chapter 2: Come with me

Caroline pov

Emelda!!

My stomach dropped.

I stood there, my entire body trembling, unable to believe what I was seeing. My heart pounded against my chest so hard I thought it might shatter.

It was Amelda.

My best friend

And the man I had vowed to love.

Together.

The whore on my matrimonial bed was the only person I trusted.

She smirked, lazily covering her nakedness with the duvet before draping her arm over Nathan’s shoulder.

“Oh,” she purred. “You’re home early.”

The room smelled of sweat, perfume, and betrayal.

I swallowed hard, but the lump in my throat wouldn’t go away. My mind continued to scream at me to turn and run. but my legs refused to move.

Nathan had the audacity to look shocked, scrambling to cover himself. his mouth opening and closing like a fool caught in a lie.

"Caroline…" he breathed, as if saying my name would somehow make this less painful than it already was for me.

I clenched my fists. "What is going on here?" My voice wavered, but I refused to let them see me break.

I clenched my fist. “What is going on here” my voice wavered but this time I focused on Nathan who looked like he was stuck in the middle of a chess game.

Nathan ran a hand through his head. “Caroline, what are you doing here? You are not supposed... ummm, it's not what you are thinking” he started but I was not hearing it.

I let out a strained laugh. That could have sounded like a broken laugh.

“Is this why you didn't pick my calls? Because you are busy…” I stopped, trying real hard to hold back my tears that were threatening to fall.

His lips parted, searching for words, words that don't exist.

“Caroline open your eyes, don't act soo surprised.” Emelda, said giggling. “You belong in the prison

I suddenly felt sick.

“How could you?” My voice cracked, but I refused to let the tears fall.

Emelda only giggled. "Oh, sweetheart," she crooned mockingly. “You are even more daft than I realised.”

I flinched.

"You are my best friend," I whispered, disbelief coating every word.

"And you were a fool," she snapped, sitting up, her confidence unwavering. “You really think that i would be friends with someone like you…, i mean just look at yourself, i satisfy Nathan. I give him what you can never think of.”

The room spun.

Everything was happening so fast. But through it all, it now made exact sense to me.

Nathan was not the person that cleared my charges to me. It's obvious from his shocked and confused face.

Then if it's not him…who?

I turned to him, my heart aching. “Nathan…”

Finally, he looked at me. His face hardened, his earlier shock melting into something else, something colder.

“Nathan, tell me this is a mistake.” My voice was barely above a whisper. “Tell me you didn’t actually betray me like this.”

He sighed. Then, to my horror, he rolled his shoulders, as if shaking off the guilt, and leaned back against the headboard.

"Caroline," he said, his voice void of any remorse. "Stop acting like a victim."

My breath caught. My worst fears were coming to pass.

“I was meaning to tell you but we are no longer husband and wife anymore.” He brought Emelda close to him, “starting from the day you went to prison we ceased to be husband and wife.”

His words were harder to my already fragile heart.

Pain that was more painful than whatever I have ever felt continued to wish for me.

Tears welled in my eyes, and this time, I was scared it might actually fall.

Emelda laughed, enjoying the moment.

“You don’t belong here, Caroline,” she sneered. “You belong in prison. Go and rot there.”

I froze.

“What did you just say?”

She leaned closer, her eyes glinting with something dark. “You heard me right bitch. Me and Nathan darling are finally sealing our love by getting married next week.”

A chill ran down my spine.

Nathan didn’t react, didn’t even bat an eye at my direction, he was busy fumbling with her breast to spare me to glance.

Emelda smirked. “right sweetheart?”

I unconsciously turned my gaze to Nathan, as if waiting to hear his final say on the matter.

I clung to the faintest hope that he will remember the love we had shared. Our moments.

Could he throw it away just because of his stupid image…

Nathan let out a chuckle. “You should’ve never come back, Caroline…

I didn't hear more. Could bear to hear him say the word.

My body turned cold.

And so was the world that had suddenly rejected me, as I ran out of the house in tears.

