Betrayal

SIA POV

I blinked hard!

Nothing changed. Nathan still stood rooted to the spot, frowning in the glare of the flashlights. The lady who was with him adjusted her gown and scurried away in the other direction.

"Nathan, why are you so shameless? Messing around with another woman on the night you engaged me is the peak of it!" I yelled at him.

"Take that flashlight away from my face." He said.

I stormed towards him, "Nathan, how could you?" I demanded. My voice shook with rage.

He looked up at me, a smug smile still plastered on his face. " Sia, don't be so dramatic. It's just a little fun,"

I felt tears prick at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to cry. 

Not yet. Not for this cheating wreck of a man.

"Fun? You call this fun? You're engaged to me, Nathan! We're supposed to be getting married!"

He shrugged, his cold eyes shone. "I never promised you exclusivity, Sia. You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to marry me."

I felt like I'd been slapped.

 How could he be so cruel? So heartless?

Without another word, I turned and ran back to the hall, tears streaming down my face. As soon as I burst through the doors, my parents and our guests turned to stare at me in shock.

"He's cheating on me!" I yelled, my voice echoed off the walls, "The man you forced me to marry is a chronic cheat!"

My parents' faces turned red with shock, but It didn't matter to me. Somehow, I could tell that they knew about this—they knew that Nathan was never worthy of me. 

"Sia, can you calm down? Please" Elise said, approaching me.

I rushed at a nearby table, picked an empty glass and flung it at her. It missed her slightly and smashed to the floor.  

"Don't you dare come any closer! You saw this coming, didn't you?" I barked at her, sobbing hard.

I turned to wag my finger at my parents who were watching me with open mouths, "I am so done with all these!"

This was it!

 I was done with their lies, their manipulation, and their control.

Just then, the door was kicked open and Nathan barged in, a cold look on his face. 

"Sia, stop making a scene," he growled.

 I stood my ground and wiped my eyes. "No, Nathan. I'm done with you."

 "You think you're so special, Sia? Newsflash, you're not. I never wanted you anyway," he spat.

The guests gasped in shock. 

 I was beyond angry.

"How dare you!" I screamed, my voice was now hoarse from crying. "You cheated on me, and now you're saying you never wanted me? You're a monster, Nathan!"

He shrugged, "You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to marry me, Sia. Don't act so innocent."

 "Innocent? You're the one who's been cheating on me, Nathan! You're the one who's been lying to me!"

Just then, his younger brother, Jack, stormed into the hall. "Nathan, shut up!" he yelled.

"Stay out of this." Nathan said without turning to look at his brother.

Jack edged close, "You just engaged this woman. Of all nights, why did you pick tonight to prove how much of a fool you are?"

Nathan sneered at him, and quickly turned to face me.

 Jack was now a few steps away from his brother. He snapped his fingers, "You're a disgusting. Stop embarrassing our family, Nathan! And stop talking to your fiancée like that!"

"You don't tell me how to—"

Jack didn't let him complete his statement as he swung his arm and gave his brother a swift punch in the face, causing him to stagger backwards before he fell over to the floor. 

Chaos filled the hall as almost everyone started to scramble. 

In seconds, Jack rushed at his brother and pinned him down as he tried to get up.  

From the corner of my eyes, I saw their mother crying.

"Someone should call the security!" A voice rang out in the crowd.

Immediately, Security guards rushed in, pulling Jack away from his brother.

As soon as Nathan was back on his feet, he took a plunge at his brother, but one of the security men held him back. He struggled and hurled insults at me as he was dragged out of the hall.

Tears streamed down my face as I watched him.

A wave of despair settled over me, and I broke down, crying harder than I ever had before.

 My mother came  to my side, and placed a hand on my back, patting me. 

"Sia, darling, it's okay. Cheating isn't enough reason to leave him. He's still a good man," she said.

I only cried harder, my body shaking with sobs. 

How could she say that? How could she still defend him after everything he'd done? Didn't she see the way he had just spoken to me?

"Mother, how can you say that? He cheated on me! He was out there with another woman by the pool. You forced me into this." I wailed.

My mother held me tight, but her words only made me feel more miserable. "Sia, darling, men make mistakes. It doesn't mean he doesn't love you."

I pushed her away with a force.  "No, Mother. You can act blind, but I'm sure you witnessed how that arrogant man just spoke to me, even after what he did"

She smiled and handed me a glass of champagne. "Here, darling, drink this. It'll help you calm down."

As I took the glass, my vision was already blurry from tears. 

I drank, forcing myself to focus on how the cool liquid slid down my throat.

 At first, it seemed to help, because my sobs slowed to sniffles.

However, after a few minutes, I began to feel dizzy. 

The room spun around me, and my legs felt like jelly.

 I stumbled, trying to hold onto my mother, but she was too far away.

Two male ushers appeared, and their faces seemed blurry. "Ma'am, let us help you," one of them said with a voice that felt so distant.

I tried to protest, but my words slurred together.

 They led me away, with each arm supporting me. 

As I looked back, I caught a smile on my mother's face, but I was too drunk to think about it.

Everything went black.