CHAPTER 1
Emily’s POV
“I guess it’s true what they say about women with pretty faces. They’re damaged goods in disguise.”
He peeled off the bed and threw his T-shirt over his exposed chest.
“David, you don’t have to leave like this,” I pleaded, but I actually did want him to leave.
“Nah, it’s all good, Emily. I’m going to be fine. I wish you a happy life, and I hope you find what it is you’re REALLY looking for.”
He left the room and shut the door with a very loud slam, which made my heart leap.
I did it again.
I chased away yet another guy because I couldn’t find what I was looking for in him.
Of course I wouldn’t find it. I wasn’t looking for something, I was actually looking for someone.
I slowly walked out to the balcony and stared out at the horizon.
The weight of a pound of tears lingered on my chest like crashing waves. My breathing hitched while my blood ran cold throughout my entire body.
“Why can’t I forget you? It’s been ten years, Sebastian. Ten long, lonely years without seeing you or hearing your voice. You’re only memories now, but you wouldn’t go away,” I softly spoke as if he was actually listening to me.
I didn’t like the woman I was becoming. I didn’t want to be responsible for ruining ‘love’ for a person or for people. I was aware that I should accept someone for who they were, not what I wanted them to be, but I wanted to love again as well. I needed to love again.
The look on David’s face when I ended our time together... I couldn’t stand seeing someone else hurt because I didn’t have my heart and feelings in order.
I walked back into the room and got into the bathtub. I took an hour-long bath and stepped into an outfit for a late-night party at the club.
After dressing, applying my makeup, and styling my hair, I met up with my best friend, who also happened to be my personal assistant, in the hotel’s lobby.
Gen and I had visited Conovia—a small but beautiful foreign country just beyond the United Kingdom—to establish a waterfront hotel on one of the beaches.
“You’re looking sexy tonight, boss,” she teased as we got into the limousine.
“Don’t start with me, Gen. I already want this night to be over.”
“Where’s David?”
“He left.”
“Oh, Em, I’m so sorry. I really thought that the two of you would—”
“I ended it,” I cut her off before she finished her statement.
“Really? Why?” She turned towards me so that she was looking me straight in the face.
I heaved a sigh.
“Oh, I see. You’re thinking about him again.” Gen knew me as if we had grown up in the same house and fed off the same mother.
“I can’t get him out of my mind, and I feel terrible for David. He’s a really great guy, Gen, but for some reason, I can’t love him.”
“Of course not. You’ve been dating him for only three months. It took me two years to fall in love with someone.”
“This isn’t about you, Gen,” I groaned as I sank into the comfortable seat of the limo and the driver drove towards the night club.
“Don’t worry, sweetie. One shot of Hennessy, and you’ll be alright,” Gen said and patted my shoulder.
________
Half an hour later, we arrived at a club. The music was blaring, and the atmosphere was cold. I wrapped my arms around myself as Gen, and I walked towards the front of the line.
“IDs, ladies!” a very muscular guy wearing black sunglasses said.
Gen and I complied and also showed our VIP tickets. There were groans of complaint from the other people in the long line when he ushered us inside before them.
______
The scent of strong alcohol and overused perfumes hung in the air as we made our way over to the bar, Gen holding my hand and pushing people out of her path.
“Bartender! Two shots of ‘Henny’ please,” she called.
“Gen, we’re VIPs. Being here isn’t necessary.”
“I know that,, but the vibe here is lit and turned all the way uppppp!” she squealed and threw her arms in the air as she dragged out the word ‘up.’
“You haven’t had one drink yet, and you’re already drunk,” I joked.
“Shut upppp.”
We got our shots of Hennessy and made our way up to the VIP area, but it was boring up there.
The music was less deafening, the enclosed walls hid the rest of the club from our sight, and there wasn’t anyone else present but Gen and me.
“Girl, shall we head back downstairs?” she asked with raised eyebrows.
“Please.”
We headed back downstairs and got into the tangle of bodies on the dancefloor. I needed to dance my ‘damaged’ self away, and when the DJ hit Rihanna’s Please Don’t Stop The Music, I found myself becoming a free spirit.
Gen got exhausted quickly. She pulled me towards the bar to have a seat with her.
“Oh damn, I have to pee.” She made a beeline to the washroom, but after a minute, she came back and crossed her legs in front of the other.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“I haven’t peed because the bathrooms are jammed.”
“I’m certain you could use the ones upstairs,” I answered, pointing at the VIP bracelets we got from the bouncer.
“Come with me?”
“Nah, I’m having my drink.” I took a sip and waved to her. She rolled her eyes and walked away.
______
“EM! EM!” I heard Gen calling from through the now thick crowd.
“What is it?” I asked.
“I saw him. He’s here.”
“Saw who. Who’s here?”
“Sebastian.”
My heart skipped ten beats.