AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Again, I expect him to laugh with me, but his brows furrow and he continues getting dressed.
“I’ll walk you out.”
I call a cab on our way down to the bar and I’m glad no one’s around apart from a prospect I’ve not met. Manik has hold of my hand and once we step outside, he swings me around until I’m chest to chest with him.
“I hate it when you leave.” He pouts.
Laughing, I say, “You act like you’re never going to see me again.”
“It feels like it. You’re so beautiful in the mornings, you know that?”
Rolling my eyes, I say, “I’m already sleeping with you, you don’t have to lie.”
“Do I need to throw you over my shoulder and take you back up to my room and show you how much I’m not lying?”
“Vinny!” a woman shrieks and I turn to see where she’s coming from.
“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Manik groans and tightens his hand on the back of my neck.
A blonde-haired, much younger than me, woman is climbing out of her car. Even from here, she’s strikingly beautiful and jealousy hits me like a bolt that she knows Manik well enough to call him by his given name.
“Who is she?” I ask him.
“Your taxi just pulled up,” he tells me instead.
The woman storms toward us and I take a step away from Manik, bracing myself for anything to happen.
“Who is she?” I ask again.
And again, I’m ignored. I inhale deeply, failing to find my calm place.
“I’ll tell you who I am,” the woman shrieks, having heard me. “I’m this dickhead’s girlfriend.”
Oh no.
No.
No.
No.
This is not happening. Nausea rolls through me. This is nothing like last time, but the betrayal sure fucking hurts the same, if not worse because I knew better than to fall for his sentiments. I can’t afford to let it consume me again. I asked him if he had someone back home and he said he didn’t. In hindsight, I should’ve gone home with Louis and Evie when they took the kids home. I should never have stayed and approached Manik, all because he was the best-looking guy in the bar, and I wanted a fuck for the first time in a decade.
“Shaya, what the fuck are you doing here?” Manik snaps at her.
Shaya. What a stupid fucking name. She steps in my face and points her finger at me. My first instinct is to grab it and snap it backward. But in my second and longer-lasting moment of thought, I keep my hands at my side and keep them fisted, locked in place.
Manik moves in between us and pushes her away from me. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
I inhale so deeply, I forget to exhale for a long minute. One thing that screams out to me is he hasn’t denied it. I need to get out of here. I’m not going to prison for anyone. I make it to the gates before Manik grabs my arm and spins me around to face him.
“Don’t go. Let me explain.”
“No need. You don’t owe me anything.”
Fuck, we only met a week ago. It really shouldn’t hurt this much. I frown down at his fingers curled around my arm and say, “Seriously, you need to let me go. If I stay, I’ll end up back in prison.”
He reluctantly lets me go and I’m in the taxi before he has the chance to speak to me again. I sink into the back seat and let the first tear fall. Men are fucking pigs, and I don’t know why I thought they’d be any different after ten years.
