Collar of Betrayal

Jackson Dalton, my roommate, was a deeply disturbed voyeur. His greatest hobby in life was spying on me.

Back in school, he stole my underwear. After we started working, he set his sights on sleeping with the woman I loved, Caitlin Watson.

Because we were close, he constantly crossed the line, making crude, sexual remarks about Caitlin, who was a flight attendant.

"Those legs are insane. Wonder what it’d feel like to have them on my shoulders."

Every time he ran his mouth, Caitlin would throw water in his face and curse him out. "Stay the hell away from me, you freak."

For my sake, she never called the police on him, but every time he acted up, she made sure to humiliate him in public.

The night I successfully proposed, I bought a new house.

Jackson showed up with a full set of appliances as an apology gift.

Wearing her diamond ring, Caitlin leaned into my arms, smiling like she was the happiest woman alive.

All my friends said I was lucky to have such a beautiful and loyal fiancee, who even put my worst friend in his place.

Until I got up in the middle of the night for a drink. I noticed the guest room door was slightly open.

When I pushed it open, I saw Caitlin wearing a collar and being led on a leash while crawling on the ground.

In that moment, it felt like the blood vessels in my brain were about to explode.

I froze where I stood. The glass slipped from my hand and shattered against the floor, shards scattering everywhere.

Caitlin Watson flinched like a startled cat and whipped her head around.

The sultry look on her face hadn’t fully faded. Around her neck, a black leather collar gleamed under the light.

A dog’s collar.

Half-naked, Jackson Dalton sat sprawled arrogantly across the expensive leather sofa I had just bought, the leash clenched in his hand. When he saw me, he didn’t panic. Instead, he broke into a wide grin.

"Hey, hey, Cameron Pruitt’s finally awake! Want to join us?"

He yanked the leash hard. Caitlin stumbled forward, forced along, her knees scraping audibly against the wooden floor.

My stomach churned violently. "Caitlin, what are you doing? You’re my fiancee! We’re getting married next month!"

She snapped out of it, but not in the way I expected.

There was no shame on her face. Instead, she frowned, irritation flashing in her eyes as she stood up, casually dusting off her knees.

She didn’t even take off the collar. She just reached up to smooth her messy hair.

"Cameron, why are you yelling in the middle of the night? Can’t you see we’re playing a stress-relief game? Stop making a big deal out of nothing."

A stress-relief game?

Throwing your dignity under someone’s feet, crawling on the ground like a dog—that was a game?

I rushed forward and grabbed her wrist, trying to rip that disgusting collar off her neck.

"Have you lost your mind? That’s Jackson! The same creep who spies on me and makes filthy jokes about you! Weren’t you the one who hated him the most? Did he threaten you?"

Even staring straight at this, part of me still searched for an excuse for her. I would rather believe she was being forced than accept that the woman I had loved for three years, whom I thought was untouchable, was, at her core, drawn to this.

Smack!

She wrenched her hand free and slapped me across the face.

The force stunned me. I stood there, clutching my cheek, staring at her in disbelief.

Caitlin rubbed her reddened wrist, her eyes filled with disgust. "Cameron, you’re hurting me. Drop that victim-blaming crap. I’m doing this because I want to.

"My job is stressful as hell. Flying back and forth all day, dealing with passengers… I’m exhausted, like a dog.

"When I come home, I want to actually be a dog for once. What’s wrong with that?"

"Jackson gives me that sense of control… that edge of humiliation. Can you? All you ever do is ask if I’ve had tea or if I’m tired. You fuss like a damn housewife. It’s boring."

I stared at the woman in front of me like she was a stranger.

The care I gave her, and everything I thought mattered, was boring to her.

And Jackson’s twisted, filthy behavior? That was excitement?

At that moment, Jackson stood up. He walked over behind Caitlin, wrapped an arm around her waist, and looked at me with open provocation.

"You’re just too uptight, Cameron. You don’t know how to live. With a body like hers? She’s unreal. Especially when she’s crawling, that waist-to-hip ratio…"

He leaned in close to her neck and took a deep breath, his expression lewd. "Smells incredible."

Instead of pulling away, Caitlin let out a soft laugh and gave him a playful shove, her eyes bright, almost flirtatious. "Pervert. Not in front of him. At least, leave him a little dignity."

That moment made me feel even sicker than seeing her crawl.

So all those times—her disgust, her insults, the water she threw at him—it had all been an act for me? Or worse, part of whatever game they were playing?

In an instant, I felt like a complete clown being played and spun around by the two of them.

"Get out," I rasped, pointing at the door. "Take your dog and get the hell out of my house."

Caitlin’s expression changed. She let out a cold laugh. "Cameron, get your facts straight. This house is half mine, too. Maybe my name isn’t on the deed yet, but I helped with the renovation. If anyone’s leaving, it’s you. Don’t ruin our mood."

Jackson snorted. "Don’t be so heartless, man. I bought all the appliances for this place. Take a look. The TV, the fridge… What wasn’t paid for by me? What’s wrong with me using them?"

I laughed in pure anger.

Those appliances were bought with my money. He maxed out my supplementary credit card to pay for them.

Last month, he told me he needed cash urgently, so I handed him the card without hesitation. He turned around, used my money to buy everything, and called it an apology gift.

Using my money, playing the generous friend, and now sleeping with my woman?

At that moment, the rage inside me crushed whatever reason I had left. I stormed into the kitchen, grabbed a knife, and came charging back out.

"I’ll say this one last time: get out! Or I swear to God, I’ll kill both of you tonight!"

Something in my eyes must have been real.

Jackson flinched, his hand loosening on the leash.

Caitlin’s face went pale. She grabbed him and bolted toward the bedroom. "Cameron, you’re insane! You’ve got serious issues!"

I watched them stumble into the guest room. Then I locked the door behind them, dropped the knife, and collapsed onto the floor.

The woman I had cherished for three years.

The woman I was willing to turn my back on my family for, just to marry.

None of it had been real.