Chapter 66 When Love Hurts
LIZZY
I watched David stagger, his hand gripping the edge of the table as if it might stop the spinning in his head. His usually sharp gaze was unfocused, his breaths shallow. A slow smirk curled my lips. The drug was working perfectly.
As I stepped closer, he tried to push me away, his movements clumsy and weak. “Who are you?” he slurred, blinking as if trying to clear the fog clouding his mind.
“Shh,” I cooed, my voice soft yet dripping with venom. “You don’t need to fight it, David. Just let go.”
“Don’t don’t come closer,” he muttered, stumbling back a step. His attempt at authority was laughable now.
“Oh, David,” I said, my tone mockingly sweet. “You can’t resist me. Not tonight.”
He shook his head as if trying to shake off the haze, his jaw tightening. “Get out of my sight,” he growled, though the bite in his voice had dulled to a whimper.
I laughed softly, the sound echoing in the silence of the dimly lit room. “It’s no use pretending, David. You need me, whether you want to admit it or not.” I leaned closer, my lips brushing against his ear. “And when Bella sees this sees us she’ll run. She’ll leave you for good.”
His hands clenched into fists, but they trembled. I knew he hated me, but he was powerless now. That was the beauty of my plan.
“You thought you could destroy my family and get away with it?” I stepped back, arms outstretched as I let my robe slip from my shoulders. “No, David. You don’t get to walk away unscathed. Tonight, you pay for everything you’ve done.”
I heard Bella’s voice float up from the first floor, and my smile widened. Perfect timing.
I moved closer to David, who was swaying like a leaf in a storm. His breathing was ragged, his pupils blown wide. “It’s time to put on a show.”
I reached for him, pulling him to me. His lips found mine in a desperate, fevered kiss. His hands, though trembling, roamed my body, his touch urgent and clumsy. I let out a soft moan, loud enough to be heard outside the room.
“David,” I whispered, my voice heavy with feigned passion. “I want you inside me.”
The door slammed open, and I turned just in time to see Bella standing there, her eyes wide with disbelief and pain.
“Bella,” David rasped, his voice hoarse, but I cut him off with another kiss, ensuring she saw everything.
Her face crumpled as tears welled in her eyes. She turned and fled, her sobs echoing in the hall. I couldn’t suppress the grin that spread across my face. Everything was going exactly as planned.
BELLA
My hands shook as I read David’s text:
Come to the third floor. I have something to show you.
I climbed the stairs, my heart racing with nervous anticipation. I thought maybe he’d prepared something special a surprise, a moment just for us.
But nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I opened the door.
David stood there, shirtless and disheveled, his lips locked with Lizzy’s. Her bare body pressed against his, her hands clutching at his shoulders as though she owned him.
My breath caught in my throat, and the phone slipped from my trembling hands, landing with a dull thud on the carpeted floor.
“David?” My voice cracked, barely above a whisper.
He pulled away from her, his eyes wide with shock and shame. “Bella, wait…”
But I couldn’t.
The pain was unbearable, a sharp knife twisting in my chest. The man I had dared to love again was kissing his ex, touching her in ways that should have been reserved for me.
Tears blurred my vision as I turned and ran, the sound of David’s voice calling after me only fueling my need to escape.
Down the stairs, through the hallway, and out the front door I didn’t stop. The cold night air bit at my skin as I stumbled onto the street. I needed to get away, to put as much distance between me and that house as possible.
My feet pounded against the pavement, but my mind raced even faster. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have believed him when he said he loved me?
A blinding light snapped me back to reality.
Headlights.
The car came out of nowhere, its horn blaring as it sped toward me. My body froze, my legs refusing to move.
The impact was swift and brutal. Pain exploded through me as I was thrown into the air, landing hard on the asphalt. The world spun around me, a kaleidoscope of lights and sounds.
The car didn’t stop. Its taillights disappeared into the distance, leaving me broken and bleeding on the cold street.
I gasped for air, my chest heaving as blood pooled beneath me. The night sky loomed above, indifferent to my pain.
“David…” his name slipped through my trembling lips, a final plea he’d never hear. Blood pooled beneath me, warm at first, but the chill of the night crept in, making everything distant and hazy.
Why did he do this? Why did I let myself believe in him again? The image of him with Lizzy, her mocking smile, and his hands on her flashed in my mind. The betrayal hit harder than the car.
Above me, muffled voices mixed with the sound of screeching tires. A shadow loomed over me, but I couldn’t make out their face. My body felt heavy, the pain slipping away, replaced by an overwhelming numbness.
Is this it?
The stars above blurred into a mess of light, and darkness closed in. My last thought was not of anger, but of sorrow sorrow for the love I’d lost, for the truth I might never uncover, and for the life I might not get to live.