Chapter 3: Heartbreak

Immediately Marisa got to the bedroom, she got undressed and wrapped a white towel around her flawless naked body.Stepping inside the bathroom, Marisa loosened the towel, hanged it then stepped under the shower. 

Marisa was done taking her bath five minutes later, and she stepped out of the bedroom into the bedroom, draped in a white towel. 

Sauntering towards her make up table, she picked up a lotion and started applying it on her skin. When she was done with that, she dressed up for work. 

Picking up her handbag, she strolled out of the apartment, locking the door on her way out. 

She then walked to the roadside where she boarded a cab which took her to the restaurant where she worked. 

Arriving at the restaurant minutes later, Marisa paid the cab driver and she got down from the vehicle.  

She strode purposefully into the restaurant, waving at some regular customers before entering inside the changing room. 

Marisa emerged from the dressing room two minutes, donning a waitress uniform, then she began attending to the customers alongside other waitresses and waiters. 

"Table 24!" A masculine voice called, prompting Marisa to swiftly approach the table. 

Four young men, elegantly dressed in black tailored suits, were engaged in conversation. 

As they noticed Marisa's arrival, their chatter subsided, their attention drawn to the poised waitress.  Presenting menus, Marisa awaited their meal selections. 

"This menu doesn't have what I desire," remarked one of the men, placing the menu on the table. 

Politely, Marisa inquired, "May I ask what you'd like then, sir?" 

"I want you," the man said with a wide grin, causing a frown to appear on Marisa's forehead. 

"I apologize, sir, but our menu doesn't include a dish named 'YOU'," she retorted with sarcasm. The other men burst into laughter. 

"It seems you're pretending to be ignorant," the man retorted with an angry smirk. 

"It's clear you're not ready to order. When you are, please ask another waitress for assistance. Excuse me," Marisa replied, turning to leave. 

As she turned, one of the men spanked her, leaving her wide-eyed. Anger rushed through her venis immediately and her blood began boiling.

Swiftly turning around, she delivered a resounding slap to the man's face, prompting gasps from the restaurant patrons. 

"Did you just slap me?!" the man she slapped exclaimed, holding his cheek in pain as Marisa glared at him. 

Rather than responding directly, Marisa slapped him again, temporarily blinding him.  Bystanders pulled out phones, recording videos and taking pictures. The scene was just too shocking to ignore. 

"What's happening?" the manager, Mr. Lance, inquired from behind Marisa, his shock evident upon seeing the men. 

"This disgusting man inconsiderately spanked me," Marisa spat angrily, pointing at the man she slapped. 

"Marisa, are you out of your mind?" the manager angrily questioned, bewildering her. 

"What do you mean?" she retorted, staring at the manager in bewilderment. She was bewildered because she was expecting the manager to support her and not the other way around. 

"Do you not recognize them?!" the manager shouted. "These men are the owners of the biggest companies in Russia." 

Marisa swallowed hard, slowly averting her gaze to the foir men who were now grinning widely like fools. 

Infuriated by their grin, she scoffed and declared, "Being wealthy doesn't give him the right to touch me without consent. He can't claim ownership over my body. That's... that's assaulting." 

The man who spanked Marisa turned his gaze to the manager and asked, "Are you the manager?" 

Nervously, the manager affirmed, "Yes, I  am." 

"Good. Fire her now, or I'll shut down this restaurant," the man threatened, glaring at Marisa. 

Hopeful that the manager wouldn't comply with the man's command Marisa gazed at him, but her hope shattered when he uttered the words she dreaded. 

"You're fired, Marisa," the manager's words cut through the air with a cruel edge, his icy gaze locking onto her. 

"What?!" Marisa exclaimed in disbelief. She couldn't believe her ears right now. It felt as if her ears suddenly got dysfunctional and she didn't hear the Manager's words clearly. 

"I said you're fired, Marisa!" The manager repeated in a cold voice. His cood expression showed how serious his statement was. 

Marisa scoffed in disbelief without taking her gaze off the manager. She just couldn't believe she was getting fired for defending herself.  

For Pete's sake, she was the one who was assaulted, and instead of the manager defending her, he fired her without thinking twice. 

This hurt her so much, causing tears to well up in her eyes. 

