Chapter 33 Happy ever not
LUCAS
NO!!!
No, no!
Don't take her, please!!”
My back snaps upright as I slowly take in my surroundings while gasping for air.
“Goodness!”, I exhaled, relieved I'm in my room, then I buried my face into my hands, only to realise my entire body was soaked in sweat.
It's been weeks since my supposed Happy Ever After was to begin. But like a nightmare, the kind you hoped to wake up from the second it began, she was snatched away from me.
But that's not the main reason I grieve. It's the stupid looking image of me doing nothing while she was hit unconscious and carried away right before my eyes.
I wince, unable to uncover the entire emotions that came with the disappointment, so I settled for anger instead.
With an aloof expression, I turn sideways to pick up my phone from the drawers attached to the bed frame. Turning it in, I sigh louder in frustration. Still no text or missed calls.
My stomach flips as the thought creeps into my head. Any normal abductor would have called to ask for some ransom at some point, right?
But my phone had been dreadfully quiet since then, except for some calls and texts from my family.
But no, right?
My eyes flashed in horror as the thought grew louder in my head this time.
She couldn't be dead. No!
My fingers claw deep inside my hair with my face buried in between my knees. Just like yesterday, I'd vowed to protect her, to make her mine, and yet, my knees buckled in both horror and confusion at the entire scene.
My phone vibrated.
The hairs on my neck stand, listening for the ringtone again.
It finally does again, and I hurriedly place it on my ears without glancing at the caller ID.
“Lucas?”
My lips straighten into a thin line as I respond in a tight voice. “Sylvia”.
“I’m right outside your apartment, and you need to let me in before—”,
“Leave” I say quietly, a faint trace of anger in my voice. “I never asked you here”
She huffs on the other end of the line, then repeats the same old statements about me pushing everyone away all because of a ‘woman’.
Well, so be it if it's all because of a woman dammit!
I exhale heavily, taking in the silence from the other end of the phone, and that's when I realize my outburst. I had said that out loud.
But I feel no remorse, not even slightly.
“Leave before it's too late”, I warned and hung up as soon as the words left my mouth.
I dressed up and passed the back door, going to my favorite place to stay and forget about myself.
I stare blankly into my tenth glass for the night, probably eleventh, but who's counting right?
We were supposed to celebrate our anniversary tonight, which I planned to do weekly. but here I am, sitting alone at the bar with our tickets in one hand.
Suddenly, a strange hand stroked my arm at the same time.
My gaze lingers there before staring up at her face, “Get.Your.Hands.Off.Me” I snarled, a flash of irritation in my eyes.
She jerks her hand away frightened, but it certainly doesn't last as she takes another shot by sliding a glass of free martini towards me and subtly pushing up her boobs.
“Your girlfriend must be very lucky to have such loyalty in a man”, she says, inching her face closer to mine. A cold chuckle leaves my lips as I nod repeatedly.
She grew bolder, drawing even closer, but my fingers tightly gripped the back of her hair, and I brought my lips low, whispering into her ear.
“You have five seconds to get the hell away from me”
She nods shakily, whimpering alongside.
“...and do not let me ever see you again, got it?” I let go of her, and she scurried out of the bar like a shaken bird.
I turn back around to keep drinking, but I'm still too irritated to sit still. The club is at its peak tonight but none of it affects me except the vibrations coursing through my entire body as I aimlessly find my way in the midst of the crowd with my half-empty glass in one hand.
Finally catching a glimpse of a secluded area, I made my way there but suddenly stopped in my tracks. Not a trace of my expression falters as I patiently observe the full-bearded guy whispering to Courtney.
From the ashen color on her face, there's a high chance she's been threatened.
I was about to make a move when the guy walked away with a smirk, taking me aback.
“Lucas!?”
Her eyes widened, revealing surprise, but I maintained a cool expression and beckoned for her to follow me.
We push the exit door open and are now out in the open air.
“Are you okay?” I ask, hearing the dryness in my voice. Despite the quick irritation along with a bunch of other emotions I've felt in the last few weeks, I somehow couldn't find it in me to treat Courtney that way.
Perharps it was because she's Zora's best friend and—
“Yeah” she scoffs, making a light situation out of it. “I mean…those kind of things are bound to happen when a girl is desperate to find her best friend anyways”.
A deep frown seats in-between my eyebrows, not knowing whether to find her foolish or admirable. Eventually, I settled for “Don't do that to yourself. It's over”.
I see the quick change in her expression - Anger.
Good. At least someone finally feels something other than fear around me.
“What is over?”, there was a slight tremor in her voice.
But I tilt my head, clearly unfazed by it. “Your best friend” I shortly reply.
Her eyes gleam with a look of betrayal and disappointment, causing me to exhale.
“Face it Courtney”, I summoned the courage to say. “It's been what? Three weeks now? and there's not been a single call for ransom or anything. Listen, if there was any chance she was really still alive, you don't think she'd have come back to me? us?”
Courtney continues to stare at me, unblinking.
Just when the silence grew uncomfortable, she asks “Did you even try? at least once?”.
My gaze drops to the floor with my jaws clenching hard. “If she was still alive, I'd know” I mutter.
“She is for crying out loud!” she blurts out, and my eyes snap towards her. “She was spotted by someone already”.
“Then why aren't we going there right now?” I ask, breathless.
She twists her lips disappointedly, “The asshole wouldn't tell me where she is without thirty-six million”.
My gaze flickered, and I sharply turned around, throwing a heavy punch into the streetlight pole behind me. “Fuck!” I loudly cursed.
“Lucas!” Courtney screamed at me. “All of this anger is unnecessary. Even if we can't find her, for now, don't forget you still have a responsibility towards Leah and Tyler”.
My eyes soften for a bit, but I shake my head in refusal, “I want Zora, I can't do any of that without her”.
“Well, what do you think Zora would want right now‐ dead or alive?”
She stared up at me hopefully, but when I don't say a word, she turned on her heels and began to walk away.
“Just so you know”, she said again, standing with her back to me. “Whoever took Zora might be keeping an eye out for her children ”.
Then she storms off without looking back.