Chapter 536 Jacob, Let's Break Up
In the dead of night, Nicole had drifted off without realizing when sleep claimed her.
She awakened to warmth enveloping her body. The man who shouldn't have been there held her close in the tangled sheets, his eyes fixed on her through the darkness, his voice deceptively calm yet charged with brewing storm, "Why did you go on that date?"
Nicole studied his face for a long moment. Exhausted and worn down, she closed her eyes and countered softly, "You can do whatever you want—why can't I?"
At her words, Jacob left the bed. He had been bone-tired today, yet he'd still rushed to the restaurant to see her, still waited until midnight to confront her about this date, only to have her throw his own behavior back at him.
Jacob moved to the floor-to-ceiling windows, where night air slipped through the gaps, though it couldn't cool the fire burning in his chest. He pressed his fingers to his temples, and after a long silence, murmured, "Nicole, we promised each other forever."
Nicole drew her knees to her chest against the headboard, turning his words over in her mind. Forever. She stared into space, then let out a bitter laugh.
"Maybe it was wrong from the very beginning—maybe those promises were never meant to count. Back then, Jacob, you didn't understand responsibility, and I didn't understand commitment. We just stumbled into this relationship without thinking it through."
"Six years, Jacob! I've been with you since I was nineteen. How much youth does a woman have? Another six years and I'll be past thirty. You keep talking about forever, keep saying you don't believe in marriage, but have you ever once asked what I need? What I want? Maybe I do want marriage. Maybe I want to have children too."
Her voice grew tender. "That child could be completely ordinary, but I would love her with everything I have."
Nicole's voice trembled as she finished, tears threatening to spill. She didn't blame him—this was simply her final attempt to tell him how she felt, what she needed. If he truly cared for her, he wouldn't dismiss her so completely, wouldn't ignore her pain so thoroughly.
Shouldn't love begin with loving oneself? What was the point of continuing a relationship that brought only suffering?
Jacob turned to face her, slowly processing her words. She wanted marriage, wanted children—the two things he couldn't give her. As always, he told her to be reasonable, that she'd feel differently after a good night's sleep.
When he finished speaking, Nicole felt ice flood her veins. She didn't argue or plead. Instead, she held herself tighter and whispered, "Jacob, let's break up."
"Break up?" Jacob's gaze bore into her as if he could see through to her very soul, then he strode over and tried to kiss her.
"No! Stop!" Nicole struggled as he kissed her frantically—her face, her throat—everywhere his lips touched felt cold from the tears streaming down her cheeks. The pain cut so deep she could barely breathe, her sobs coming in ragged gasps.
Her voice emerged as barely a whisper, raw and broken, "Jacob, sometimes I feel like I'm nothing more than your outlet for sexual release—compliant and easy to control. You even put a tracker on my phone! In your mind, I don't exist as my own person. I'm not allowed to have thoughts or desires of my own. Even wanting marriage, wanting a child of my own—you see it as some kind of betrayal."
Her voice cracked. "But loving you, Jacob—that's been my greatest mistake."
He stopped, his eyes turning glacial. "So that's what you think?Do you think I just use you to satisfy my desires? Is that really what you believe, Nicole? Answer me!"