One

VIOLET POV

My hand fumbled around in my bag in search of my phone but when I finally fished it out, I noticed it was dead.

I suspired in disappointment and then mumbled to myself, half shrugging, “It will be a surprise visit then,”

I had just closed from work and I've been looking forward to visiting my boyfriend at his apartment.

Shuffling to the sidewalk, I flagged down a taxi that took me straight to my destination. On reaching there, I paid the driver his fare, even tipping him a little.

I scaled up the stairs to the second floor and ultimately froze before a grey metal door. I reached into my bag and took out the spare key he'd given me ten months ago.

Soon, I stepped into the living room and dropped my bag on the couch.

"Honey," I called out in a loving tone.

No answer.

I headed to the kitchen, but he wasn't there.

So I decided to check out the bedroom. I found the door was slightly ajar and considering the aspect of privacy, I made to knock.

But I froze when suggestive sounds unexpectedly drifted out of the room. At that, my heart temporarily forgot its one job for a moment.

Were my ears playing tricks on me? No, it couldn't be... It couldn't be what I was thinking.

I shook off the appalling thoughts that had sneakily crept into my mind. Norman loved me so much, he...he wouldn't betray me.

But then...the sounds of frenzied moans crescendoedand I let curiosity get the best of me.

I pushed the door wider and stepped into the bedroom, only to witness what I'd never dreamt of in a million years.

"Ah~ Fuck me harder, baby~ Ahh~!"

"You're so naughty, Alvina,"

My fears were confirmed and I felt my heart, in that moment, shattering into a thousand pieces.

There he was, my boyfriend of two years, on his bed, with a woman I had never met before, in a compromising position.

“Norman!” I cried out shakily, my eyes already misty.

My abrupt yell caused him to jump up instantly and upon locking eyes with me, he tried to cover his shame and that of the unknown lady as well.

"Why?!" I queried, my voice filled with anger and the hurt of his betrayal.

"V-Violet, i-it's not what it looks like," he stammered.

I scoffed a bitter laugh, "Oh really? Then explain, Norman," I crossed my arms before my chest, "Convince me that you weren't sleeping with some random girl. Convince me that you two were just playing house!"

The girl on the bed looked annoyed. "Norman, you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend," she said. Then she got off the bed to gather her things, which were scattered about the room.

"Alvina..." Norman called her with a look of guilt.

"Don't ever call me again," the red-haired lady said as she slipped into her clothes quickly.

Then she walked to me and sized me up and down with a stuck-up look, "And I'm not some..." she made mocking air quotes, "...random girl. I have way more class than you ever will, bitch!" With that, she brusquely jostled me before walking out the door.

Norman got off the bed, a towel draped around his waist. Then he tried coming close to me, but I unfolded my arms and told him not to move an inch.

 "Violet," he softly said with a pleading look, "...please, calm down. I didn't mean for this to happen."

But I wasn't having any of it. "Can you even listen to yourself?" I spat, feeling the tears starting to well up in my eyes.

Why did I fall for a lying, cheating jerk?

Palpable tension lingered in the air between us and he soon broke the silence, raking his hand through his already tousled brown hair.

“Look, Violet, it's not entirely my fault, you're also to blame for this,"

His words made me wish I could just tear him apart. He cheated on me and still had the guts to shift blame on me as well? 

Wow!

"I am a man with needs, you know. And you won’t even let me touch you,”

I nodded, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of my lips.

"So, it's my fault?! It's my fault for wanting to keep myself for you till the wedding night?" I questioned him.

Norman sighed, "Well...it's already happened. But...I promise it'll never happen again. Even if it does, you shouldn't worry, you're still the only one in my..."

"Shut up," I said, my low voice quaking with spiking rage.

"What?" He asked, a frown already etching on his face.

And I lost it.

"SHUT UP. JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU SCOUNDREL!" I howled, tears rolling down my face freely.

I shook my head, feeling a mix of overwhelming sadness and anger, "I'm done, Norman. We're over!"

Making a swift pivot, I exited the room, leaving him and his betrayal behind.

"Violet..."

I slammed the door behind me, heading straight for the final exit of the apartment, not even glancing over my shoulder once.

£¢^£¢

I stepped out of Norman’s apartment building. Night had come, the evening breeze made my hair flutter and my clothes to billow. It softly caressed my skin but failed to placate my broken heart.

I stared at the sparsely starred sky, my lips quivering as I fought to restrain another tear from cascading. But when I failed, I quickly wiped my cheek with the back of my hand and stalked out into the night.

As I plodded along the quiet road that would lead to the main road, I got lost in my musings as various thoughts freely invaded my mind.

When I felt too punch-drunk to continue, I decided to pause and rest on the public bench situated under a particular tree.

Just a moment later, I was taken aback by a distant howl that, despite its remoteness, filled me with a sense of discomfort.

I rose from the bench and my feet went on autopilot, wanting to reach the main road as soon as possible. Out of nowhere, I detected a strange noise coming from the trees in front of me, making my heart race.

Just when I thought of making a pivot, I heard the distressed voice of someone calling out for help.  My instinct as a doctor kicked in instantly and I rushed forward, tracing the exact location of the one who needed help. I found the person—a man with the build of a linebacker—sitting up against a tree ahead.

Reaching his exact spot, I was stunned to find that he didn’t even have a stitch on. But this wasn’t the time to question why it was so. I removed my jacket and covered him before struggling to make him stand.

Damn, he was quite heavy!

But I couldn’t just leave him here. With the degree of injuries he had, he could die.

With him leaning on me, we slowly ambled over to the main road. I planned to take him to the hospital, for that was where he would get proper attention.

“No… hospital,” he mumbled to me with a shake of his head, his eyes still tightly shut, holding his injured side.

“You’re badly injured,” I reasoned, preparing to hail a taxi.

“No,” he stubbornly shook his head, “No hospital, please. Bad for my kind,” he said through gritted teeth.

I lifted a brow in wonder. Was he perhaps a fleeing criminal? Was he afraid his pursuers would find him at the hospital?

“I’ll bring you to my home then,” I finally relented and he managed to say a word of thanks.

Finally, we got into a taxi and I could see the driver looking at us weirdly, but I didn’t mind.

When we got to my apartment’s building, I assisted the mysterious man out of the vehicle and paid the frowning driver the fare. Thankfully, my apartment was on the first floor, otherwise taking the stairs in his condition would be awful.

Soon, I had him sit on the sofa and quickly rushed get my first aid kit and a few other essentials. Not long after, he was asleep on the couch, covered by a blanket and I couldn't help but admire the man in front of me.

If beauty was a sin, then he would grab the title of the biggest sinner. Even though he was pale from the pain, his attractiveness stat didn’t go down.

Subconsciously, I gulped at the exposed shoulder and the outline of his solid 6 packs. It took a lot of willpower to tear my gaze off him.

After showering and changing into a fresh set of clothes, I went to check up on him. Seeing that he was still unconscious, I whirled on my heel and headed for the entrance door, holding my purse in hand.