Heartbroken

Immediately, I drop the glass of champagne and don’t care what anyone thinks of me as I push my way past the number of people in front of me to the stage. I am almost out of breath by the time I stop in front of the ‘couple’.

Oliver looks shocked to see me with his brows shooting to the top of his head. On the other hand, I catch a smug smile at the corner of Brenda’s lips.

At the same time, she lifts her left hand and plants it on my boyfriend’s biceps and that is when I catch the diamond ring on her middle finger which she intended for me to see.

Rage brews like an incoming storm in my belly as I finally wrap my head around Brenda’s orchestrated plan within a minute.

My boyfriend threw my adopted sister an engagement party and in turn, she invited me without his knowledge. She told me it was a surprise engagement party, and thinking about it now, she never said it was for me. She meant that I would be surprised by the party and I must say that I’m indeed shocked.

“Emily, what are you doing here?” Oliver asks me with a hint of annoyance in his tone as he finally recovered from the shock of seeing me.

I point at their interlocked arms and ask as my gaze moves between them, “What is the meaning of this?” I don’t need a mirror to see I already have a death glare on.

Instantly, Brenda wipes the smug off her lips and pretends to be apologetic and afraid of me. “I-I…” she stammers, seemingly unable to get words off her lips as the crowd turns their heads towards our direction. Their chattering dies down as they try to understand what is going on.

“Don’t say a thing. I will explain to her.” Oliver quickly hushes her with the softest gaze I have ever seen on him. Something pricks my heart realizing what that means. 

In my anguish, Oliver turns his attention to me. “I know I should have said this sooner, but Brenda is the woman I love, not you.”

Alarm bells went off in my head as I suddenly lost my mind. I don’t think twice before grabbing Oliver by his maroon-coloured suit.

“You beast!” I scream, eliciting strong whispers from the crowd behind me. My eyes are red as I stare hard at Oliver who throws his gaze around. I know he is ashamed and can’t wait to throw me out of his party for ruining it. “How could you do this to me? What about our family’s agreement?” I finish regardless of his thoughts.

“I don’t care about any of that!” Oliver raises his voice at me as Brenda flinches by his side and taps his arm. He fixes an apologetic gaze on her and she leans her face towards his ear. I don’t hear what she whispers to him, but the next moment, he grabs my wrist.

“Come with me,” he said, but I immediately wriggled my hand out of his grip.

“Don’t you dare touch me!” I warn as I release his suit. The part I grabbed looks crumbled and I couldn't care less about it. “You’ve been cheating on me with my sister and today, you engaged her and invited me to see. How could you be so evil?!”

“Keep your voice down!” A vein pops in his forehead as he tries to keep me from embarrassing him further. “Are you trying to force yourself on me? What part of ‘I don’t love you’ do you not understand? Our families had an agreement, and I am also fulfilling it by choosing to be with the woman I love.”

I stagger a little as a scoff escapes my lips. I can’t believe he is saying all this to me. This isn’t the Oliver I used to know.

While I’m reeling in the shock, he steps closer to me and whispers in the voice only I can hear, “I checked your medical records and saw that your kidney matches Brenda’s. If you give one to her, I will think about marry you.”

“Oh please don't say that...” Brenda leaned softly against his shoulder.

As soon as I heard that, I didn’t think twice before lifting my hand and this time around, I made sure to land a tight slap on his cheek and enjoy the sound echo in the hall as everyone stills.

Shame overwhelms me as two men in black and a white earpiece connected to their left ear grab each of my arms and drag me away the minute my palm connects to Oliver’s cheek.

Between the feeling of betrayal and disgrace, I don’t know which one is stronger as I scream at Oliver and kick my feet with all my might as I am taken away like a criminal at my own boyfriend’s engagement party to my adopted sister.

Pain claws at my heart as hot tears stream down my blush-patted cheeks. I don’t think I will be getting over this treachery any time soon, especially watching Brenda lean her frail body on Oliver while directing a victorious smirk my way.

I am helpless as I get kicked out of the hall and the double tall wooden doors shut in my face with pairs of wandering eyes from the passer-byes in the corridor on me.

I need a drink before I kill someone and end up in jail so I flag down a cab outside. After a restless long ride of fifteen minutes, the driver pulls over in front of the exclusive XX Club. I pay him and get out without tipping.

I walk into the building and make my way straight to the bar to take the only empty stool amid the loud music blasting through the speakers and sweaty bodies dancing behind me.

I stare down at my dress and feel anger wash over me. Having seen Brenda dressed in a faux feather mini red dress makes me rethink whether brown was actually Oliver’s favourite colour as I can’t help but think that he claimed so to make a fool out of me.

“What can I get you?” A bartender stops in front of me with an unwelcoming smile. I guess I look that awful from all the crying and bitterness swelling in my chest.

I order one glass of raspberry Tequila Sangria for starters before placing my second order; a glass of Martini for soft landing. By the time I’m on my fifth glass of cocktail, the world around me starts to spin.

My Dad will be disappointed and my Mum will give me an earful and compare me with Brenda, her well-mannered daughter. I don’t want to go back home, and as if sensing my predicament, one of the bartenders comes to my rescue.

“We offer rooms for a night in case you are looking for where to rest your head, or shall I call you a cab?” He asks.

I lift my head to make out his facial features but the entire image in front of me is blurry, so I don’t persist further.

“I need a room, please,” I reply too smoothly for someone who can barely see a thing; one of my practiced tactics so I don’t get taken advantage of.

A few minutes later, I’m at the lounge area where I request a room at the front desk. I manage to give out my necessary details before swiping my card to pay. I don’t hear the rest of the words the receptionist says to me, but I nod and thank her regardless as I take my room keycard from her.

Somehow, I get into the elevator and swipe my room card on the scanner before taking a trip to the ninth floor.

I find it difficult to locate room 919 written on the card but once I do, I place it on the scanner outside the door and let myself in.

The room is almost pitch-black with a little moonlight coming from the gap between the curtains.

“Good thing I can do without the lights,” I slur as I get my shoes off my feet and take off my earrings while literally stumbling on my way to the bed.

A sigh of relief escapes my lips as soon as my back hits the mattress but the moment I shut my eyes I hear a soft groan by my side.

It doesn’t take long before a pair of strong arms circles my waist and draws me into a warm muscular embrace.

“Ah!” A yelp escapes my lips and before I can muster another sound, a pair of scorching lips comes crashing down on me as I’m forced to swallow down the remaining sound.