The Night That Shouldn't Exist

Bella Pov

"You look really beautiful tonight," Damian said as we walked into the club.

I smiled and held his hand tighter because it had been so long since he said nice things to me. He was wearing a black suit and he looked like the man I married instead of the stressed out person he'd been lately.

"Thank you," I said. "You look good too."

The club was loud and dark and full of people dancing and drinking. I recognized some people from Damian's company and they waved at us. We walked to the VIP section that Damian had reserved for the party.

"This is nice," I said as I sat down on the couch. "We haven't gone out like this in forever."

"I know," Damian said and he sat next to me and put his arm around me. "I'm sorry I've been so busy. But things are getting better now."

"I can tell," I said. "You seem happier."

"I am," he said and he kissed my head. "And a lot of that is because of my new secretary. She's been amazing."

"I'm glad you found good help," I said even though something about how he said it made my stomach feel weird.

"Speaking of," Damian said and he pointed across the room. "There she is. Karen come meet my wife."

I turned and saw a blonde girl in a tight red dress walking toward us and my breath got stuck in my throat because she was really pretty. She had the kind of body that made other girls feel bad and when she smiled at Damian I saw something in her eyes that I didn't like.

"You must be Bella," Karen said and she held out her hand. "I'm Karen. I've heard so much about you."

"Nice to meet you," I said and I shook her hand even though I didn't want to. When she sat down next to Damian on the couch I noticed she was sitting really close to him.

"Damian talks about you all the time," Karen said. "He's always showing me pictures from your shoots."

"Really?" I asked and I looked at Damian.

"Of course," he said. "I'm proud of you baby."

The waitress came and we ordered drinks. Soon the table had bottles of champagne and vodka and whiskey everywhere. People kept coming over to congratulate Damian and he kept thanking Karen for her hard work and every time he did she would touch his arm or laugh and I felt more and more uncomfortable.

"I need another drink," I said after finishing my second glass of champagne.

"I'll get it," Karen said before Damian could move. "What do you want?"

"Champagne is fine," I said.

"Coming right up," she said and she stood and walked to the bar and I watched Damian watch her walk away.

"She seems nice," I said carefully.

"She's the best," Damian said and he was still looking at where she went. "I don't know what I would do without her."

The way he said it made me want to cry but I pushed the feeling down. Damian loved me, he married me. He wouldn't look at another girl like that.

Karen came back with my drink and then more people showed up and soon everyone was dancing and drinking and celebrating. Someone made the music louder and Damian pulled me up to dance.

"Dance with me," he said and he put his hands on my waist.

I let him hold me and we moved to the music and for a second everything felt normal again. He smelled like cologne and whiskey and he was looking at me the way he used to and I thought maybe tonight would fix things between us.

But then Karen showed up next to us.

"Mind if I join?" she asked and she was talking to Damian not me.

"Oh," I said and I started to move away but Damian held my waist.

"Don't be silly," he said. "We can all dance together."

And that's when it started. The three of us dancing with the music really loud and the lights flashing and the alcohol making everything feel fuzzy. Karen pressed herself against Damian's back and I was in front of him and I felt his hands get tighter on my hips.

"This is fun," Karen said in my ear and her breath smelled like vodka.

"Yeah," I said even though I didn't know if it was fun or something else.

More drinks came and I lost count of how many I had. The room started spinning and I felt Damian's hands on me and Karen's hands on him and everything got blurry until I couldn't tell what was happening.

"I think I need to sit down," I said but my words came out weird.

"Come on," Damian said and he took me back to the couch with Karen following.

I sat down and closed my eyes because everything was spinning too much. I heard Damian and Karen talking but I couldn't understand what they were saying. Then I felt lips on my neck and I opened my eyes and Damian was kissing me and I kissed him back because I missed him so much.

But then I felt other hands on me and I realized Karen was there too and my brain tried to understand what was happening but the alcohol made everything slow and confusing.

"Is this okay?" Damian whispered in my ear.

I didn't know if it was okay but I didn't know how to say no so I just nodded and let it happen because maybe this was normal and maybe this was what people did at parties and maybe I was just being weird.

The rest of the night was a blur. I remember touching and kissing and moving but I couldn't put the pieces together. At some point we left the club. At some point we were in a car. At some point we were in a hotel room.

When I woke up the next morning my head hurt really bad and my mouth was dry and I was in a bed I didn't know. Damian was next to me sleeping and there were clothes all over the floor and I felt sick.

I got out of bed and found my dress and put it on with shaky hands. I looked around and tried to remember but everything was foggy.

Then I saw it.

A red dress crumpled on the floor next to Damian's suit.

Karen's dress.

My hands started shaking as I walked to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and saw a hickey on my neck that I didn't remember getting. Lipstick smeared across my face that wasn't my shade.

I heard movement in the bedroom and walked back out. Damian was awake now sitting up in bed.

"Morning," he said and he wouldn't look at me.

"Where's Karen?" I asked.

"She left early," he said.

"Damian what did we do last night?" I asked and my voice was shaking.

He was quiet for a long time. Then he looked at me and I saw something in his eyes that scared me.

"Something we can never take back," he said.