Prologue (2)

It was like his voice pulled her out of whatever trance she was in, she retraced her steps and ran out of the room. She could hear him call out to her, but she didn’t stop. Her emotions were all over the place. She could not make sense of it but she was certain of her need to put as much space between them as she possibly could. She jumped into a waiting cab and tapped him on his shoulder, urging him on.

“Where to miss?” the driver asked.

“Far away from here,” she replied.

She peeked behind and thanked the heavens Luke was nowhere to be found. She spent the long ride analyzing their relationship, every bit of it. She realized; she had been the one overly compensating over the years. She had nurtured the suspicion for long but Luke was just so good at covering his tracks and any time she accused him, she was unable to prove anything and ended up apologizing for being insecure.

This led her to ask the important question, why did he not cover his tracks this time, was he tired of holding things together…

“Where would you like to go?” the driver asked, interrupting her musings.

She thought about it for a moment. Going to her hotel was out of it, it was the first place Luke would search, as if on cue her phone rang and his name popped up on the caller ID, of course it was saved as "my love" with lots of heart and kisses emojis, her lips curled in disgust, she tossed the phone outside and listened to the satisfying crunch as it hit the ground, “A nightclub in the area, the best.”

The driver murmured his response.

And she was left alone with her thoughts, of all days, why today? Why did he plan a dinner date only to stand her up for another random woman? Was it deliberate? Had she been the only one in the relationship all this while? Different thoughts went through her head as she tried to make sense of it, but none of it made sense.

Scarlett paid at the entrance and walked into the club, if it was any other day, she wouldn’t have parted with such an amount to gain entrance into a club. However, today was not any other day, she had a banging headache from all the thoughts going through her head. She wanted to numb the pain she was feeling in her heart.

She walked through the sea of bodies, dancing to the loud music blaring from the speakers, until she got to the bar. There was a small crowd of people in front of the bartenders, she was growing impatient.

From the corner of her eye, she felt a pair of eyes on her, when she turned in the direction, she saw a man standing at the side of the bar, it was hard to make out his facial features, but she could see he was quite tall and muscular. She noticed there was a female bartender beside him. As soon as he dropped his empty glass, she handed him another drink.

Scarlett’s lips pursed by suppressed fury; her eyes shot daggers at him. He had one bartender he didn’t need while everyone else had to be waited on by two other bartenders. Not too long after, the place cleared out, she could finally make her order. “I’ll have a glass of the Macallan 18, please.”

The male bartender gave her a curious glance but he didn’t say anything.

“Nice choice, but isn’t it a bit too strong for a lady?”

She turned around, her eyes sharpened when she met the most mesmerizing pair of grey eyes she had ever seen.

The man who was standing at the corner was now beside her. He was dressed in a fine three-piece suit. He towered above her; her guess was that he was a solid 6ft2, his dark full hair was neatly in place like he had taken the time to tend to it before stepping out of his car, there was no denying his muscled frame underneath the suit.

Her eyes trained on his facial features, he had a well-proportioned nose that complimented his sharp jawline, he had finely shaven beards on his chin and jaw. He had a hint of a smile on his full red lips.

However, what captivated her was his grey eyes. They were the lightest shade of grey even under the dim light of the club, there was a hint of amusement in them, his eyes said a lot. He was openly teasing her. She looked away.

“The 19th century called; they want their men back,” she replied.

He chuckled.

It was a beautiful sound, she thought to herself.

“Let me at least buy you a drink?” he offered.

She turned around to face him squarely, “Are you trying to get me in your bed?” she blurted out. She regretted the words as they left her mouth but there was no taking it back now. She held his gaze, even though she wanted to recoil in shame. Her resolve strengthened when she saw the reaction the words elicited out of him. He almost spat out his drink. The arrogance with which he approached her had depleted, he avoided her gaze.

“I thought so…” she turned around and began nursing her drink. She signaled to the bartender for a refill.

Suddenly, she felt hot air at the nape of her neck. “Yes, I was hoping to buy you a drink, to lure you to my bed and ruin you in ways you would approve of.”

His deep baritone voice sent shivers down her spine. She sucked in her breath. Goosebumps spread all over her skin.

When she didn’t respond, he chuckled and it reverberated in his chest. “I thought so…” He straightened up and walked away.