Chapter 2

“You know that Timothy is head over heels for you, Mel.” Sasha nudged my elbow.

“I know. It’s just… I don’t trust Audrey.”

Scar chuckled softly as if what I said was funny. But I hadn’t felt like laughing. I was anxious because I’d had a bad feeling haunting me that night. And in most cases, my female intuition was pretty reliable.

“Well, why don’t you just go over there and get your man?” my ruby-haired friend asked, but I didn’t even have to answer. It took her only one glance at me, and she knew. “Oh, you two fought?”

She must’ve noticed the distress on my face.

“Yeah,” I sighed, casting my eyes downward to the ground.

“You guys have been fighting a lot lately.” Her gaze was penetrating me. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Nope,” I said shortly and looked up to face her. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Timothy was now looking in my direction.

His gaze lingering on my skin made my stomach clench. My heart was telling me to go over and kiss him to end our infantile quarrel. But then, something stopped me, urging, it was him who should make the first move. And that something, whatever it was, won. I turned on my heels and headed to the backyard. As I was squeezing through the crowd of people, I heard two random dudes shouting to one another, obnoxiously checking me out from head to toe.

“Have you seen Melissa Atkinson?” A pale-skinned guy with sunflower-blonde hair leaned toward his friend before gulping his beer.

“Who wouldn’t notice that ass, bro?” the friend scoffed. “Fucking hot!”

And I knew Timothy heard them too because when I fleetingly peeked in his direction, he was glaring at me with the kind of gaze I knew far too well. He was seething with jealousy.

I STOOD ON THE PORCH, deep in my thoughts with my eyes glued to the starry sky. Chilly air was sweeping across my cheeks, causing goose bumps on my body.

“I’m sorry for earlier,” I heard a familiar voice whispering in my ear as warm hands slid around my waist from behind. I didn’t even have to turn to know who it was. I knew the scent of sandalwood with a hint of geranium hitting my nose by heart. I turned to face Timothy. He looked like a lost puppy begging me to help him find his way back home.

“I’m sorry, Melissa. I acted like a dick earlier today,” he said with an apologetic tone.

“You did act like a dick.” I smirked, gazing into his coffee-colored eyes. The moonlight illuminated his wavy, fair hair, ideally done in a tapered way. But even his gorgeous face wouldn’t make up for his behavior earlier today. I still had in mind how he left me in that gross storage room looking like a five-year-old baby that hadn’t got the toy he desperately wanted. That was one trait that I genuinely hated about Timothy. Whenever he didn’t get what he wanted, he would just sulk.

“Can I make it up to you somehow?” he said, caressing my cheek with his thumb.

“Well… I might forgive you if you kiss me now.” I smiled at him, and his face lightened up. I couldn’t be mad at him for too long. It just didn’t sit right with me. I wasn’t the one to hold the grudge, even if, at times, I should have.

He slowly leaned in, sliding his hand at the back of my neck. His warm lips gently brushed over mine. “You look so hot tonight. I couldn’t take my eyes off you,” he whispered against my lips, our breaths mingling before closing the tiny gap with a kiss.

“Hey, lovebirds!” Mike’s raspy voice broke in our tender moment. “Get a room!” he joked, showing off his white teeth beautifully contrasting his ebony complexion. One of his dark dreadlocks fell onto his forehead as he took a few deep gulps of his beer.

"Are we okay?" Timothy inquired, his gaze locking onto mine as he slowly pulled back. "Guess you can't resist, huh, bro? But you two are gonna miss out on the party!" Mike's playful jab made me blush. I glanced back at Timothy, who rolled his eyes in irritation. I grinned and took his hand. "We're fine."

With that, I led him back inside. About an hour later, I was onto my third drink and feeling lightheaded. I usually avoided alcohol, so it didn't take much to affect me. The party was in full swing, and I was chatting with Sasha and Teresa, a friend I had legal analysis workshops with. I scanned the room for Timothy but couldn't spot him. I wanted to ask him for a ride home. I knew his driver was waiting because we always did that. I'd send Gregory away, and Timothy's driver would stay.

“Have you seen Timothy?” I asked the girls.

Teresa quickly checked out the room before replying, “Nope.”

“Maybe he went somewhere with Mike? I can’t see him either,” Sasha added.

“Yeah, I’ll check outside. Maybe they went for a smoke.”

“Yeah, probably.” Sasha smiled. “Want me to go with you?”

“Nah, I’m fine. I need to use the toilet on my way there.” I gave the girls a reassuring look and set aside the drink before following toward the restroom.

The toilet on the ground floor was occupied, so I decided to go upstairs. I knew Mike’s place because he used to throw parties nearly every Friday. Besides, he was my boyfriend’s best friend, and sometimes we hit his place. With each step up the stairs, the loud music playing downstairs seemed to fade away. I could finally hear my own thoughts. I was about to get inside the washroom, but something stopped me. I heard moaning coming from one of the rooms. It wasn’t something unusual. People hooked up at parties, but this time was different. I felt a cold shiver sweeping down my spine, realizing it was Audrey’s voice whining my boyfriend’s name.

My heart started racing like crazy as I walked over to the door leading to Mike’s bedroom. The closer I’d get, the louder I’d hear the moans. I grabbed the doorknob and slightly opened the door. My hands were shaking. I was not ready for what I was about to see. My eyes grew wide, and I gasped in shock. I saw Timothy and my narrow-waisted friend making out. Both half-naked.

“Shit! Melissa?!” Timothy’s face fell as soon as he spotted me, gawking at them with my jaw dropped. “It’s not what you think!” He tried to devise some ridiculous excuse while hurriedly buttoning his fly, but before he managed to put himself together, I stormed out of there faster than a speeding bullet.

TEARS WERE RUNNING down my face as I was running down the street. I didn’t know where or for how long. I kept running, holding my expensive Louis Vuitton high heels in my hands, and my perfectly done makeup was likely ruined. The picture of my boyfriend’s hand sliding down Audrey’s tanned belly, disappearing underneath the silk fabric of her panties, her shiny, chocolate-brown hair falling at her arched back as she sighed in pleasure while running her fingers through Timothy’s golden hair while he planted hungry kisses down her neck, kept haunting me all the way here, whenever I was. With each passing second, the excruciating pain tearing my heart apart intensified. I’d never felt so broken before, and believe me, my life had been fucked up just enough to make me experience all kinds of shitty feelings. I could barely see through my watery eyes, and I hadn’t noticed the car approaching me from across the street. Then just when I thought it would hit me, I heard a loud screech of brakes as the driver managed to stop an inch before me.

“Are you fucking crazy?!” he shouted at me before he even managed to step out of the car. I couldn’t guess if he was more shaken because he almost hit me with his speeding car or more furious that I ran right in front of it, risking destroying his brand-new, shiny black Bugatti. But, as soon as our eyes met, he kind of… froze.

And that’s when I met him. The most handsome man I’d ever laid my eyes on with the kind of piercing blue eyes that told me I should run the other way.Top of FormBottom of Form