*****************************

The high bass of the speaker vibrates through the bone. It was exactly what I needed.

To drown in my sorrows. To forget about everything.

Who told me to love unconditionally.

The pain was so great I had thought for a moment I would faint on the way. The pain of Nathan, my husband , throwing away our years of marriage, him and my best friend. Tangled in the sheets…

I shook my head, grabbing another shot of bourbon. The liquid burned through my throat, which I gladly welcomed.

I had run blindly to this place, a high-end club in the heart of the city, the kind of place where people like me come to escape. Somehow, I had managed to sneak in without being thrown out. And immediately, like a safe haven, I had clung to a bottle of bourbon as if it were my lifeline.

Shot after shot, I downed them, letting the world around me blur into nothingness.

“Hey, can I have your money?” a lazy bartender's voice snapped at me.

“What! which money?” I asked a little too loud.

"Twenty-five grand," he repeated, impatience already coloring his face. "You've been drinking all night. Time to settle up."

A slow, uneasy realization crept through my mind. I had no penny with me. I had just come out of prison just a few hours ago.

Shit.

I forced a smile, waving a hand dismissively. "Do I look like someone who can’t pay?"

"Right now? You look like someone who won't pay." His voice turned sharper. "Either hand over the money, or I call security."

Annoyance flared inside me. Who the hell did this guy think he was?

I slammed my empty glass onto the counter, the sound cracking through the air. "How dare you judge me like i am nobody."

The bartender wasn’t impressed. "Yeah? Then pay your bill."

I huffed, swaying slightly as I pointed a finger at him. "You, you're just a miserable little man behind a bar, begging for change. You probably live in a rat-infested hole, dreaming of some wicked drunk that would tip you for the night.”

That was the final straw.

The bartender snapped his fingers, and within seconds, two towering bouncers appeared.

The bouncers wasted no time.

"Hey! Get your hands off me!" I yelped as they grabbed my arms, dragging me away from the bar, despite my struggles.

People turned to watch. Some smirked, others whispered.

I thrashed in their grip. "I’ll have this whole place shut down! Do you hear me?"

They didn’t care.

The cool night air hit me like a slap as they shoved me out onto the pavement.

I stumbled, nearly falling, but my body was too drunk to register much embarrassment. "Bastards!" I hissed, spinning around to glare at the closed club doors.

Then I froze.

A presence.

Someone was watching me. Despite my tipsy state, I could feel it.

Slowly, I turned.

A man stood a few feet away, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He was ridiculously handsome, no, dangerously handsome. Dark hair, sharp jawline, and piercing eyes that burned right through me.

And the way he was looking at me?

Dark. Intense stare that sent shivers down my spine.

My breath caught in my throat.

I should’ve looked away.

I should’ve walked away.

But I didn’t.

I held his gaze, the air between us thick with something unspoken.

And then, before I could even register what was happening, he moved.

Fast.

One moment, I was leaning against the wall. Next, I was caged between it and him.

His body heat surrounded me, his scent, something dark and expensive, invading my senses. It tickled places I didn't know I had.

"You shouldn’t be here," he murmured, his voice deep, rough, and dangerous.

"Neither should you," I shot back, my voice betraying the tremor in my chest.

I was telling the truth. He fits more in an office than in this place.

He smirked, but his eyes remained cold. "And yet, here we are."

His fingers brushed against my wrist, featherlight but enough to make me shiver.

"You’re drunk," he stated.

"And you’re in my space," I countered, though I didn’t move.

A flicker of something crossed his face, amusement? Interest? I couldn’t tell. But what I did know was that he wasn’t just some random man.

There was something about him. Something dangerous.

Something that made me want to forget everything. It made me weak at the knees.

I suddenly felt hot all over my body. I didn't know if it was from the alcohol in my system or his dick that continued to rub itself against my belly.

He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear. "You look like a woman who needs a distraction."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Can you become the man who becomes a distraction?”

His smirk widened. "Come with me."

I should’ve said no, despite the warning bells.

But noo.

I nodded.