Chapter 20: A Dark Shade of Betrayal

I knew how much he hated the idea of working in the company. I did too.

I just stood there for a few seconds longer, my heart pounding so violently that I thought I’d start shaking. The air in that small, dim room felt thick—almost suffocating—and Kevin’s silence behind me only made it worse. I wanted to end it. I wanted to say something that would close this twisted chapter between us once and for all, but when I opened my mouth, nothing came out. My lips trembled, useless and weak, because deep down, I already knew the truth. I couldn’t.

No matter how wrong it was, no matter how guilty it made me feel—I couldn’t let go of him. I was already too deep. Drowning in something that didn’t even make sense anymore.

So I forced out the only words I could manage. “I’ll see you at the company office tomorrow.” My voice cracked at the end, and before I could break right there in front of him, I turned away and grabbed the doorknob. My hand was shaking. I didn’t wait for him to say anything. I couldn’t. The second I stepped out, I slammed the door behind me, the sound echoing down the dark hallway.

The sting of tears blurred my vision as I walked quickly, almost running. My heels clicked too loudly against the sticky floor, the hallway spinning slightly from the rush of emotion. When I finally pushed open the door that led to the main area of the club, a flood of heat, noise, and movement swallowed me whole.

Music pulsed through the walls, too loud, too chaotic. Sweaty bodies pressed against each other under dim red and blue lights. The smell of alcohol and perfume mixed into something dizzying. I wanted to disappear into it, to let the noise drown out the chaos inside my chest.

I walked straight to the bar, the thought of whiskey burning down my throat almost too tempting to resist. For a moment, I even reached for a glass sitting near the edge of the counter. But then I remembered—I had driven here. The memory of that near crash earlier—the screeching tires, the blinding headlights—flashed through my head, and I pulled my hand back. I clenched my jaw and told myself I wasn’t about to make another stupid decision tonight.

So I turned to leave. My body felt heavy, like I was dragging a storm behind me. I just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, and pretend that the world outside didn’t exist for a few hours. But then—out of the corner of my eye—I saw someone that made my blood run cold.

At first, I thought I was imagining it. The lights flickered, shadows moved, and for a second I told myself it was just someone who looked like him. But as I squinted, my heart skipped. That posture. That familiar tilt of the head. That was Stephen.

He wasn’t alone.

Two—no, three—men followed behind him. They looked rough. Hard faces, leather jackets, one of them with a scar that ran across his cheek. They didn’t look like the type to come to a club for fun. They looked like trouble. The kind that made my stomach twist with unease.

Instinctively, I ducked behind one of the pillars near the exit, holding my breath. My heart hammered as I peered from the side, trying to get a better look without being noticed. Stephen moved fast, almost like he was chasing time. His expression wasn’t relaxed, not like someone out for a casual night. There was a sharpness in his movements—a focus—that made me nervous.

I swallowed hard. Did he follow me here?

The thought hit like ice water down my spine, but something about his demeanor didn’t fit that idea. He wasn’t looking around for anyone. He was heading somewhere specific. Straight toward the back hall where the private rooms were—the same hallway I had just come from.

My breath caught in my throat. No… he couldn’t be.

But as he passed under the faint strobe lights, I could see his jaw was tight, his expression unreadable but serious. And the men trailing him? They looked ready for something—like they knew exactly what they were about to walk into.

A cold dread crept over me, curling into my stomach.

I pressed myself closer to the wall, my fingers trembling as I tried to think. I couldn’t let him see me. Not like this. Not in these stupid pyjamas that screamed desperation and chaos. And yet, something about the urgency in his stride, the look in his eyes—it made me hesitate. He didn’t seem like he was there by accident.

Part of me wanted to leave immediately, to run out the door, drive away, and pretend I hadn’t seen anything. But another part of me—the reckless, foolish part—wanted to follow him. To find out why he was there.

My pulse refused to settle. Every instinct screamed that something was about to go wrong.

Curiosity got the better of me. I knew I shouldn’t have followed them—Stephen and those men—but something in my gut told me that whatever they were hiding, it wasn’t something small. So I moved quietly, keeping my distance, my heart thudding faster with every step. They turned into a dimly lit corridor behind the club, one I’d never noticed before, and stopped in front of what looked like an ordinary metal door. But when one of the men pressed a hidden panel beside it, the metal slid open to reveal… an elevator.

