"What are you doing here?"Cameron demanded. He still couldn't believe this was happening. He felt like he was in a dream. A dream where his ex-girlfriend was chasing after him. Because from the way she had been shouting his name, he felt a strong urge to escape. And he would have done so if he could do so with his life intact.

Then when he had realised she was looking for him, he had stepped out of the kitchen and immediately regretted his decision. She was in the hall, clad in a skimpy baby doll lingerie with stilettos on. As a tall blond, the lingerie only reached the tops of her thighs, leaving a lot bared for the eyes. He didn't know where to look.

"Cammy,"she cried cheerfully, ignoring his question and trying to jump into his arms. He knew she wanted to wrap her arms around his neck but that was the last thing he wanted. Wanting to avoid that, he took a step back and felt like he'd bumped into something.

Hearing a yelp, he turned around and immediately put his hand out. The something he'd felt was Sharon who had fallen down after he had run into her. But before she could reach out, his hand was pulled away.

"What are you doing?"he asked, exhausted. She was holding his arm against her body. He didn't know why but he could guess that it was a bid for him to not help Sharon. And she was holding it so tightly against her chest that he could feel her pebbled nipples rubbing against his arm. But he was done with her. And now that he thought about it, he truly wondered whether it had been a good idea to get involved with her.

He knew she had been chosen in a moment of weakness. It wasn't that she was an unattractive woman but he wanted Sharon. He wanted her then, he wanted her now. But at that time, he had been running away from those feelings. He had been scared shitless and the only solution he'd though of then was to use Holly as a barrier. But when he realised how strong his true feelings were, he had broken it off with her immediately. He'd thought it was over. Apparently, he was wrong.

"What is she doing here?"Holly demanded, her eyes shooting daggers at Sharon. Sharon had gotten up on her own and wasn't even aware of the poisonous gaze. Even so, he found himself shifting so that Sharon was protected by that hostile gaze despite his arm being trapped against Holly's body,

From the sudden tears in her eyes, she had noticed his action. Apprehensive, he wondered what she was going to do next. Then his arm was released and the belligerence was turned on him.

"You're disgusting. Why are you protecting her against me? I'm your girlfriend, not some woman who had the luck of being your roommate. A lot of people would want that. And, I mean, look at me. I'm definitely sexier than her. What else do you want? Do you want to fuck her instead as a comparison? Or do you have a chubby fetish?"

"That's enough,"he growled, his anger flaring in an instant. He was taking a step forward to berate her further but a touch at his back brought him back to his senses. Shaking his head to clear his anger, he noticed that Holly had shrunk back, fear filling her eyes in that moment of mindless rage. Sighing, he was racking his mind on how to rectify this issue when Sharon spoke.

"I should leave the two of you alone."

"What? No,"he immediately rejected, turning around and gripping her shoulders. From the uncertainty surrounding her, he knew she was going to avoid him after this. She was already distancing herself when he had a girlfriend. With the sudden appearance of Holly, he knew that there must be some questions. Questions that would make her distance herself further. He couldn't have that happen when he'd just managed to get her there. Right. Cook. "You promised to cook for me."

"I can cook for you,"Holly called out indignantly. He ignored her. She had barely boiled water when with him. There was no way he wanted to trust her sudden claim.

"What am I supposed to do with all the ingredients? They'll just rot and be thrown away."

"T-the both of you have much to say to each other,"Sharon explained, trying to ignore him but he could see her wavering, getting distracted by the eventual fate of all the food they'd bought. Knowing how much she hated wastage, he tried to press his advantage.

"If you leave, I have to throw away the chicken."

"What? An entire chicken? You're going to waste perfectly good chicken?"she gasped in outrage. Her hands even came up to cover her mouth.

"I said I can cook for you." Again, he ignored Holly.

"Well, I'll have to do that since I can't cook. I don't want to ruin a perfectly good chicken. And I can't freeze it again, you know."

"So you're just going to throw it away? That's ridiculous. Fine, I'll cook it-" She stopped upon realising what she'd just said. Then she sent him a dirty look. He had to stifle a smile. She had seen through him but it was too late. She realised it too when she growled, "You sneaky dog."

"What? It's true. I'm going to throw it away."

"Fine. I'll cook but after you talk. I'm going to take a walk around while that's going on."

"Leave your bag here,"he said as a precaution, making her mood darken. He tried to slide that in but she heard his intent and shoved her bag into his stomach after retrieving her wallet and phone. He gave her the keys in case he had to go out. "And take the key."

"You're so suspicious,"she muttered under her breath while walking out of the door. "Call me when you're done."

Smiling, he turned back to Holly and found her crying. She was looking at him like he had killed her favourite pet. Panicked, he rushed to wipe her cheeks but she pushed him away. He hovered uncertainly around her uncertainly. Even though Sharon was not there, he could hear her nagging at him to do something. But he couldn't. He didn't have much experience dealing with crying woman. Usually, they did this with their girlfriends.

