“She is my friend, my best friend, Luke,” Ellen shouted at him.
“I love her, Ellen; I know it’s hard to accept that right now,” Luke told her.
“Accept that you betrayed me and kept stringing me along like a fool for the past one year?” She asked him as tears pooled in her eyes.
“You were dating my best friend for a year, and then you broke up with me two weeks ago,” she shouted at him.
“What were you expecting that I wouldn’t know?” Ellen said, pointing at his chest.
“We were going to tell you; I knew you’d react this way, and that's why I didn’t tell you,” Luke said in his defense.
“I’ll do whatever you want, okay, anything to help you adjust to this,” he told her.
“Could this night get any funny?” Ellen said, tears rolling down her face as she laughed at his statement.
“All you care about is your reputation and what people think about you. I should have realized what a bloody liar you were all this time,” she said as she pressed the elevator button.
Ellen, don’t go doing anything funny; you just need to go home right now,” he said to her.
Looking at him one last time as Ellen stepped into the elevator, she said, “Everything is already upside down; what else could go wrong?” as the doors slid closed.
She got to the lobby of the hotel and headed to the doors, wiping tears from her eyes. Halting at the door, she said to herself “Well, what could go wrong”.
Throwing caution to the wind, she headed in the direction of the club, which was located to the far right of the hotel lobby.
“I might as well get drunk and forget all this happened,” she told herself.
Entering the club, the loud sound of music and the gyrating bodies on the dance floor were a welcome distraction for her. She walked to the bar with one purpose in mind: to get drunk and wasted.
A male bartender walked to where she was sitting and asked, “What would you like to have?”
Tilting her head to the right with a domineering smile on her face, she said, “Give me your strongest drink, and keep it coming.”
"Coming right up," the bartender replied, a quirky smile on his face as he turned to do her bidding.
There were a couple of people sitting at the bar, while others were sitting at the private tables at the back of the club. You could hardly make out the faces of anyone around you except you were up close.
Ellen kept drinking and barely left the bar as she focused on gulping down as many glasses as she could.
After her sixth glass, she stood up and joined the dance floor. She danced, raising her hands and just letting herself go to the music.
I’m going to show them who the boss is; they think they can just go free after doing this, but of course not. Ellen thought to herself as she danced with anyone who cared to join her.
“Why the hell am I still thinking about them? I need to get more drinks,” Ellen said to herself as she staggered to the bar.
“More drinks, please,” she said to the bar tender. She had another glass, and after her third glass, she could barely stand.
Ellen tried to stand but couldn’t; grabbing her bag, she held onto the bar and tried to raise herself. She slipped, and as she fell, a strong arm grabbed her by the waist and held her against a hard chest.
"oh…boy… Wheew, that was close!” Ellen giggled as she raised her eye to see who the knight in shining armor was.
She stared into the deepest blue eyes she had ever seen.
“Oh, man, you look so good,” Ellen drawled, smiling at the handsome face before her.
“I’ll escort you to the door,” the handsome man said.
“Oh, I could follow you anywhere, handsome,” she said, giggling like a schoolgirl.
Covering her mouth with one hand, she continued giggling. Why can’t I stop giggling? she wondered.
The handsome man gave her purse to someone behind him as he assisted her out of the club.
He helped her to the door, where a bodyguard would help her get into a cab.
“Thank you!” Ellen giggled again at the stranger who had helped her as he left her and walked towards the hotel reception desk.
Ellen," she heard her name. Turning towards the voice, she realized it was Luke.
“What are you still doing here?” Luke continued to say:
They had just finished with their party and were heading out of the hotel too.
Hey...yy,” Ellen drawled.
“I don’t need your permission to be here." Ellen said to them, looking at them with disdain.
“You’re drunk, Ellen,” Luke said, stepping forward to take her.
“Don’t you dare touch me,” Ellen told him.
“I’m waiting for my new boyfriend,” she said to them.
“Don’t be silly, Ellen; we both know you don’t have one.” Emily scoffed at her statement.
Oh, really, watch me,” Ellen replied, and she walked towards the handsome stranger who had helped her earlier. She had no idea how she was able to walk without falling on her face, but she was most grateful that the handsome man was still at the reception desk.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going? Ellen!” Luke shouted as he followed her into the hotel lobby, with Emily right behind him.
Tapping him on the shoulder, Ellen said, trying to keep a fake smile in place, “Help me one last time, will you?”
Without waiting for a response, she moved closer to him and kissed him!
To convince the audience behind her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kept kissing him till she heard Emily say “Let's go, Luke”.
A few heartbeats later, she stepped away from him and realized that her audience had left.
“That wasn’t so bad after all,” Ellen said, turning back to face the handsome stranger in front of her. The events of the last few minutes had sobered her up a bit. The handsome stranger looked stunned as he stared at her. His face was hardened in anger, and stepping towards her, he raised up his right hand.