A secret elevator.

I froze, my breath catching in my throat. Since when did this club have something like that? I thought I knew the layout pretty well.

“Finally, I’d get to meet the Don,” Stephen said, his voice low and amused, like this was something he’d been waiting for.

One of the men—broad shoulders, rough voice—grunted. “Got intel the Don isn’t on seat at the moment. You’ll have to wait for him in the basement.”

Stephen just snickered, shaking his head. “Good thing the initiation into the fold happens tonight.”

Initiation?

The word made my skin prickle. What initiation? What fold?

Stephen… in a gang?

The thought made me sick to my stomach. I wanted to believe it wasn’t true, that maybe I was misunderstanding things, but the way he carried himself—confident, sharp, like he belonged there—said otherwise.

I hid behind one of the concrete pillars, peeking out just long enough to watch the elevator doors slide open with a soft ding. They all stepped inside, and then they were gone—down into some hidden basement I’d never even known existed.

For a second, I just stood there, my pulse hammering in my ears. I had this sudden, horrible feeling that I’d just stumbled onto something I wasn’t supposed to see. That whatever world Stephen had just entered, it wasn’t one I should follow him into.

But before I could even try to process what I’d seen, something else hit me.

My bag.

I wasn’t holding it.

I hissed under my breath, clenching my fists in frustration. I must’ve left it in Kevin’s room when I stormed out earlier. Of course. I had my keys, my phone, everything in there. Just great.

So I turned on my heels and started hurrying back through the hallway, my heels clicking against the floor as I walked faster. The bass from the club’s speakers vibrated through the walls—laughter, music, chaos—but all I could think about was getting in, grabbing my bag, and leaving.

When I got to the room, I didn’t even pause. I just yanked the door open.

“Kevin, I came to get—”

The words fell apart in my throat.

Because right there, right on his bed, was Sarah. Frantic, half-naked Sarah, fumbling to cover herself with the bedsheet. And Kevin…

Kevin was sitting up, his chest bare, his hair a mess, eyes wide with guilt.

For a moment, everything around me went silent. I didn’t hear the music. I didn’t hear my heartbeat. I didn’t even breathe.

What in the actual hell was happening?

My stomach twisted so sharply I thought I’d be sick. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t blink. I just stood there, frozen, my brain refusing to connect the dots that were right in front of me.

Kevin cursed softly under his breath, dragging a hand through his hair like he could somehow erase the moment. “Shit…”

He didn’t even look drunk anymore. His eyes were clear, sharp. Sober. Too sober.

And he didn’t say a word to explain himself.

Sarah’s lips trembled as she tried to speak. “Uhhmm… Abby… I—”

But I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to hear anything.

I moved like a machine, walked straight to the nightstand, grabbed my bag with shaking hands, and slammed the door shut behind me.

The sound echoed down the hallway, and for a split second, it felt like it ripped something inside me apart.

As I walked—no, stumbled—out of the club, my mind went completely blank, then filled all at once. Questions, doubts, flashes of everything that had happened between us.

How long?

How long had they been… doing this?

Was it happening even while Kevin was telling me he loved me? Even while he held me, kissed me, looked at me like I was the only one in the world?

Was Sarah pretending all along—pretending to care, pretending to be my friend—just to make me feel like the fool in the middle of it all?

And Kevin… God, Kevin. Did he ever feel anything real for me? Or was this whole twisted thing between us just a game to him? A convenient lie we both clung to until it broke us?

By the time I reached the parking lot, my face was wet and I didn’t even remember when I started crying. The night air felt cold against my skin, but my body was burning inside, shaking from anger and humiliation.

I unlocked my car, fumbled for the handle, and slid in, slamming the door shut. My breath came out in sharp, uneven bursts as I leaned my head against the steering wheel.

The sound of my own sobs filled the car.

I didn’t even care who saw me anymore.

All I could think about was how everything I’d believed—every fragile hope I’d been holding onto—had just crumbled into pieces right in front of me.