CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

CLARK’S POV

The first thing I felt was anger.

Not the loud kind but the quiet one that sits in your chest and burns slowly.

Eva’s face kept replaying in my head as I walked out of the restaurant… the shock, the restraint, the disappointment.

She didn’t yell, she didn’t cry as she simply chose herself.

That hurt more than the water she poured on me and to be honest, I really didn't know what came over me.

Seeing her together with that sorry excuse of a man she called her boyfriend made me extremely jealous and furious.

I didn’t know where I was going when I stepped into the night.

My phone buzzed several times…Rachel, my assistant, even my driver but I ignored all of it.

Immediately Eva walked out of the restaurant, Rachel started her usual tantrums and I was definitely not in the mood for that and so I just got up and walked away.

I walked until my legs hurt even when I knew very well I had a car and then I saw a bar.

The sign flickered like it had lived a hard life, and something about that felt right.

Inside, the place smelled like alcohol and regret.

No one cared who I was and no one recognized me….it was perfect as I liked that.

“Whiskey.” I told the bartender.

He slid the glass toward me.

“Long night?” he asked with a smirk on his face.

“You could say that.”

“This is strong enough to make you forget." He said as he handed me a glass of whatever he mixed.

I drank it in one go.

The burn felt good.

Another glass followed and then another.

Soon, the noise around me blurred into a dull hum.

I laughed too loudly at a joke I didn’t even hear.

I told a stranger beside me that love ruins men and he nodded like he understood.

"Fuck women!!!!” I screamed out and I had no care in the world if anyone was staring at me.

At some point, I remember standing up or trying to.

The floor tilted and someone caught me.

Then a voice said my name.

“Clark?? Clark baby??? What is going on???"

After that, nothing.

I squinted my eyes and woke up with a headache so violent it felt like punishment.

The sheets beneath me were familiar …too familiar.

My bedroom.

I groaned and turned slowly, my mouth dry, my head heavy.

My suit from the night before was neatly folded on a chair.

That confused me.

I sat up.

“How did I get home?” I asked myself.

The more I tried remembering whatever happened, the more I felt intense pain in my head.

Before I could think further, the door opened.

My mother walked in, dressed sharply as always, her expression calm but alert.

“Well,” she said.

“You're awake and aren't you a ray of sunshine.”

I rubbed my face.

“Morning.”

She didn’t smile.

“Do you remember last night?”

“Bits.”

“You were brought home drunk at three in the morning,” she said evenly.

“By your driver!!!!”

So he found me.

“Driver?? I was damn sure I heard a lady's voice and it sounded so much like Eva's."

“It was Rachel!!! Thank goodness she found you!!"

“Mom, you are yelling."

“That’s not like you.” she continued.

“You don’t lose control.”

I sighed.

“People change.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“You embarrassed Rachel…..she told me everything.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that you did.” she replied.

“And you embarrassed yourself.”

Silence filled the room.

“You’ve been restless since that trip,” she added.

“Distracted, Irritable and annoying…what is really going on son??”

“I’m fine.”

She studied me closely.

“Is there another woman?? Is it Eva?? That girl I told you to stay away from??”

My heart skipped.

“No,” I said quickly.

She didn’t push further, but the disappointment in her eyes lingered.

“Get dressed.” she said finally.

“You have responsibilities.”

After she left, I stood under the shower longer than necessary, letting the water run over my face.

Eva.

I pushed the thought away.

Instead of going to work, I drove to Mark’s place.

He's been my best friend and confidant since we were kids.

He opened the door, took one look at me, and shook his head.

“You look like hell.”

“Good morning to you too.”

He handed me coffee and gestured for me to sit.

“Talk,” he said.

“Before you destroy yourself.”

So I did.

I told him everything. . Eva, the tension, Rachel, the dinner, the water, the kiss I shouldn’t have started.

When I finished, he leaned back and exhaled slowly.

“You’re confusing desire with destiny,” he said.

“That’s not fair.”

“It is,” he replied.

“Eva is a distraction…Rachel is your future so get your head straight.”

“I don’t love Rachel.”

“You don’t need to.” he said bluntly. “Love grows.”

I laughed bitterly.

“And what about Eva?”

“She’ll move on..” he said.

“She already has for fuck’s sake.”

That stung.

“You’re risking your reputation,” he continued.

“Your company, your family name.”

I stood and paced.

“So I just pretend none of this exists?”

“Yes,” he said.

“That’s adulthood.”

After a long silence, I stopped pacing.

“I’ll go ahead with the wedding to Rachel,” I said quietly.

Mark nodded.

“That’s the right decision.”

I wasn’t convinced but I needed to be.

At the office, I drowned myself in work.

The day was choked up with Meetings, Presentations and a lot of documents to sort.

I spoke about expansion strategies, approved budgets, and listened to proposals I barely processed.

Then my assistant knocked.

“Sir, Rachel is here.”

I sighed deeply as I prepared myself mentally for whatever tantrum she was coming again to throw.

She walked in smiling.

“Clark baby, I've got exciting news!!!! Eva is engaged,” she announced brightly. “So we’ll be planning weddings together.”

Something inside me snapped.

The pen in my hand cracked cleanly in two.