CHAPTER ONE
BETRAYAL
I slammed the door angrily, not bothering to hang the keys on its usual spot.
I could say, today was the worst day of my life!
First, I have another fight with Raymond, which is kind of becoming normal in our relationship.
Then, my boss springs a surprise assignment on me!
Now, I forgot the stupid shopping list.
I snatched the list from the fridge and was about to head back to the office when I heard something that made me stop on my track.
Uhmm?
I tilt my head to the side, listening. It's a kind of thumping noise, coming from upstairs.
Curiosity came over me as I headed up the stairs. I knew my boss wouldn't be happy if I didn't return on time, and that might make me work on weekend but I don't really care about that now. This will only take a minute or money but I will be back to the office before I know it.
The sound of the trumping gets louder as I walk cautiously up the stairs. I wonder if Raymond was trying to fix a broken board or something.
It comes from the bedroom and station myself in that position.
The door is ajar, and I pushed it gently, peering inside.
What I saw made me freeze in shock. I felt stupid as tears flowed down my face freely.
Raymond and my neighbor's daughter, Rose. She's nineteen.
They're together...on our bed. Neither of them noticed me.
For a couple of seconds, all I could feel was a numb shock. That is quickly followed by crippling sadness.
How could Raymond do this to me?
He knows things have been bad between us, but I thought he loved me.
I would have been lying if I said I hadn't thought of breaking the engagement, but I never would have guessed he would do something like this to me. If anyone held a knife to my throat, I would have sworn up and down that he would never betray me.
These thoughts are swiftly followed by a wave of anger.
He wants Rose. Fine, he can have her! I wipe off the tears from my face. Thinking of what I should do next.
Without thinking much, I stride into the room, letting the door bang loudly against the wall. There is an uproarious sound from the direction of the bed, but I ignore it. I pulled open the cupboard and started emptying it.
“Kenzy...” Raymond was behind me, naked!
Running footsteps tell me that Rose had left, but I didn't look around. I didn't answer Raymond either, I grabbed my suitcase from the back of the cupboard.
He tentatively put his hand on my shoulder.
“Don't you fucking dare touch me!!”
Raymond jerks back as if fire just burns his hands.He grabs his shorts and in a swift, he is wearing it.
“Kenzy....it isn't what you think .”
“Oh yeah? Because it seems to me like I just found you cheating on me with our neighbor's nineteen- year - old daughter!!”
I never meant it I swear…”
“For me to find out? I figured that much for myself, Raymond!! You knew I would be gone for hours - or at least, you thought I would.
"How long has this been going on?"
“It's just sex. It doesn't mean anything .”
I want to scream at him, but I focus my energies on packing my luggage.
“Please, Kenzy, I love you. Don't go.”
"If you loved me, you wouldn't have cheated on me, you bastard!”
I went into the bathroom and started throwing my stuff into my bag haphazardly. It doesn't take more than a few minutes to pack the essentials. I will get the rest of my stuff some other time. Right now, I can't stand to be with Raymond for another moment.
When I got to the door, he's standing in my way. “Move.”
“No, please, we have to talk about this.”He said.
“You think talking is fucking going to help?”You should talk to me before you started fucking around! Then it might have helped. Now, it is way too late. Move, or I'm calling the police. You can't force me to stay here. You have five seconds.”
“Please Kenzy....” He pleaded again.
“Five, four, three....”
Raymond moves. I didn't look back as I stormed out. I threw my suitcase into the car and started driving.
I'm two blocks away when I realized I didn't know where I was going.
I pulled over, trying to think. It was only now that I realized my face was wet. I try to stop the tears.
That jerk wasn't worth my tears.
I grab my phone and scroll through the most recent numbers. Hannah will let me stay with her. We've been best friends since high school. Nothing changed when we went to college, or when we finished studying and got a job.
She's a lawyer, something I'm immensely proud of.
I did well with my journalism degree, getting a job at one of the top news agencies in the city, but what I've accomplished is nothing compared to Hannah. She's well on her way to being the manager of her law firm, having worked there only a couple of years.
“Hey, Bestie! How are you?
“I....can I come and stay with you for a few days ?” My voice was thick and clouded with tears. My nose is blocked too, I must have sounded terrible.