"L-let me change first,"she whispered after calming down. He barely nodded before she went back to his room and closed the door. In that time, he nervously paced around the area. Even though he should be worried about this security breach, he was more anxious of how to explain to Sharon.

He knew how sensitive she was to unfaithful lovers. She had had a bad experience herself. He knew that after meeting Amelia's guests and from her pointed question in the car when they had been headed for that short trip. So this looked bad. It looked like he had lied to her when he had been telling the truth. He and Holly were no longer together.

But the fact that Holly was here, in his apartment, implied otherwise. Even though he had never given her the keys or access, she was here now. And he didn't know why. Feeling like tearing his hair out, the urge tp bang his head against the wall was slowly taking over when his door opened. Turning to her like a prey sensing predator, he warily watched as she walked out with her bag.

"We have to talk,"he reminded her when it looked like she was going to leave. She had walked around him and moved towards the exit when he spoke up. From the way she hesitated, he wondered in panic whether she would just bolt but luckily, her shoulders slumped in defeat before she seated herself at the couch. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"No thanks,"she responded expressionlessly.

"Okay." He took a seat at the adjacent chair and silence descended on them. The air was rife with tension and awkwardness. Wondering where to begin, he was surprised when she spoke.

"You're different when you're with her,"she remarked softly.

"In what way?"he asked curiously. Being with Sharon felt like the most natural thing in the world but he was intrigued to know how it looked like to others.

"With me, you're Cameron, the recovering quarterback. You aren't as arrogant as some athletes I've met but the ego is still there. You're fun to be around but there's always a limit to what I know about you. But with her, you are just Cameron the man. You're still arrogant but you temper it when you're with her. And there are no walls or barriers. You are just being you. A regular guy who happened to be a football player but is grounded by her. And I'm so jealous,"she wailed, tears dripping from her eyes again. In a flurry of panic, he shoved a box of tissues into her hand. She took it this time, much to his relief.

"I guess I'm just more comfortable with her,"he said, shrugging his shoulders awkwardly. He didn't want to reveal that he actually loved her. That would just be rubbing salt into the wound he had already inflicted. But she wasn't letting it go.

"How?"she demanded, standing up and looming over him. He felt himself shrinking back into his seat. Her hair was flying about and her eyes were red from crying. He knew she was a ordinary woman but from where he was sitting, she looked like a vengeful spirit, ready to take his soul. Was this where the saying "Hell has no fury like a woman scorned" came about? But he didn't have time to be wondering about that. She was about to go on a rampage. "How? I know you haven't slept together. You don't look like you had. On the other hand, we have. Many times. So many that I can't even count. So why are you so comfortable with that fat fuck?"

"Holly,"he roared, getting to his feet. This was the second time she had insulted Sharon and he was not going to let it slide. Not this time. She stood her ground, defiantly glaring up at him. Looking down at her, he tried to wrestle his raging fury into submission and barely managed to keep it under wraps. "I know you're lashing out because I hurt you. And you are more than justified to scream or hit me. But this is between us. Leave Sharon out of it."

"And now, you're defending her. Great,"she said, throwing her arms up. "What did she do? Place a spell on you? I'm sure it's all that food she's feeding you. I mean, why else a gorgeous guy like you would even look at her?"

He was speechless. Where was this vitriol coming from? She made it sound that Sharon was undeserving of his attention when it was the other way around. He didn't deserve her. He had thrown her away when he had her and now, he had to fight to get her to even look at him.

He wanted to correct her assumptions but his tongue felt too thick. It was difficult to speak. The words were stuck at his throat, wanting to come out but encountering a barrier. It was frustrating. This had never happened to him. Words usually came to his lips naturally.

"I knew it. You just had a fetish. Wait until everyone knows about this-"

"Miss Holly,"a cold voice came from the door. Their heads whipped in that direction and they saw Sharon there but she was different. Her eyes were cold, her body was tenses yet relaxed but he could see the aura of ruthlessness around her. She was dangerous. "Please note that your clinic is currently treating Mr Ballard. Any news that comes from you will adversely affect your employers. And what do you think is going to happen to you?"

Realising the truth of her words, Holly just screamed and stomped out of there. But before she could leave, Sharon left a parting shot.

"I have recorded this outburst. If any news about this appears, we will show this to your clinic."

AN: Hey guys. Hope you're well. Unlike me, I'm here, falling sick right now. A bit high on medicine. Which is great timing. Just in time for Hari Raya T_T (I want to eat my rendang T_T)

Anyway, let me know what you think about the chapter. I think I can kick Holly out of the way after this. Or can I? He, he, he. 

Please VOTE and COMMENT if you liked it. Follow me on Wattpad, Twitter and ko-fi. Also check out my book, Accidental Babies, on Amazon and consider buying it. That would be a great help.

THANKS

P.S. So do you guys want smut or no smut?