Chapter 3 Failed To Hide

• Morning sunlight spilled through the curtains, dragging me back to a room that still smelled faintly of bourbon.
• My head throbbed, a reminder of too much alcohol and a heartbreak that hadn't quite died.
• I reached out, expecting to feel Zayne’s warm skin, but the sheets beside me were cold.
• “Huh..? Zayne?”
• A note sat on the nightstand next to a tray of gourmet breakfast.
• ‘Had to leave. Sorry.’
• Short. Professional. Cold.
• Just like the man himself.
• I couldn't help but laugh bitterly. What did I expect? A confession of love? It was a one-night stand, a strategic move in his war against Edric.
• I pushed my hair behind, took a shower in his place, and since I was starving, I ate everything.
• After being done, I grabbed my things, called a cab and left his place.
• Rose and I were sharing an apartment after disowning my family — yes, I disowned them.
• Rose was absent. Must be enjoying her night too.
• Smirking coldly, I decided to rest for the time being before the top-class gathering.
• By 8:00 PM, I was standing in front of the mirror, Rose watching me with a mix of awe and concern.
• "You look like you are going to a funeral, Kristine," She smirked, wearing her shoes.
• "I am," I smirked back, applying a coat of blood-red lipstick. "Edric’s."
• Feeling bold tonight, I had chosen a dress that was practically a weapon, floor-length black lace, backless, with a slit that climbed dangerously high.
• All eyes must be latched on me. I was the CEO of Scents’n’Secrets, topnotch fragrances after all.
• A woman of perfume and power.
• I wouldn't let them see me bleed.
• Tonight, people would consider my attention a privilege.
• “My, my, aren’t you becoming bolder?”
• “One should be when they have to stand alone for their baby.” I replied derisively, picking my purse, holding my head high and leaving for the party.
• The second I entered, I could feel the eyes following me, studying me thoroughly.
• But, then– A familiar warmth settled at my back before a large hand traced the length of my spine.
• Him.
• The heat of it burned, sending a traitorous shiver straight to my core.
• "Avoiding me already, Sweetheart?" Zayne’s low, tempting tone reached my ears.
• "I am not avoiding you, Mr. Nightwood,” I didn't turn around. I couldn't. “I am just... sober now."
• "Sober is boring,"
• His hand tightening slightly on my waist, pulling me back until my heels were locked between his.
• "And you weren't boring last night."
• “Stop.” I shifted to face him with my steps retreating. “It was only for one night. You left a note, remember?”
• “I left breakfast too,” he corrected, closing our distance with his gaze darkening.
• “And a warning, remember?”
• “By the way, good shot.” He pointed at Edric’s bandaged head.
• I rolled my eyes, folding my arms at my chest, indulging in the sight where he was making up excuses.
• “I think I should go now.”
• Before I could snap back, the sound of a fork hitting a crystal glass rang out. The room went silent.
• “Everyone, on this auspicious day, I have an important announcement to make.”
• On the raised platform, Edric stood. He looked pathetic with the bandage wrapped around his head, but he was smiling.
• Genuinely smiling.
• He looked at the crowd, his eyes landed on me. For a second, he paused. Then, his gaze shifted to the woman beside him.
• Amie.
• He began to take out a velvet ring box.
• My eyes widened.
• Edric's hand trembled, giving a smile he might have practiced in the mirror for months.
• The smile I once believed was for me.
• “Amie, you are everything I could possibly desire. My love. My happiness.”
• He shifted to one knee.
• “Will you do me the honor of showing you how much I love you for the rest of our lives?”
• My breath caught.
• That ring…
• It was everything I had once imagined on my own finger.
• Every dream I had built with him now belonged to someone else.
• The pain I was trying to hide through makeup, through my one-night stand, through any possible means shattered.
• “Will you marry me?”
• “Oh my God, Edric! Yes! Yes!”
• I stood miserably. Lips quivering, soul being torn apart, strength draining.
• For how long was he taking advantage of me?
• For how long was this going on behind my back?
• My steps stumbled, colliding with Zayne's who was behind me all this time.
• He didn't offer a shoulder to cry on.
• Instead, he gripped my shoulders firmly, forcing me to stand straight.
• “Don't you dare cry.”
• He leaned down, his eyes boring into mine, cold and calculating.
• “Look at them, Miss Iglesias.” he hissed.
• “They think they won. Are you going to let them keep thinking that?”
• “He's marrying her, Mr. Nightwood.” My broken tone came, “He is giving her the life he promised me.”
• “Take it back.” Zayne said, a wicked smirk playing on his lips, pressing it against my ear.
• "Or better yet, take everything he owns. Including his dignity."
• I looked at Edric, who was now kissing Amie, back to the heartless businessman, Zayne Nightwood — the man who hated Edric more than anyone.
• “Enough, Mr. Nightwood.”
• I walked away with tears glistening in my eyes, cursing both of them.
• Once again, I lost.
• Back again in my apartment, I wiped the lipstick roughly from my lips,
• the black dress shredded on the floor.
• I wasn't crying anymore. But, each time my eyes fell on the pregnancy test, my chest began to burn.
• “She took my baby’s future, Rose…”
• "Kristine, stop," Rose pleaded, trying to grab my hands.
• “We can just leave. Move away. Start over."
• "No!" I snapped.
• “I won’t run away. Not this time,”
• “They… they can’t do this to me… Not to my baby…”
• “Hold yourself, Kristine.”
• “How can I?!” A scream unintentionally left me. “That woman is living my dream! She stole my future!”
• Sniffling, I pulled away a little, wiping my teary eyes roughly, smearing the immaculate eye look, curling my hands in a fist.
• “They will pay, Rose.”
• Holding my hands to help me calm down, she asked softly, “But, what are you going to do?”
• I rested a trembling hand over my stomach.
• Once… I had dreamed of giving this child a loving family.
• That dream had died.
• Now only one remained.
• Revenge.
• With my eyes blinded by revenge, I picked the pregnancy papers with my hands trembling.
• No one could ever know the truth.
• These papers couldn't exist anymore.
• “What the hell are you doing, Kristine?!”
• I looked Rose straight in the eye.
• “I'm going to destroy them.”