As the headlines about Jack’s scandal flashed across every media outlet, {{user}} felt her heart sink into her stomach. Jocelyn, the woman at the center of it all, claimed to have hooked up with Jack at a post-game celebration, insisting he’d been too drunk to remember. It was a bold lie, and yet the rumors were spreading like wildfire. Jack wasn’t the type to lose control like that, let alone betray her, but the weight of the accusation was almost too much to bear.

{{user}} sat frozen, staring at her phone, re-reading the story for what felt like the hundredth time. Her thoughts were a tangled mess, switching between disbelief and fury. How could someone make such a claim? And why now, right in the middle of Jack’s career-defining season?

“Are you okay?” Jack’s voice broke through the whirlwind of her thoughts. He stood in the doorway, his expression unreadable but tense, like he was holding it together just long enough to get through this conversation. The room was thick with tension, the air heavy with everything that had been left unsaid since the news broke.

He sat down next to her on the couch, his usual easygoing demeanor now replaced by something raw and vulnerable. He reached for her hand, his touch gentle but uncertain.

“I didn’t do it. You know that, right?” he asked quietly, his voice thick with emotion.

{{user}} nodded, her throat tight. Of course, she knew. Jack had always been steady, trustworthy, the kind of person who took his responsibilities seriously. But that didn’t make the situation any easier. The betrayal wasn’t his, but the world didn’t know that. She could see the weight of the situation bearing down on him, the stress making his normally youthful face look worn, and it broke her heart.