YOU ARE A LOSER

Sapphire looked like a lost soul as she bolted the door to her hotel room that she was lucky to find.

Using her back to close the door, she began crouching down, more hot tears streaming down her cheeks. At this point, heavy rain couldn't beat the amount of tears that poured out. It could even fill a bucket.

Her thoughts were foggy. Her mind was in a haze and the only thing she was trying to understand was 'why?' Even when the answer glared boldly at her.

Wilson was right. Everything he said was true. Who was she to think she could find love? Not every man would be patient enough to wait for her, especially not one who has been taking hopeless therapy for years. Eight years.

She dragged her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her knees, buried her face between them as the sound of her painful broken sobs filled the room.

--

[MORNING]

The soft knock on the door shook against Sapphire's back. Slowly, she lifted her lids and raised her head. She stared at the dried tears for a while before standing.

The knock came again.

Her palm went fast to her cheek, wiping every dried tear.

"Riley?" She pressed her ear to the door.

"Mrs. DeVille, I got the stuff you asked for."

Sapphire unlocked the door and stepped away from it.

Riley walked in, holding a shopping bag. "Here," she stretched out her hand. "I had to call Ma'am Theresa's designer to get it."

Sapphire nodded, collecting the clothes. "Mum isn't aware?"

"I strictly told the designer to keep it a secret."

Sapphire didn't reply again as she tossed the bag on the bed while avoiding Riley's eyes. Without looking at the face, she saw the thousands of questions her eyes carried.

"Mrs. DeVille—"

"Sapphire," Sapphire cuts her off strictly. "My name is Sapphire Smith."

Riley lowered her head, confused. "But—"

"You are the company's secretary," Sapphire's voice was sharp. "I'd prefer you focus on your work."

"I'm sorry, Mrs...I mean, Sapphire."

Sapphire waved her hand dismissively. Immediately Riley left, she exhaled and walked towards the bathroom.

Is this how she's going to shut down everybody who calls her Wilson's wife? The whole of Las Vegas witnessed the marriage and—

--

[WILSON'S HOUSE]

A car honked loudly outside the building. The window went down to reveal Alyssa sitting prettily with her dark oversized shades, nodding her head to the music playing. A silly teasing smirk hung on her lips as she kept honking the car's horn.

Her friendship with Sapphire was so deep that they recognized each other's presence by something else like a car horn, or how they knocked.

The smirk disappeared from her lips as she removed her shades. Her eyes stayed on the house door.

No sign of Sapphire.

Reducing the volume of the music, she came out of the car. "Strange."

Sapphire was supposed to be up by now or—

The gate opened widely behind her.

She faced the gate as she watched a taxi drive up.

Inside the taxi, Sapphire's eyes were on Alyssa. No doubt, she had come to celebrate her successful wedding night with her.

She paid off the driver before alighting from the car.

Alyssa's brow narrowed. "Sapp..." She glanced at the taxi. "You came in a taxi?"

Sapphire fiddled with the phone in her palm once before closing half the distance between them.

"Lys, you're here? So early."

"That doesn't answer my question. The hell were you doing in a taxi?" She faced their house. "And this...it was supposed to be your wedding night. You are just coming home, that means you didn't sleep at home...and Wilson? Where is he?"

"Gosh, Lys." Sapphire rolled her eyes, giving her a broad, relaxing smile. "You've gotta be kidding me. Coming here early in the morning. What if we were still in bed?"

"And I'd have apologized for disturbing you two, but this—you came back with a taxi despite being the wife of the richest man in the city."

Sapphire smiled and held Alyssa's shoulder. "To fill you in, we couldn't do a thing."

Alyssa's face went down. "Your numbness got in the way?"

"You know how annoying it gets when a guy makes an attempt."

"And Wilson? Hope he understood?"

"Of course." She dragged the 'course'. "We visited my therapist this early morning. He had insisted on dropping me home before running for the office but you know how the company can be. He kept getting countless calls and I asked him to leave that I'd take a taxi."

Alyssa ran her finger across Sapphire's forehead. "And this? How did you get the mark?"

Sapphire froze at first, recalling the way she had banged her head on the table. She had stopped at an early morning side store to get a concealer. Since she was cashless, she had to opt for the lowest brand. It partially hid the redness, but when it came to her, Alyssa's eyes are sharp as a snake.

"Oh that," she rubbed the spot. "While trying to cross the road and get into the taxi, I missed my steps."

"Sapph—"

"You worry sick about me. No migraine—I'm fine. If it were that serious, trust me, I'd have visited the hospital."

"You rarely look after yourself, Sapph."

Sapphire poked her cheek. "That's why I have you. Trust me when I say, it ain't something serious."

"Guys, my wild fantasies couldn't work out, but hey, the good news is...you got to spend time with Wilson."

"That's more than good news. I'm so happy right now."

Alyssa finally smiled and pulled her into a light hug. "I love seeing you smile like this."

"Same—"

Alyssa's phone cuts Sapphire's statement off.

Alyssa checked her phone and heaved a long sigh.

"Wish I could stay a bit longer but..."

"It's totally fine. We can catch up some other day."

Alyssa held her car door handle. "Right! And make sure you bring a lotta marriage gist when coming. Need to know a lot before deciding if I wanna settle down!"

"Trust me on that!" Sapphire shouted back as her car drove out of the compound.

Immediately the gate closed, the fake disappeared completely from her lips, leaving nothing but her eyes turning glossy.

Guilt crept in, clawing deep in her chest. Alyssa and she shared a lot together, and for the first time in her life, she lied to her best friend all because she was trying to protect the family's reputation.

She dabbed her thumb below her eyelids, going into the house.

Taking the stairs, she went to her room. Soon, she returned downstairs, holding her purse. A few steps to the door, the door swung open, and the least person she wanted to see came in. Wilson.

"You came back?" He leaned beside the door, that mocking smile growing each time he remembered the look on her face.

Sapphire's nail dug into her purse, her expression blank. Tracing her gaze down his hand, they landed on the bite mark she had given him last night. A little satisfaction met her chest, but his words echoed in her head again.

A robot.

She made to walk past him, but he stepped in her way and blocked the door.

"You aren't leaving this house today."

Sapphire raised her brow questioningly. "Who are you to decide that?"

"You won't step out of here until you go on your knees and apologize for the scene you created last night."

Sapphire sucked in a breath. "I'm not in the mood for this shit."

"Yet you came back to the house," he shook his head. "Pathetic little thing." He straightened himself up. "The guards informed me about Alyssa. She visited to see how her best friend's marriage was going."

He paused, that evil taunting smirk, kissing his face like a drunkard who stuck the right card. "I bet your pathetic self would lie to her. You can't tell her how the man you've loved your whole life was riding—"

His phone rang out. Seeing the caller, he smiled. "It's about time." His gaze went back to Sapphire. "My father-in-law—your father."

Sapphire stood at the door side, staring at his back while he answered the call.

Her dad wasn't present at her wedding, and the next morning, he couldn't call to congratulate her. The first thing he did was to call her husband—

The word felt so bitter in her head.

Wilson ended the call with a large smile. "It's proven, no one values you in this world. My father-in-law was absent from the wedding. Now, he's at my office. The deal will be finalized." He dusted off an invisible dust from his shoulder. "I'm leaving for the office," his voice went lower and venomous.

"You didn't win at the hotel. This hell in this marriage is only beginning. And the best thing, you can't leave the marriage even if you wanted to."