2: Deception and Despair

Tania||

My mind froze as I stared at the paper, the pain within me too strong for me to comprehend what I was holding.

"Sign it like a good girl and get out of our lives, Tania," Nicholas hissed.

The moment he opened his mouth to speak, I felt my senses return but so did my tears. Nicholas has always been a gold-digger, but I thought he loved me enough to forget that side of him. But I was wrong. Everything has been a sham.

Anger suddenly filled me, and I squeezed the paper hard in my hand.

“I won’t let you do this, Nicholas. Not to me and not my sister—”

“Oh please, Tania. Worry about you. I want Nicholas. I love him. I have loved him long before you came to the picture.”

“He's using you, Eloise!” I cried out, my heart shattering at her childish words. “Nicholas doesn't love you; he only wants control of your finances!”

Eloise's face twisted in anger. “You're just jealous, Tania! You stole him from me, and now that you're dying, you can't bear the thought of me having him back!”

Shock filled my veins and as her words lowered into me, it turned into numbness. I couldn't believe my sister's words. The world became slow, and my body started to shake with tremors.

“How can you think that, Eloise? I'm your family!” I whispered.

But Eloise's expression remained unforgiving. “You're cruel and wicked, Tania. You always get what you want, no matter who you hurt. Haven’t you had enough?”

“Eloise…” My world crumbled right in front of me.

I felt like I was living in a nightmare, and I needed an escape, a reprieve from the pain her words had brought.

My legs developed a mind of its own and without saying a word, I staggered out of the office. Far away from their prickling words. I could barely see ahead of me, but I knew I was moving. The staff tried to stop me, but I raised my hands and kept moving.

It hurt so much, I wanted to die.

The pain in my heart wasn’t reducing, the further I walked, the stronger it became. My breaths were coming out in gasps, and I feared if I kept going, I would die sooner than the three months the doctor had prescribed. So, I stopped. Maybe I didn’t want to die…

With my eyes still blurry, I saw the bright lights of a bar, call unto me.

I wasn’t much of a drinker but with the way I felt deep inside, I needed the alcohol.

“Give me a bottle of your strongest wine,” I said with my eyes lowered.

“Will payment be by cash or transfer, ma’am?” the waiter asked.

My eyes went to my hands, I had nothing on me —nothing except the plane tickets I had gotten for Nicholas and me.

My heart tore again as the pain slapped me in the face but I sniffled it away and took off my wristwatch. “This should be able to buy enough drinks,” I whispered as I dropped the watch on the table.

The waiter examined the piece of jewelry for a few seconds before he declared it authentic and handed me four bottles. “The watch is more than enough, but let’s start with this.”

I nodded and uncorked the first bottle, rushing it down as fast as I could, wanting the alcohol to take effect quickly. As I brought it down, I felt hazy, but I could still hear Eloise's words and Nicholas’ scoffs.

I opened the second and the third bottle, but it wasn’t enough. “Give me another round…”

“Hey, beautiful… don’t you think that you have taken enough?”

My head raised from the bottles, and they went to the waiter, who had a frown on, glaring at someone else. I followed his line of sight and my eyes landed on the most dashing man I had ever seen.

His skin glowed under the multiple lights of the bar, making him appear as an angel, one sent for me.

“Waiter, give this handsome man a bottle as well,” I said to the waiter, but my eyes remained on the stranger.

He mumbled something and drew even closer, the strong scent of his cologne tickling me. “Who are you?”

“Just a random person trying to help you…”

A smile covered my face as I watched him closely. He wasn’t a random person. A man as handsome as he was… with such a broad chest could either be a celebrity or a manwhore.

And with the way he looked at me, I was certain he was a manwhore. The thoughts of it made my core tighten with need. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the music or the dancing light… whichever the case was, I suddenly found myself feeling very horny and I wanted this man for the night.

“I’ll pay you 500 dollars for a night, what do you say?” I blurted, biting the corners of my lips.

His beautifully craved thick brows raised above his head and time seemed to stop as he glared at me.

“What?” I stuttered. “Too little… all—right, I’ll make it 1000$ but you had be—tter be good, okay?”

“Ma’am —are you—” He stuttered his face going right with excitement, surely, I was a generous client. So, I stopped his babbles and grabbed his hand.

“Come on, take me to your room… I know that it’s around here somewhere…”

The moment I got up, the alcohol hit me hard, I could barely see in front of me as everything danced in multiple colors. I tried not to sway but even my vision started failing and the last thing I remembered before everything went dark was the man carrying me out of the bar into his car, whispering:

“I got you, beautiful… you are safe now.”

***

The next morning, I woke up with a pounding headache and a determination to fight back.

Everything that had happened, replayed itself into my head. Nicholas had played me like a fool for two years. He made me believe he loved me and now, in the face of a problem, he didn’t even wait for me to die, before he changed sides.

He thought he could just play with my heart and my sister’s, then get away with it.

“Never—” As soon as the words left my lips, someone stirred beside me and I turned my eyes sharply to find the handsome man from the bar, sleeping.

The conversation we had hit my memories, and my hand went to my mouth as the horror of what I had done, washed over me. Then it occurred to me that I had proposed he slept with me.

Shit.

Quickly, I checked myself and saw that I was naked.

“Oh Tania…” I cried into my hands.

I had to get out of there before he woke up and decided to get attached. As quietly as possible, I got out of bed, grabbed my clothes, and put them on, and then I ran out of the door.

To my surprise, it was a very large hotel and I wondered how a manwhore like him could afford a room there. But that was none of my business, I noted the room number and quickly made my way to the reception.

“Good morning, do you have an automated teller machine around here where I can use my thumbprint?” I asked the female I found there.

Her brown eyes moved over me for three seconds, almost like she was trying to decide if I was a thief or not before she pointed to the right.

“It’s just down the corridor.”

I mumbled a thank you and went there. Thankfully, there was no queue. I took out enough money, returned it to the receptionist, and handed her an envelope.

“When the man in room 304 comes down, please hand this over to him for his service,” I made sure to add the last part in a low voice before passing her another envelope. “And this is for your help. Thank you.”

Her face instantly brightened, and I hoped that meant she would keep this little incident between us. Quickly, I turned away from her and got a taxi.

Now that I was done with that mishap, my emotions were aligned with Nicholas. I was going to deal with him. As the taxi got close to my office building, I called the police.

“Tania, where have you been? We’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Marcus cried out the second he saw me walk into the building. “You left your phone. I couldn’t reach you. What’s going on? The staff said that you were crying when you left. What is it?”

“Where is Nichols?” was the only thing, I could muster beyond my anger.

“But—” He wanted to say, and I threw him such a glare, that he knew better than to ignore my question. “He is in his office.”

My heart cracked but I knew it was going to be over soon. “When the police get here, bring them to his office,” I said as I started heading there.

I had barely gotten to his door when I heard the heavy steps of the policemen behind me. My heart swelled with hope as I pushed his door open. I flinched as I saw him with my sister again, but I controlled myself.

“As I thought, your shamelessness could never end…” I hissed as they watched me. “Prepare yourself, Nicholas, the police are here for you. Your game is over.”

As if on cue, the policemen came in that moment and turned their eyes to all three of us, but as they opened their mouths, my insides shattered.

“We are here to pick up Mrs. Tania White for her involvement in financial crime.”