DAMIEN'S POV The call from Officer Morris vibrated through me like an electric shock. Adrian? The police? It didn’t compute. My mind raced, grasping at straws, each one more absurd than the last.Had Adrian gotten into a fight? Impossible. He was always the pacifist, the voice of reason. But then the memory of that night, the acrid taste of betrayal, resurfaced. Maybe I didn't know him at all anymore. Maybe he'd finally snapped.Or had he turned himself in? Confessed to... what, exactly? To drugging me? To taking advantage of me? The thought was a tangled mess of anger and confusion. Why would he choose to confess at a police station, of all places?I violently shoved the final, darkest thought away, burying it deep. No. Adrian was fine. He had to be fine.A bitter promise formed on my lips. If Adrian had landed himself in trouble, I’d let him stew for a while. Let him taste the consequences of his actions. The memory of his betrayal still burned, a raw, open wound. But despite every
DAMIEN'S POVOne week had passed. The Monday morning sun did little to warm the icy dread that had settled in my gut. Sleep had been a luxury I couldn’t afford, my mind a relentless battlefield of regret and anger. The silence of the penthouse, once a sanctuary, now felt like a suffocating tomb.I missed him. God, I missed him.Missing the sound of Adrian’s infuriatingly optimistic humming, the comforting weight of his presence, even the faint, lingering scent of his expensive cologne. I was adrift in this vast space, a ship without a rudder. Was this what he felt like when I was buried in work, lost in the labyrinth of my clients’ desires and anxieties? Was this the echo of my own neglect?Then, a fresh wave of anger would crash over me. No. I couldn't let myself soften. What he did was unforgivable. The betrayal, the violation… it clawed at my sanity. He’d shattered something fundamental between us, something I wasn’t sure could ever be pieced back together. Where was he even stayin
DAMIEN'S POV The remaining hours dissolved into a hazy blur. One moment I was reeling from Adrian's betrayal, the next I was perched on a barstool, the cheap wood digging uncomfortably into my tailbone. Each swallow of whiskey was a desperate attempt to drown the ache, the raw, gaping hole he left behind. The burn felt almost… good. A tangible pain, a counterpoint to the emotional torment ripping me apart.Drink after drink, the world around me warped and swayed. The thumping music became a dull drone, the chatter a meaningless cacophony. I just wanted oblivion. Anything to stop the relentless replay of his face, his words, his absence.Suddenly, a tap on my shoulder. I flinched, nearly spilling my drink. A woman. She leaned in close, the scent of familiar perfume and something else, something musky and primal, filling my nostrils. I couldn't make out her features in the dim light, just a shadowy outline, a suggestion of curves.She began to rub against me, a deliberate, provocative
ADRIAN'S POVMy eyes widened, disbelief flooding my senses. The river, a moment ago a tranquil ribbon of silver reflecting the afternoon sun, was now a churning monster. A wall of brown water, thick with debris... logs, branches, even jagged rocks – surged towards me with terrifying speed."Fuck". The word escaped my lips as I scrambled back on the rock, trying to gauge the distance to the bank. Just moments ago, I was enjoying the solitude, the quiet gurgle of the water, a rare pocket of peace. Now, survival was the only thing that mattered. I jumped, desperate to reach the riverside, the momentum sending my phone tumbling from my pocket and disappearing into the muddy depths.I was almost there, fingers outstretched, when the leading edge of the surge slammed into me."No, no, no, not this time again…" the words were a desperate plea, a mantra against the rising tide of panic. Instantly, the memory assaulted me: the chaotic scene of the rafting trip, the screams, the feeling of bein
ADRIAN'S POVThe city blurred past in a crimson haze. Each streetlight bled into the next, mirroring the throbbing ache in my palm. The leather of the steering wheel was stiff and slick, stained with my own blood. I didn’t care. Not about the pain, not about the mess, not about anything.Damien. The name was a raw, open wound. His last words, sharp and cold, echoed in my skull. “I don’t want to see you again.”My chest ached, a hollow cavity where my heart used to be. Tears? I’d cried them all out hours ago, a pathetic, gasping wreck slumped against his door. Now, I was just numb, a shell hurtling down the highway.It was Mom’s 21st death anniversary. Irony, cruel and biting, was my only companion. The day I should be remembering her, honoring her, was consumed by the gaping hole Damien left.I didn't know where I was going, just that I had to keep moving. My subconscious, or maybe just a morbid impulse, had taken over, guiding me north. To the province, to that river. The river where
ADRIAN'S POVThe words hung in the air, thick and toxic. "Damien, I really didn't do it," I choked out, the plea raw and desperate. My voice cracked with each syllable, a symphony of anguish echoing in the sterile silence of the penthouse. "I never planned anything. Please believe me. What happened last night… I know you don't remember it… but we both agreed to it. At least, I thought we did." My voice cracked, failing me as the tears streamed faster.Damien stood before me, a statue carved from ice. He hadn't said a word since waking up, hadn't acknowledged me beyond a glare that could freeze hell over. Now, his silence broke, erupting in a wave of accusations. His eyes, usually warm and inviting, were now glacial, reflecting a profound sense of betrayal that pierced me deeper than any blade. He shook his head, a slow, deliberate motion that amplified the chasm forming between us. "Did you ever see me sleep with a man before?" he spat, the words laced with disgust. "I never did any