Chapter 2

• Ayla POV
• I had only just moved in with Marcus, a few weeks ago. I had been sharing a flat with a uni friend but she was struggling to find a job so she made the decision to move back home where she could work wherever she pleased and I just couldn’t afford the rent on my own. I had considered putting up an ad for a new roommate but I had heard too many horror stories so quickly resigned myself to looking for a smaller, more affordable place. Marcus came with me to look at a few flats, but none of them were suitable, and that's when he rode in like a knight in shining armour and offered to let me stay with him whilst I took my time to find something more in my price range and not full of rats or mould. His flat was large and upscale so I didn’t feel like I got in his way too much and it was nice getting to spend more quality time with him. Marcus was in marketing, he worked with all the big companies and got paid handsomely for it. He was unlike anyone else I had ever dated before, at first he came across as brash and obnoxious but he had to be in his line of work, the few friends I had here all distanced themselves from me when I started dating him but they didn’t see what I saw, nobody saw the softer side of him, that was reserved for me only, with me he was sweet and thoughtful, his tough attitude was left behind and he would treat me like a queen. I was happy in our little bubble, and I could tell he was as well.
• I start the car back up just as the heavens decide to open up, falling on the roof of my car and bouncing back off. I pull up outside the block of flats, grab my things off the passenger seat and quickly run inside to avoid the rain. Once inside I wipe the rain away from my eyes and start the climb up to the fourth floor. We do have a lift in the building but I hate being closed in, especially in a metal box that could plummet to the earth at any given moment, plus the stairs are a good workout for me. My steps echo in the empty stairwell, as I make my way up, I can’t help thinking of what happened with Tamara only 30 minutes ago. I glanced at my watch, Marcus would still be at work so I decided on having a long hot bubble bath with a bottle of wine, drowning my sorrows until he came back. Tomorrow I will plan my next step. Today I was going to wallow. I came to the city to make it big. I was going to get a good job, buy a big house, and have lots of friends, but my life was the opposite. I had lost the job I loved, couldn’t even find a flat, never mind a house and all those friends I thought I would have were just a dream. I mean of course I have friends, but they all lived back home, and they barely visited me but I was fine with that. I knew being an adult meant change, but I still spoke to them on the phone and texted now and then. I did miss them terribly, especially my best friend Nicola and in moments like this I wished with everything I had she was close by, she always seemed to make the best of a bad situation.
• I push the front door open and freeze as I see a flash of colour run past me.
• “Marcus?” I ask, confused.
• “Just a second!” He shouts back.
• He sounded flustered and out of breath. The sound of him banging into something vibrated through the flat. I dropped my bag onto the floor and hung my coat up on the hooks by the front door and walked into the living room. I rolled my neck, feeling the strain from today settling in my bones. The living room was a mess, the sofa cushions were strewn all over the floor. I walked over to pick them up, spotting a black high-heeled shoe under the couch. My hand began to shake as I pulled it out and inspected the shoe. It was a black open-toe Louboutin. I turned it over in my hand looking at the signature red bottom. I had only ever dreamed of owning a pair of shoes like this, so I know that it isn’t one of mine that I’ve misplaced under the couch.