Leo looked back to see Felix walk into the office with a smug look on his face. "Felix! Where have you been?" Leo asked before looking to see Ellen pointing at Felix with a look of panic on her face again. "Why are you pointing at Felix? Ellen, what is going on? Are you sure this isn't just an act?" Leo asked, stepping away from her. "It's him; he is behind it, Leo," Ellen said, speaking up. Leo shook his head in amazement and replied, "If this is some sort of joke, would you please stop it?" "I am telling you the damn truth; would you for once believe me?" Ellen shouted at him. Leo paused for a minute, then turned to look at Felix as he asked, "What the hell is she saying?" Felix shrugged and said, "I don't know Leo; I think she needs to go to the hospital; it's probably a panic due to the pregnancy." Leo turned to Ellen, concern etched on his face this time around as he said, "Ellen, I think we should get you to the hospital." Ellen screamed, beating Leo on the chest as she
Downstairs, Felix navigated through the crowd as he tried to avoid mingling. Everyone was having a light conversation while they all waited for the host."Felix? Over here," Mr. Phillips called from the crowd.Felix waved and smiled, hoping he would be able to slip away without having to go over, but Mr. Phillips had other plans."Felix, what a lovely event you have here. I must say that these past few days have made the Haven hotel the talk of the town," Mr. Phillips commented."I'm glad the event turned out better than we imagined," Felix replied, trying to keep his smile in place."I'm sure Leo is glad to have you on this; truly, two good heads are better than one," Mr. Phillips added."Felix, have you really been around? It's almost like you don't stay in New York," Viva said as she joined them with a glass of wine."I am Viva, but you only have eyes for one person; I guess that's why you haven't noticed me," Felix replied with a charming grin.Every other person in the group chuc
Ellen could feel her inside running faster than her physical legs could carry her."I should go home; yes, that's what I should do." Ellen murmured and walked out of the restaurant.She couldn't look back, for fear of seeing Felix come out of the restroom already.Ellen hailed a cab and gave the driver the address of her house."Alright, ma'am," the cab driver said, and he drove back onto the road.It was then that Ellen had the courage to look back, and she saw Felix walking out of the restaurant."This could just be a misunderstanding, right? I mean, what if I'm just mistaken? What if it's pregnancy hormones?" Ellen murmured.“I think I should have stayed to ask him,” Ellen muttered, adding, “It felt so real.”"I should tell Leo right; he has every right to know; he needs to know," Ellen whispered to herself with determination.She looked at her phone and realized it was too late to head to the hotel. She picked up her phone and dialed Leo's number. It rang for eternity, and nobody
Suddenly, fear gripped Ellen, her heart skipping as she looked back at the person behind her."Did I really scare you?" Felix asked, a broad grin on his face as he enjoyed the look on Ellen's face."What the hell was that about?" Ellen exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest as she calmed herself."I didn't mean to scare you; I just wanted to pull a prank on you," Felix explained as he laughed at her."That was not funny, Felix," Ellen told him, feigning anger."I know, but the look on your face was cute," Felix replied.Ellen turned and continued walking. "I thought you were too busy to come here," she said.Felix hurried after her and said, "Yeah, I had some things to take care of, but now I'm here and I'm taking you for dinner.Ellen paused, stopping in her tracks. "Dinner? All of a sudden?""Yes, you're done for the day, right? Let's go. I'll treat you to a nice meal," Felix said, grabbing Ellen's arm as he started walking towards his car.*******In Leo's office, he was going over
"What do you want, Sandra?" Ellen said, looking at Sandra, who showed up from nowhere to stand in front of her."You've grown some guts, Ellen; I thought you were banned from coming to this hotel." Sandra glared, stepping closer to her."Sandra, is there something specific you need or want to tell me?" Ellen asked calmly."You think I would have something important to talk to you about?" Sandra mocked."Whatever this is, I really don't have the time for it," Ellen informed her, stepping backward to create space between them.Sandra laughed mockingly, "What do you have if not time? I mean, with that pregnancy and all, I doubt if anyone is going to look your way.""Do you feel better from being mean?" Ellen asked.Sandra's eyes narrowed as she asked, "What did you just say?"Ellen struggled to remain calm. She looked at Sandra and smiled. "It's fine; we can't all have it perfect."Sandra's face went rigid. "Leo will never come back to you; I'll make sure of it," she hissed.Ellen looked
Leo brushed a hand through his hair and said, "Grandma, Ellen is...""Ellen!" Mrs. Grater exclaimed before Leo could finish his statement.Ellen? Where? Leo wondered as he looked towards the door, but there she was, in flesh."Uhm, hi, Mrs. Warner," Ellen said, stuttering as she tried to put on a smile for Mrs. Warner."How are you doing? Leo has been busy with school, you know; he has not come home. Why didn't you bring him home?" Mrs. Warner asked Ellen.Ellen didn't know how to explain it, so instead, she replied, "I'll make sure he comes from now on."That put a smile on Mrs. Warner's face as she pulled Ellen back to the lounge with her."Leo, see, it is Ellen." Mrs. Warner announced as if Leo was blind and hadn't seen her."Yes, grandma, it's Ellen," Leo replied, gesturing with his hand towards her.As Mrs. Warner pulled Ellen down beside her, they heard a commotion at the door."No, you can't do that now; it's supposed to be later today," Alex said as he walked through the door