Swallowing back the tears that threatened to escape, Marisa redirected her focus towards the quartet of men still wearing grins that contrasted their mean-spiritedness. 

As if echoing the manager's harsh declaration, one of the men who had earlier harassed her taunted, "You heard the manager, bitch. You're out of here. So take your sorry ass and find yourself a new gig." 

The other men erupted into laughter, the glint of their gold teeth sparkling in the midst of their jeers. 

Marisa clenched her fists as the four men continued mocking her. A simmering rage replaced her initial shock. She felt like slapping the men and even the stupid manager himself, but she managed to suppress her anger in order not to cause further drama.  

With a defiant glare, she sidestepped the manager, disappearing into the changing room. 

Emerging minutes later from the dressing room, clad in her personal clothes, Marisa's anger transformed into a fierce determination. She strode up to the man who had assaulted her and also arranged her firing, her eyes aflame with fury. 

"What the fuck are you still doing here..." The man's inquiry was cut off by a slap so potent that it echoed throughout the restaurant, stunning everyone in its vicinity. 

The man, caught off guard, stared at Marisa in disbelief, his lips parted but no words escaping. 

"That's for demeaning me," Marisa declared, her voice holding an iron resolve. She followed up with another slap that split the man's lip, his expression morphing from shock to pain. 

Storming out of the restaurant, tears prickled at the corners of Marisa's eyes, a blend of pain and anger coursing through her veins. The injustice of losing her job for defending herself gnawed at her soul.

That waitress position had been her lifeline, the only available option for her. 

Tears traced the path down Marisa's cheeks as she wiped them away, her resolve growing stronger. Determined to keep her emotions in check, she walked on, her thoughts turning to Marco, her boyfriend, as a potential source of comfort.

Her heart was in pain and she badly needed someone to comfort her and tell her that everything will be fine. The only person who could do that was her boyfriend, Marco. 

Fumbling her phone from her bag, Marisa dialed Marco's number, but he was not picking up. She dialed his number repeatedly but he was still not answering her calls.

"Why is Marco not picking up?" Marisa mummurred, perplexed by her boyfriend's unresponsiveness. 

She dipped her phone back into her bag and started walking to Marco's place. Luckily for her, Marco's apartment was just a few blocks from where she was so trekking there wouldn't be a problem. 

Marisa arrived Marco's apartment a few minutes later, and her concern mounted when she saw his door unlocked. 

She began wondering why Marco would leave his door unlocked. A missing phone call was one thing, but an unlocked door was another. 

Worry was evident on Marisa's face as she stood in front of the slightly parted door, still wondering why the door was open. 

"Why did Marco leave the door open? Is he at home? If he's at home then he'd have picked my calls when I called him. Or did he perhaps step out for a while?" These questions ran through her mind. 

"Maybe he didn't go far. I'll just wait for him inside." She concluded in her mind.  

A confused expression appeared on her face when she stepped inside the apartment to find takeout containers strewn about and a half-empty bottle of expensive wine. 

"Did someone visit him?" She muttered confusedly as she glanced around. 

Her brows furrowed when her gaze landed on a pink bra which was laying on the couch. 

"What's a bra doing there?" She thought to herself, gazing at the bra curiously. 

Marisa's curiosity doubled when she saw a pair of high heels on the ground beside a couch. She began suspecting that there's something fishy going on inside the apartment.

Marisa then decided to check Marco's bedroom. Curiosity turned to disbelief as sounds emanated from Marco's bedroom – unmistakable sounds that shattered Marisa's heart into a million pieces.

Tears blurred her vision as she realized the truth, that the man she'd loved and trusted had betrayed her. The moans of pleasure pierced her like a knife, each gasp a twist in her gut. 

Even though she heard the moans, she still didn't want to believe that Marco would cheat on her. So she gently twisted the door knob and pushed the door. 

Her face instanty went pale like the belly of a fish she when she saw what was going on inside the room. 

Right on Marco’s bed was he and a lady, fucking each other aggressively like their lives depended on it. 

Marisa's eyes widened in shock when she saw the familiar face of the lady Marco was having sex with. The lady was Natasha, one of her college friends.

"Marco?" Marisa muttered and tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at her boyfriend. Her heart shattered into million pieces that moment.