Scammed Hearts

02

After some thinking, I showed up at the agreed location with two things on my mind: get my $200 back, and figure out why Asher played me.

When I saw Asher again, I didn’t waste any time. I went straight to the point, “Who exactly are you?”

Asher was wearing a black coat, which made him look more handsome.

“Do you see the cilantro in the dish?”

As he said that, Asher pointed at the cilantro in the plate. “That’s Silva’s favorite. “

That’s when I realized: Asher was Silva’s ex-boyfriend, the woman who had been involved with Graham.

“A month ago, Silva suddenly said she was being relocate for work, and I felt something was off. Later, I found out that she actually applied for the it just to pursue Graham. Silva has probably been plotting this for a long time.”

Asher ran his long fingers around the rim of his cup. “Actually, I came here to apologize. Silva’s involvement caused you and your boyfriend to break up. If I had noticed earlier or contacted you sooner, maybe it could have been avoided.”

The amount of information was overwhelming and hard to process.

I opened my mouth, but for a moment, I didn’t know what to say.

“That’s not right.”

Suddenly, a flash of clarity cut through my chaotic thoughts, and my gaze sharpened. “You’re apologizing, but why did you lie to me about being a security guard and take 200 bucks from me?”

“Oh, that was a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

Asher coughed into his fist and said, “I didn’t expect you to believe me. I was just making a joke.”

So, it’s still my fault for being so gullible.

Actually, I’ve been reserved about the whole Graham cheating thing.

Graham and I had been together for two years. From the moment I confessed my feelings to our first kiss, I was always the one to make the first move. His personality was just as calm as his looks.

After graduation, Graham was assigned to work as a surgeon at a hospital in LA, and we began a long-distance relationship.

It was my friend Lula who told me about Graham cheating. She had run into Graham and his colleague, Silva, in LA, and saw them hugging each other.

I confronted Graham, but all I got was a cold, dismissive denial.

Doubt kept growing in my mind, and I couldn’t stop calling him, hoping he would send me a message or just tell me what he was doing.

But all I got were impatient responses.

Eventually, I couldn’t take his indifference anymore, so I broke up with him.

And now Asher shows up, telling me he’s Silva’s ex-boyfriend, which means Graham had been cheating all along. It was hard for me to digest.

Probably seeing my doubts, Asher showed me his chat history with Silva, proving their past relationship.

There were also a few photos.

Photos of Graham and Silva hugging each other.

My face went completely cold. “I’ve already broken up with Graham. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“I know.”

Asher put his phone away and lowered his gaze. “When a man is cheated on, it’s hard for him to get through. I’ve been feeling uncomfortable, so I wanted to find someone to share that discomfort with. After thinking about it, I thought you’d be a good choice.”

Me: “Are you psycho?”

03

If Asher’s goal in coming to me was to make me uncomfortable, then he had definitely succeeded.

That meal was the most awkward meal I’d ever had.

The discomfort didn’t just come from Graham’s infidelity, but also from Asher himself.

“So, you and Silva are childhood friends. You had a crush on her. And you already knew that Silva liked Graham. She agreed to date you just because Graham didn’t accept her at the time?”

Asher nodded.

I thought I was the biggest fool, but it turns out there are even bigger fools out there. I couldn’t help but shake my head and sigh. “Love really makes people suffer.”

I raised my glass. “Here’s to all the fools in this world.”

Asher looked at me for a moment before raising his own glass. “Yeah, to you.”

I swear.

Anyway, when you’re surrounded by people whose experiences are worse than yours, you start to feel like your own situation isn’t that bad.

On the way home, thanks to Asher, my mood lightened quite a bit.

"Don't worry about refunding the 200 bucks." When I got to my building, I added, "Thanks for comforting me."

Asher’s lips twitched, and I could tell he was probably regretting sharing his backup boyfriend story with me.

After that day, Asher and I—two people who had been messed around by love—often met up to vent about the bad men and women of the world. We even became pretty familiar with each other.

Asher had a great sense of humor—definitely easier to be around than Graham, who could barely get a word out without necessary.

I still couldn’t wrap my head around how someone like Asher could willingly settle for Silva, knowing full well he was not the guy she really wanted.

But then again, love never makes sense.

About a week later, I went downstairs and spotted a familiar figure standing under my building.

I jingled my keys and called out, “Dr. Graham, instead of being with your girl in LA, why’d you come all the way here to bother me?”

Graham, his eyes bloodshot and tired, stood there still as ever, his posture perfectly straight.

"Last week, there was a car accident. I pulled three straight night shifts in surgery. As soon as I got off the operating table, I came straight here."

"I've already packed your stuff. Since you're here, you might as well take it."

"Rose, don't do this."

"Graham, we broke up two weeks ago. Don't you think this conversation is a little ridiculous?"

Graham stood still for a few seconds, then, seeing I wasn’t changing my mind, bent down to start rifling through the bag I had packed for him.

“You’re missing something.”

“That’s impossible. I checked it twice. Don’t try to pick a fight and scam me.”

Graham walked past me into the study, pulled a stack of letters from the cabinet.

“You forgot these.”

It was the stack of letters I had written to Graham.