REBIRTH TO CHANGE MY FATE

6

The next morning, Jake Morrison woke to the sound of Danny Chen's obnoxious laughter echoing through the thin walls. He'd barely slept, his mind churning with anger over Grace's situation and the upcoming job interview at Stellar International Corporation. The irony wasn't lost on him—interviewing at Frank Zhao's company after the humiliating encounter with Sarah.

Jake emerged from his apartment to find Danny lounging in the hallway, smoking a cigarette despite the building's no-smoking policy. Danny's bloodshot eyes locked onto Jake with predatory satisfaction.

"Well, well, if it isn't the white knight," Danny sneered, blowing smoke in Jake's direction. "Sleep well, hero?"

"Better than you, apparently," Jake replied, trying to move past him toward the stairs.

Danny stepped sideways, blocking Jake's path. "You know what I find funny? You acting like you give a shit about Grace when we both know you're just trying to get in her pants."

Jake's jaw clenched. "Move."

"Or what?" Danny laughed, flicking ash onto the carpet. "You'll hit me again? Please do. I could use the assault charge against you in court. Make the divorce proceedings much more interesting."

He's baiting me. Don't take it. Jake forced himself to remain calm. "I'm not falling for your games, Danny."

"Games?" Danny's voice rose with mock indignation. "I'm just having a conversation with my wife's tenant. You know, the loser who can't afford to live anywhere decent so he rents a shithole from my soon-to-be ex-wife."

The apartment door opened, and Grace appeared in yesterday's clothes, her hair pulled back hastily. Dark circles shadowed her eyes, evidence of another sleepless night.

"Danny, put that cigarette out," Grace said wearily. "You know smoking isn't allowed in the building."

"Since when do you care about rules?" Danny shot back. "You didn't care about marriage vows, so why should cigarettes matter?"

Grace's face flushed with hurt and embarrassment. "Please don't do this here."

"Do what? Tell the truth?" Danny took another long drag, deliberately blowing smoke toward both of them. "Tell your boyfriend here how you threw away eight years of marriage because you were 'unhappy'?"

"Danny, stop," Grace pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jake stepped forward. "She asked you to stop."

"And I asked you to mind your own fucking business," Danny snarled. "But here you are, playing protector to a woman who destroyed her own marriage. You know what she told me? That she needed 'space to find herself.' You know what that's code for, right?"

"Shut up," Jake warned, his fists clenching involuntarily.

Danny's eyes lit up at the sign of Jake's rising anger. "There we go! Show me that temper, tough guy. Give me a reason to call the cops."

Grace quickly positioned herself between them. "Stop it, both of you! Danny, go inside. Jake, you need to get ready for your interview."

"Interview?" Danny laughed mockingly. "What kind of interview? Janitor position? Fast food cashier? Let me guess—Grace pulled some strings to get her charity case a job."

"It's at Stellar International Corporation," Grace said quietly, immediately regretting giving Danny ammunition.

Danny's eyebrows shot up. "Stellar International? Holy shit, Grace, you really are reaching high for this loser. That's a Fortune 500 company. What makes you think they'd hire someone like him?"

"Because I believe in him," Grace said firmly, though Jake could hear the uncertainty beneath her words.

"You believe in him?" Danny doubled over with laughter. "Grace, look at him! Really look at him! He's a broke nobody who lives in a rat-infested apartment and just yesterday was begging you for money. And you think Stellar International—a company that hires Ivy League graduates—is going to hire him?"

Jake felt heat rising in his chest. Don't react. He wants you to react.

"You know what's really pathetic?" Danny continued, sensing Jake's restraint and pushing harder. "Grace actually thinks she's helping you. But all she's doing is setting you up for humiliation. They're going to take one look at you and laugh you out of the building."

"That's enough," Grace said, her voice cracking.

"No, it's not enough!" Danny's voice echoed through the hallway. "You want to know what's really going to happen at this interview? They're going to ask him about his work history, and he'll have nothing. They'll ask about his education, and he'll mumble something about community college. They'll ask why he wants to work there, and he won't be able to give them a single compelling reason beyond 'I need money.'"

Jake's breathing became shallow, but he held his ground.

Danny stepped closer, his breath reeking of stale alcohol and cigarettes. "And when they reject him—which they will—he'll come crawling back here to cry on Grace's shoulder. Just another failure to add to his impressive collection."

"Danny, please stop," Grace whispered, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Why should I stop telling the truth?" Danny's voice grew louder, clearly intended to wake the other tenants. "Your boyfriend here is a loser, Grace. A pathetic, unemployed loser who you're wasting your time and money on out of some misguided sense of charity."

Grace suddenly grabbed Jake's arm. "Come on, let's go inside and get you ready for the interview."

She pulled him toward her apartment, but Danny blocked the doorway.

"Actually, I've been thinking about the sleeping arrangements," Danny said with a cruel smile. "Since I'm legally entitled to be here, and this is my marital home, I think Grace should sleep in the bed where she belongs. You can take the floor, sweetheart."

"Absolutely not," Jake said immediately.

"See? He doesn't even respect your decisions, Grace," Danny said triumphantly. "Real supportive boyfriend you've got there."

Grace looked between the two men, exhaustion evident in every line of her face. "It's fine, Jake. I'll sleep on the floor. It's not a big deal."

"Like hell you will," Jake said firmly. "If anyone's sleeping on the floor, it should be him."

Danny's laugh was sharp and bitter. "Oh, this is rich! The charity case thinks he gets to make decisions about where people sleep in my own home. News flash, asshole—you don't get a vote."

"This stopped being your home when you walked out on her," Jake shot back.

"I never walked out!" Danny screamed, his composure finally cracking. "She kicked me out! She destroyed our marriage because she thought she deserved better, and now she's replacing me with a pathetic loser like you!"

Grace began crying quietly, her shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs. The sight of her tears deflated Jake's anger and filled him with protective rage simultaneously.

"Look what you've done," Jake said quietly. "You made her cry."

"I made her cry?" Danny's voice rose to a near-shriek. "I'm not the one filling her head with impossible dreams and false hope! You are! You're going to get her hopes up about this job interview, and when you inevitably fail, you'll break her heart just like you've probably broken every other woman stupid enough to believe in you."

That's it. Jake took a step toward Danny, his hands balling into fists.

"Jake, don't," Grace said quickly, grabbing his arm. "Please. The interview is in two hours. You need to focus on that."

Jake looked at Grace's tear-stained face and felt his resolve strengthen. "You're right. I do need to focus."

He turned to Danny with cold determination. "I'm going to get that job. And when I do, I'm going to make sure Grace never has to deal with your bullshit again."

Danny's sneer faltered slightly. "We'll see about that, hero. We'll see about that."