CHAPTER 2- A FALL FROM GRACE

               Eyes wide in shock, Amira stared at the grotesque scene unfolding before her. Bianca whimpered and buried her face in the pillow like her shame mattered now, but Nathan? That son of a bitch didn’t stop. He looked at Amira while still fucking her best friend, annoyed rather than shocked.

               “NATHAN!” Amira choked out, her voice cracking as she clutched painfully at her purse.

                That was when he finally pulled out of Bianca and stood like she was the one interrupting his evening, leaving his shaft dangling like the pendulum on Big Ben.

              “What the fuck are you doing here, Amira?” he snapped, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist.

               “I—what? You told me to come home,” she whispered, mascara already mixing with her tears.

                He scoffed. “Too bad you got the message early. Now leave.”

             She blinked, taking a shaky step back as Bianca smirked in triumph. “Leave?” Her heart cracked open. How blind had she been? These two had been having an affair right under her nose. “What did I ever do to you two to betray me like this?!”

               “You’re a mess, Amira. Always have been,” Nathan answered without blinking. “You pushed me away with your goddamn walls of celibacy.” His tone sharpened. “You never let me touch you. You wanted a lover but gave me nothing in return. I’m a man, goddamn it!”

               Her jaw dropped. “So you slept with my best friend? And on my birthday too? You animal!” she yelled, her chest squeezing from the pain.

                He snorted, unfazed. “At least Bianca knows how to have fun. She doesn’t treat intimacy like a business transaction. That’s what a man needs. That’s… how you keep your man. And apparently, you’re too much of a prude to ever be reliable.”

              Before she realized what she was doing, she landed a swift slap across his cheek, but it did nothing to soothe the inferno of rage consuming her. “Fuck you!” she breathed.

                He stepped forward, towering furiously over her. “No. Fuck you, Amira. You think you’re some noble warrior exposing evil? You’re a ticking bomb and everyone around you pays the price. Your parents, your brother and now me.”

                His words pierced her heart like a serrated knife twisting deeper and deeper. The next thing she knew, he had grabbed her wrist and was dragging her toward the front door.

             “You don’t live here anymore,” he growled, yanking her across the threshold. “Go cry in the rain like the tragic little movie star you think you are.”

               “Nathan—!”

                He shoved her out so hard her elbow cracked against the stair rail. Her knee slammed into concrete, and the door slammed behind her.

               Amira sat there in the storm, soaked and shaking, raging her heart out in animalistic sobs. The memories came crashing in—her brother’s death at the hands of a murderer, her career ended by injustice, and now, the last person she thought she could count on had thrown her out like she was nothing.

               Nathan hadn’t just been a boyfriend. He had been family. The one person who knew the hell she’d clawed her way out of. The clubs, the pole—dancing under the lecherous gaze of perverted men just to keep the lights on.

               She couldn’t go back to that life. No. Not again. Gritting her teeth, Amira stood up, gathering the shattered pieces of her dignity and making a silent vow to start over.

                That night, back in her apartment, she curled into the sheets, doing her best to cling to the last thread of her sanity.

                The next morning, she woke up a mess. Out of habit, her eyes flicked toward her phone again and again. Only to realize what she was doing and scold herself.

               It had been Nathan’s routine to bombard her with morning texts. Now, the silence was louder than anything.

               Just days ago, the court had ruled Montez De Vitalio innocent of the crimes she accused him of. Including her brother’s murder. Even though she’d brought concrete evidence. But what did truth matter to a man that powerful?

              He had destroyed her career overnight to teach her a lesson. And now, thanks to him, she was back on the streets, hunting for a job. Days passed and rejections stacked up until one day, someone finally said yes.

               She’d been accepted at The Gilded Swan, Belmare’s most famous hotel as a room attendant. What a fall from grace. But at least it wasn’t the club.

              “Good morning, ma’am,” Amira greeted politely as she stepped into the manager’s office.

             “Please have a seat,” said a slender woman, her red lipstick smeared across her filler-plumped lips as she gestured to the chair opposite her desk.

             Amira froze. “B—Bianca?”

            “Oh, how the mighty have fallen.” Bianca smirked, her glee obvious.

            “To think you were my friend…” Amira’s hands curled into fists at her sides, fury burning through her veins.

            “Do you want this job or not?” Bianca raised an eyebrow, arms crossed.

             Swallowing her pride like acid, Amira to her seat. “That’s what I thought. Miss Amira Santis?” Bianca’s voice shifted into professional mode, like she had never known her.

             “Yes, ma’am. That’s me.” Amira forced a tight smile, praying for the meeting to end. Why so much protocol for a job that didn’t even earn a quarter of her old salary as a journalist?

             “Your job is simple. Even a six-year-old could do it,” Bianca said in a sour tone. “Ensure the rooms are cleaned and arranged after every checkout. Or sometimes, if the guest leaves for a walk or dines at the in-house restaurant.”

               She continued coldly, “You’re expected to have their bed made and sheets changed before they return.”

              Outwardly, Amira gave her brightest, fakest smile. “I understand, ma’am.”

              “You’re hired. You can begin working immediately—”

             The door creaked open and Bianca’s eyes lit up. “Oh baby you’re here!” She exclaimed in glee.

             Amira turned and immediately, her heart dropped into her stomach.

             Oh, shit. It was him. Nathan.