Boss with Benefits

Chapter 1 - Forbidden Apple

"I'm fired, aren't I?"

It was something Rody didn't want to say, but with the situation at hand—or rather at the hands he was tightening on his sides—it seemed like the most fitting thing to say.

There was no way he was getting out of this unscathed, especially with the indescribable look his boss was giving with his half-lidded eyes at this moment, as though the suffocating tension that was filling the dim office wasn't bothering him at all. But then again, was this an unforeseeable accident or this was what he had signed up for, and what was really happening was him suffering the consequences that he had no one to blame for but himself?

But he had to, he justified it in his mind. He had to do it for the plan that he wasn't even sure was going to work, but was the only thing left for him. Deep in his mind, he knew the plan was pretty much as hopeful as trying to find his way out of a forbidden forest with no way out, but at least, at the very least, the forbidden forest had a way in, to give him somewhere to start. To him, getting lost in this forbidden forest gave him the hope that one day, if he wandered around hard enough, perhaps his determination would be rewarded and would lead his steps on the path out. And to him, that was more worth living for than the void of emptiness and accursed memories that lied opposite from the forbidden forest, one that would constantly whisper her name to him, leaving him restless and reminding him that without her, he was nothing, and without her, his life had no purpose.

He couldn't walk into that void, especially when he wasn't even sure how he lost her.

It all started with a breakup, one he couldn't see coming, even though one could argue he should've expected it, considering the reason his now ex-girlfriend Manon broke up with him was the exact thing she had been telling him every time she got the chance to. It all started when she caught him skipping lunches to save money, to which he quickly lied that he was saving up for a better apartment, but things all came crashing down when it turned out it was for a reservation for an expensive restaurant downtown where one meal could cost three months of his minimum wage salary. Just like how after every storm was a bright new day, it faded and things went back to usual, except when it turned back, it was just as intensely, if not more intensely than the last, when she caught him doing it again with taking up more shifts more than his limit allowed him to.

It started with small reminders which turned into serious discussions, and before he realized, they were having full-blown arguments over similar things—they argued over how he was too afraid to make his decisions based on his own preferences and opted to let her choose for him instead; they argued over how he didn't even know what he wanted but would mindlessly nod to every word she said, every wish she had and every dream she hoped to have for their future; and they argued over how it seemed like in his mind, nothing else existed except her and her needs, all things be damned even if it was his own desires. But it wasn't something he couldn't handle—wasn't it a normal part of being in a relationship to have some arguments here and there? Without conflicts, how else would you be able to grow as partners, right?"

That was the tiny bit of reassurance that he had been clutching onto until one day, his phone rung and Manon said they had to talk. That was the tiny little hope that he had been gripping onto, even though it had long been slipping out of his grasp, until those words escaped Manon's lips, the same ones that had been haunting him ever since.

"I don't think I can keep doing this with you."

To this very moment, it was still a mystery whose answer was unknown to him. Acknowledging it was bothering her, he could do it. What he couldn't do, however, was seeing how it was a problem in the first place. Yes, he was too devoted to her, but how was it a fault that needed to be addressed? Yes, he cared too much for her, but how was it an issue that needed to be improved on? How could he fix something that was his duty in the first place? Loving her was not only his responsibility as her boyfriend, it was also what he believed he was put on this world for, to protect her and give her whatever her heart may desire, even if it was a piece of jewelry that he would not dream of buying for himself, a date at a fancy establishment that would make his wallet sob, or a big house for them to spend their future in even though one look at the mortgage was enough to give him a heart attack. But all of that, he was willing to throw away everything to get them, because her wish was his command, her desire was his purpose, and her happiness was his mission.