Chapter 3.

Chapter 3

Arya’s POV

I woke up slowly, my eyelids heavy as I yawned and rubbed at my eyes with one finger before I could finally open it. I was disoriented for a few seconds, and everything felt warm and unreal.

I tried to get up, but I realised I couldn't move – an arm was wrapped tightly around my waist, holding me in place. It was so tight that even moving slightly was impossible.

My heart skipped a beat as I struggled to understand what was going on. Was I dreaming? Did Derek come back from his business trip last night?

I finally managed to loosen his hold on me and I turned around, only to see a stranger. The man beside me lay half tangled in the sheets, his hair messy and his bare chest rising and falling steadily as he slept. The moment I saw his face, all the memories from last night crashed into me all at once.

Walking in on Derek and Cassidy… the club, bumping into a stranger and then….

“Oh no. What did I do?” I muttered, burying my head into my hands in shame.

He shifted in his sleep, pulling me closer and I held my breath, wondering if he'd woken up, but after a few seconds he continued breathing deeply. His breath brushed against my cheeks, and he looked so peaceful as he slept, looking nothing like the sexy man who had wrecked my body last night.

My stomach dipped as I remembered the pleasures of last night, and I found my fingers tracing the line of his eyebrow, then hovering near his lips as I stared at it, slightly mesmerized.

I wanted him again. I lowered my head, tempted to kiss him again, but then he stirred, and panic ran through me.

I gently peeled his arm from my waist, moving slowly as I slipped out of the bed, trying to ignore the way my legs were trembling.

Well… what the hell do I do? I had nothing to wear, and my lingerie was lying on the floor in pieces and completely useless. Besides, even if it was still intact, wearing it around during the day wasn't really an option right now unless I wanted to be arrested for public indecency or admitted in the mental ward.

I looked around the room, looking for anything at all I could wear, and my eyes landed on the male escort's shirt draped over the chair. I grabbed it without thinking and slipped it on, fumbling with the buttons with clumsy fingers.

The shirt was huge on me, and long enough it could be a mini dress, decent enough to be worn in public at least. I buried my face in the collar, taking in a lungful of his rich, masculine scent. His perfume smelled expensive, and the quality… It was even better than Derek's shirts. How could someone like this afford this kind of shirt?

Taking my mind off it, I slid my feet into the slippers provided by the room. It was thin and almost useless, but it was better than walking around with my bare feet. Before leaving, I glanced at the bed, guilty about my theft, then I neatly placed all the money I'd gotten at the bar on the bed.

I needed the money, but a deal was a deal.

I slipped out of the room before he could wake up, desperate to put the hot stranger and the best sex of my life behind me.

I found my way out of the nightclub, walking aimlessly down the street as I tried to figure out what I'm going to do with my life. I may not know what my next step is, but one thing was sure: I wasn’t going back to Derek. No matter what happened, I couldn’t forgive or forget his betrayal.

The blaring of a sharp horn brought me out of my thoughts and jolted me back to reality, and I froze as a car screeched to a stop just inches from me.

“Hey, are you trying to kill yourself?” The driver snapped as the door flung open, and a woman with cropped brown hair and in a corporate black suit and Louboutin heels stepped out, frowning at me.

“I—I’m sorry,” I said quickly, backing away.

The frown on her face shifted into a confused look as she stared at me.

“Wait… Arya?”

How does she know me? I blinked in confusion before I finally recognised her.

“Oh my God. Janette?” I gasped.

She barely had time to react before I squealed with excitement, wrapping my arms tightly around her.

“What happened to you?” she asked when we finally pulled apart. “Are you okay?” she looked very concerned as she looked me up and down, a frown marring her face as she stared at my outfit.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, trying to blink back tears.

“Let’s not do this on the street. My law firm is very close, so we can go there and talk privately.” she said softly.

“Thank you,” I said. “I’d like that.”

“Come on, let’s go,” she said, motioning me in as she opened the passenger door.

A few minutes later, we pulled up to a sleek, expensive looking building with her name at the top.

“Janette,” I gasped. “You own this?”

“Yes, but we can talk about that later. Now it is about you.” She said, pulling me to her office and shutting the door behind us.

Looking around, I was filled with sadness even as I was happy for my friend with everything she's accomplished.

“I shouldn’t have gotten married,” I said quietly, biting down on my lower lip to hold back my tears. “I should’ve focused on my career like you.”

“No Arya, don't say that. Derek loves you. If I had met a man who loved me as much back then, I might have gotten married to him as well. Whatever he did, it can't dispute the fact that he's obsessed with you.”

“Yeah, obsessed enough to fuck my sister on our anniversary on our matrimonial bed.” I laughed bitterly.

“He did what?” her face was drained of color.

“And,” I added, my voice breaking, “the child we adopted two years ago, he’s their child. They made me adopt the child of my husband and sister, and I took care of him and loved him like he was mine.”

Janette swore under her breath, then she pulled me into a hug as I finally broke down.

“I'm so sorry, Arya. I can't believe those two could have done this to you. You're the sweetest and most selfless person I’ve ever known, you don't deserve this.”

“I can't forgive them, but I don't know what to do. I want a divorce, but Derek is in charge of all the finances and I can't afford a lawyer or—”

“You don't need to worry about a lawyer, I'll make sure everything is done, and you don't have to worry about paying me either.” Janette interrupted me.

“But—“

“I'm not taking no for an answer. You helped me a lot in college, you were always there for me whenever I needed you. You used all your savings to pay for my medical bills and I never got to pay you back. So you'd better let me do this one thing for you.”

“He made me cut off all contact with my friends… I thought he was just protecting me.” I whispered.

“Don't worry about him anymore. I have your back and you'll have all the support you need.” She reassured me.

In just a few hours, Janette had the divorce papers ready, and she brought it back to me, with a backpack in her hand as well.

“Here, I had my assistant get some clothes and a cellphone for you. There's also some cash in there as well.”

“I can’t take this,” I protested weakly, trying to give the bag back to her.

“I insist. I would have said you should come stay with me, but I know you're too stubborn to accept that. So accept this much from me, please.”

“Thank you so much, Janette. Thank you,”

“Where would you go?” She asked.

“My stepmother’s, I guess,” I replied with a shrug.

“Well, I can’t force you to stay with me, but in case you want to pick up the pieces of your life back, you can start with going back to your former racing team. Something tells me that they would take you back in a heartbeat.” She winked at me.

“I haven’t worked on a race car in years. It's impossible for me to go back now.”

“You’re brilliant, Arya. Engineering is who you are, you can't forget who you were before you met him.”

I looked down at the oversized shirt I was wearing and laughed softly. Janette was right. The biggest thing I could do for myself – and the biggest fuck you to Derek – would be to get back the same job he made me quit.

“Where can I change? Can't exactly go job hunting this way, can I?” I said with a smirk.