“What's wrong?”
“Raymond cheated on me!” I blurted out almost immediately.
“Oh honey, I'm sorry. Of course, you can stay with me, for as long as you want.”
“Thanks, I'm on my way over.” I briefly considered asking Hannah to get the rest of the things but decided against it. The chances are about fifty-fifty that she’ll castrate Raymond if she sees him. A lawyer or no lawyer, that was the mean trouble for her.
~••••••••••••••••••••••~
Ten minutes later, Hannah was waiting for me in the driveway. As soon as I got down, she pulled me into a hug.
I'm eternally grateful that she doesn't say “I told you before but you wouldn't listen.”
She's been urging me to leave Raymond for months, but like a fool, I preserved, hoping we could fix things between us.
“Come on, I've already ordered pizza and ice cream.”
“You know me well,” I tell her with a watery smile.
Hannah leads me inside and I help me unpack into her spare room bedroom. “You want to soak in the Jacuzzi while we wait for pizza?”
That does sound inviting. “Sure. You have wine.
“Of course .”
I don't usually drink much, but today, I'm making an exception. It's only as I'm sinking into the tub next to Amanda when I remember.
“I'm supposed to go to work !”
CHAPTER TWOBack from nowhereI tried to get out of the bathtub but Hannah pinned me down.“Not today, you're not .” Hannah gets out of the tub, looking grim. “I'll tell your boss. Don't worry, he won't give me any trouble.”I couldn't help but chuckle. No one gives Hannah trouble and any ones who do seriously regret it.I mean who dares to get a top lawyer troubles?I don't think Roland will mind, though. He's not heartless, and I have a spotless record of him.Sure enough, a few minutes later, Hannah comes back, along with pizza and ice cream.“Roland said it's fine, he can get someone else to cover the story. He asked me to pass along his best wishes .”“Thanks.” I poured myself a glass of wine and took a sip. “I don't know what to do .”“For now, relax, drink and eat. Tomorrow, I suppose you'll be expected back at work. As I said, you can stay here as long as you need. There's no rush .”Her words are a comfort, but they don't fill the aching hole that Raymond had left inside of me
CHAPTER THREEHe's hiding somethingI rolled my eyes at Dylan' words.“I have time!" I snapped.“I can't go into it all. A lot has changed for me.“Come on, Dylan. You're just suddenly back from nowhere. You're seriously not going to tell me why?“I....maybe another time.”As much as my curiosity was telling me to push, Dylan obviously doesn't want to talk about this.“For me too. Raymond, I never thought he would do that to me.”“He'll regret it .” Dylan's glare sends a shiver through me. He looked dangerous. I never thought of him this way before, but I do now.“I don't know if he will. Things weren't great between us. He may just be glad it's over.”Dylan opens his mouth to say something but closes it again. “Maybe you're right. It's his loss.”We sat in comfortable silence for a while. The waiter brings our pancakes, which are especially delicious to my hungover body.“I have some news.”Dylan hesitates, seemingly nervous. “ I've decided to move back here.”“Really?”That's wonderful
CHAPTER FOUROne more question“Thank you, ma'am. If you think of anything else, please call me.”“I will.” I take the card he's holding out.Please don't let it be Hannah or Dylan.The last thing I need is either of them being prosecuted for vandalism.Hannah was waiting inside, “What's going on?”She closed the door, pecking out of the window to make sure the officers are gone.“They said someone trashed Raymond's house. Not that he doesn't deserve it, but who will do that.“It wasn't you, then?”“No, I've been here all morning, nursing a killer hangover. Not that I wouldn't have done it, but guess someone else beat me to it.”“I think you know the people that did it, but I didn't say anything. I didn't want to implicate Hannah. Unfortunately, she knows me too well.“You know something. I can see it in your face. Spill it out.”“I don't know anything for sure ”“So you suspect, then, I'm all ears”I suppose she won't leave me alone until I tell her.“I think….it might be Dylan ”Han
