status, a testament to the pride that has overtaken her.

Jason creased the edge of the paper and tossed it back to Melissa , he cast a deadly glare at Alex, before picking up his phone from the couch and walking out of the living room without turning back.

“You don't need him,” Alex assured her, but for some reason, it hurt Melissa to watch him leave. Maybe it was the years spent together she couldn't tell, but as Jason closed the door behind him, Melissa felt a piece of her leave along with him.

But she held onto the fact that she has become successful, and has secured a new role in a big industry. She believed she had all she needed to be happy, and with Alex, she had no regrets.