I heard a knock at my door one night a few weeks later. I was in the middle of eating pasta on my floor while watching a movie. Sakura had planned to come over, but had suddenly canceled, saying she had to do something for her parents.

“Coming!” I called. I pushed Jack gently out of the way as he bounded towards the door.

I opened it to find Jin standing there, panting and furious.

“Did you do it?” He demanded, shoving me.

“What the hell?” I asked, more surprised than scared. “What are you doing?”

“Did you sleep with Sakura?” He shouted, pushing me up against the wall. His fingers clutched my collar and he towered over me with bloodshot eyes. Jack barked wildly and tried to nudge himself in between me and Jin.

“I don’t think it’s any of your business.” I quietly removed his hand from my shirt.

“She’s my wife.” Jin spat. “I’d say it’s my ing business.”

I blinked up at him before pushing past him to close the door. No need for the neighbors to hear our entire altercation.

“I didn’t realize you two had gotten married.” I replied mildly, looking Jin up and down. He stood there, chest heaving and eyes ablaze. “I expected an invitation to the wedding.”

“Answer my question.” Jin stepped close enough to me so that I could feel his breath on my face. “Did you sleep with her?”

I wondered what would happen to Sakura if I told him the truth.

“No.” I looked up into his eyes. “I haven’t.”

Jin visibly relaxed. He straightened his shirt, but I noticed that his hands shook.

“Are you two getting married?” I pushed my hair back from my forehead. Jack let out a low growl as Jin moved to touch me again. He glanced nervously at Jack. “He’s part wolf, you know. A little wild. Not very friendly. He likes Sakura, though.” I added, just to see him twitch.

“She’s come over here before?”

“Oh, yeah.” I said easily. “Plenty of times.” I gestured to the couch, where a blanket of Sakura’s lay. She kept an extra pair of shoes on the rack in the foyer and spare jeans in my dresser. We weren’t super serious, but we were comfortable with each other. She slept over a lot, saying it was closer to the bookstore and she liked my pancakes, but we both knew that she just didn’t want to sleep alone.

“Don’t see her again.” Jin pointed a finger warningly at me. “She’s mine.”

“You don’t own her.” I batted his finger away. “She can be with whoever she wants.”

“We’ve been together since we were children. That girl has always been intended for me.” He straightened his collar. “Sakura and I are meant to be together. I love her.”

“Well, you’ve got a funny way of showing it.” I muttered, sidestepping him to go into the kitchen. “And I’m her boyfriend, so I’m going to continue seeing her.”

“Boyfriend?” Jin sounded incredulous. “What do you mean, her boyfriend?”

I shrugged. “Her lover, her partner, her gentleman caller. Any of those would fit. You pick.”

Jin opened his mouth to say something, but another knock at the door interrupted him.

I brushed past him to answer it. Sakura stood there smiling up at me.

“Hi.” She said cheerfully, standing on her tiptoes to give me a kiss.

“I thought you couldn’t come.” My brain felt suddenly cloudy as I tried to process the situation.

“Turns out the thing with my parents wasn’t as long as I thought it would be.” She entered the apartment and began to walk into the living room. “Oh, by the way, I refilled my birth control so we don’t need to use condo-”

She broke off abruptly as she came face-to-face with Jin.

“I’ve got company.” I said weakly, coming up behind her.

Neither of them acknowledged me as they were too busy staring into each other’s eyes. Sakura crumpled in on herself, leaning against me for support as Jin gazed at her helplessly.

“You’re sleeping with him?” He whispered, taking a curl in one of his hands. He wrapped it mindlessly around his finger as he waited for her to respond.

Sakura took my hand and wove our fingers together. “Yeah.” She answered with a shaky voice. “I am.”

“But I love you.” Jin took her face in his hands. She didn’t let go of me as he kissed her forehead. “Sakura, please. I’m so in love with you.”

“We’re over, Jin.” She pushed him away and pulled me close. I wrapped my arms around her and watched Jin warily, afraid of what he might do to her after his sudden burst of violence with me.

All he said was, “I’ll call you tomorrow,” before walking out the door without another word.

Sakura burst into tears as soon as the door slammed shut behind him. I led her into the bedroom and lay with her as she sobbed into my pillow.

She eventually cried herself to sleep and I laid there wondering if I’d pressured her into leaving the man she loved.

Maybe they were meant to be together.

Maybe I was just in the way.