CHAPTER FIVEBack off !!!The clicking of the laptop keys hurt my brain and my eyes. Let's not mention my ears, the sound is so irritating I wanna break the laptop but I still try to keep calm.God, why does it hurt so much?Because you drunk half of the bar, Kenzy, you idiot.I'm never drinking again.I try to focus on what I'm doing, rather than my pounding headache. The memories of Jake keep intruding. What the fuck was I even thinking? I was so close to having sex with a stranger. All in the name he looked like Dylan!And why was I even thinking about Dylan that way?He took it alright when I freaked just as he was about to get my pants down. I went back to the bar shortly afterward.It's not Jake, exactly, that's bothering me.It's the fact that I was only attracted to him because he looks like Dylan. I've gotten Dylan friendships back, and the least I could do is to ruin it with my inappropriate longings.I force myself to look back at my laptop screen. I'm looking into Daravit
CHAPTER SIX Tell me the truth My gaze are still fixed on Dylan, he looks away, I know he is trying to pretend as though what I said hadn't had any effect on him. There is a bit of silence between us and for some reasons, I'm afraid of what his answer was going to be like. Now, he knows am following him and I wouldn't give up anything soon. Dylan stiffens.“ Where did you hear that name ?” I almost laughed at his questions, “I'm an investigative journalist, Dylan. You know me, I can never leave a mystery unsolved.” I chuckled but he didn't seem to take it lightly. “So.... I guess you went digging. From our messages I guess.” He spoke precisely and I'm glad he has a current memory. “That's right!” I smirked. Dylan closed his eyes. He huffed and opens his mouth but shuts it almost immediately. His eyes are still shut and I wonder if he's praying for patience. Was he angry I was different into his personal life? The thought of that makes me want to whimper but I stood my ground an
CHAPTER SEVENDinner of one“Come on, Kenzy, we're going to be late!”“I will be out in a moment.”I give up on choosing between dresses, grabbing the nearest one, and pulling it on. I was going to do something with my hair, but I procrastinated too long and it's too late.Hannah is waiting impatiently. "I don't want to be late, we'll make a bad impression.”“You do realize that we're not engaged, right? You are just filling in for Raymond because I can't have them alone. A good impression isn't necessarily. Besides, my family knows you.” I explained over the room.“I know, but I still don't want to give them any more reason to berate you than they have already.”That's true enough. My family is going to be a nightmare.Hannah drives, and all too soon, we're pulling at my mom's driveway. Marcus's car is already here. There are cars parked all along the sides of the streets. My mom always favored big gatherings.She opened the door, her eyes going from me to Hannah. Her mouth pop open
CHAPTER EIGHTA Horrible MistakeShit! She must have heard me screaming Dylan name. I try to come up with a lie but it's not coming forward.“I'm fine. Nothing to worry about!”Apparently, Hannah thinks from my tone that there is something to worry about because she opens the door. I'm all too aware of how flushed and disheveled I must look.“Ever heard of privacy?”“Ever heard a roommate shouting their friend's name like he's saving her from a burning building? Because I just did .”Crap!No way am I willing to confess to Hannah what I just did.“I think you are hearing things. It's probably just that wind.”Hannah's eyes narrow in suspicion.I knew it. She doesn't believe me. Well, she tells Dylan?If she does, I can kiss the dream of remaining friends with him goodbye.“You don't have to lie to him, you know. So you have the hots for Dylan. Fine. It's not like I'm going to tell him”I'm torn between shame and relief. Of course, I don't need to lie to Hannah. I know that. “Promise m
CHAPTER NINEIt's Over!"What did you say?""Nothing." I don't turn around to face Raymond hoping that he'll be overpowered by need and ignore my slip. "Keep going."Come on."Dylan, as in your friend, Dylan? You've left me for that loser?"No! Dylan and I aren't together. It's you I need." I turn around and try to kiss Raymond, but he gets up off the couch.You're going to have to try harder than that if you want me, Kenzy.""Fuck you, then.Without another word, I get up, pull my clothes on and storm off. He's not making me beg again. Never again.I drive back to Hannah's at a reckless speed. I know I should slow down, but I'm so horny I feel like I'm going to explode.It takes all my willpower to keep my hands on the steering wheel and not let one of them slide down to my clit.That doesn't stop me from pressing my legs together.Fuck, I need to come.I rush inside, running to my room and slamming the door behind me.I throw myself onto my bed, yanking my pants down. I reach blindl