LOVE AFTER BETRAYAL

Inside a beautiful restaurant mostly used by couples, the dark-haired girl brushed her hair back as she looked at her wristwatch, She sighed looking around with a face full of worry.

It was 8:30 am already and her boyfriend hadn’t shown up, he asked them to meet at the restaurant as he had something very important to say to her but it’s been almost two hours and he hadn’t shown up yet.

“Ma’am please if you aren’t ordering anything, we would like to give the table to other customers please,” a waitress said to the dark-haired girl who raised her head in disappointment.

“Please just a…

“Miss I’m sorry but it’s almost two hours and our tables are occupied,” the waitress said for Hazel to nod. She understands as she’s also a waitress.

After she stood up, she walked out of the restaurant to the busy city, She dialed a contact named Steven with a heart emoji, and after multiple rings, the phone Bimbs.

Hazel put her hands inside her coat as she tried hard not to cry because she didn’t know why Steven ghosted her out like this but she deserved to know if there was an emergency right.

She cleaned her eyes as the night was getting cold so she called a taxi.

She wanted to go home but she didn’t trust herself to sleep well after Steven ghosted her out, so she decided to go spend the night at her best friend's apartment. Hazel carried her phone and Dialed a contact save as BFF with a heart emoji, After multiple rings the call entered the voice mail.

“Hey Katherine, I’m coming to your apartment, I was supposed to have dinner with Steven but he didn’t show up, Right now I’m so hurt because I deserve an explanation. I will grab our favorite wine while coming alright, I need a hug right now before I break down” she said and sent the voice mail.

Hazel kept trying not to cry.

After grabbing a bottle of red wine, Hazel walked to the street where her friend's apartment was located.

At the beautiful apartment, Hazel didn’t bother to knock as she had a spare key, It’s the best friend's something as they both own each other's spare key.

She breathed out the cold as she immediately walked into the apartment closing the door.

The room was dark so she put on the light and the mess in the room made Hazel frown.

Her best friend's pajamas and a man's clothes were on the floor straight upstairs making her chuckle.

“This bitch, I don’t blame her, the weather is cold,” she said as she remembered she was just ghosted.

She was angry at Steven for not keeping to his promise so she removed her coat going to carry a glass cup to drink some wine.

Hazel sat on the cushion as it was just a room and its sitting room apartment, she would have to wait for whatever was going on to end.

Hazel decided to keep trying Steven's number when she heard the phone ring inside the sitting room making her frown.

Immediately Hazel sat up as she looked around for the ringing phone.

The beige color pants on the floor now looked familiar to her, She bent down and picked them up to see Steven's phone ringing in the pocket of the pants.

“ Kate” she called as She gently walked upstairs to the bedroom only for her to hear moans, Hazel frowned because her heart was already beating fast so fast that She decided to open the door. Her heart and brain were saying the same thing but she didn’t want to believe it.

Immediately she opened the door wide, and the most traumatic moment of her life came into view.

Her boyfriend and her best friend having an intimate moment as Katherine moaned while in a doggy style for Steven who was hitting her hard. “ Steve,” she called not able to control her tears and trembling hands.

The couple didn’t stop as they had not noticed who was now inside the room in tears watching them. “STEVEN!!” Hazel cried out this time louder making the two intertwined body to stop and freeze.

“ Ka… Katherine” Hazel doesn’t want to believe her eyes as they both immediately cover their nakedness.

Katherine had a sly smile on her face immediately she saw Hazel but immediately changed it back to a face full of shame.

Hazel turned as she wanted to run away, she wanted to leave the presence of her nightmare.

“Babe wait” Steven immediately stopped her as he ran after her holding her hand and making Hazel turn. “ BETRAYAL!!” She screamed out dragging her hands away and running out of the apartment. Steven covered his face as he didn’t expect to break the news about him and Katherine to her like this.

“Baby you were on your way to say it to her when we were caught up in the moment so don’t feel bad. She should know this way than telling her and she will be trying not to believe what is true.” Katherine said standing up as she walked towards Steven.

“But she deserves an explanation, Kat….

Katherine cut Steven's lips not giving him a chance to speak.

“No explanation, my love,” she said as she pushed him back to the bed, she was so excited that Steven didn’t run after Hazel.

Inside the cold night, Hazel didn’t know she had run miles away from her best friend's apartment, her heart was beating fast, her legs were weak, and her eyes were crying out while her brain kept replaying the image she just saw again and again making her stop near a bar that was around the area, Hazel rest her back at the wall crying.

She couldn’t believe her best friend since high school and her lover from college would do such a thing to her.

The cold night is no longer cold for Hazel after running so fast, she wanted to book an Uber ride when she checked her hand back and noticed she left her phone In Katherine's apartment.

She cleaned her eyes as everything was still like a movie to her.

Hazel walks into the bar as she needs to drink away tonight and wake up tomorrow so she can have the hangover and not remember anything and maybe everything will seem normal.

After Hazel entered the bar, a black Benz stopped at the bar front, The man sitting at the back folded his wrist as he was full of anger, he opened the door and stepped out making his assistant quickly come out from the driver's side.

“Boss, this bar is full with….

“Shut up!” The tall man with broad shoulders said to his assistant who swallowed hard.

“Leave, I want to be alone,” he said for his assistant to hesitate as he’s scared whenever his boss is this angry, his sickness does kick in and it makes him vulnerable.

“Boss your father asked I stay with you.

“I said leave Simon, don’t make me repeat myself” Alex coldly said and walked into the local bar.

His assistant sighed he wondered why he wanted to drink in a local bar full of drunk men and thieves, he sighed as he turned around and entered the car before he zoomed off.

Alex stood as he watched the crowd in the bar full of drunk men and prostitutes, he wanted a place where he could sit and drink away his anger after what his father did at their family Gala tonight.

He hates it every time his father acts like his mother never existed. Alex walked toward the bar stand and sat down as he ordered a whisky.

Hazel sniffed the elegant perfume that passed her by and sat on the next seat by her side, She turned and looked at the person making her hiss.

“They always look handsome” she whispers sipping from the drink in her front making Alex look at her.

He didn’t say anything as he took the whiskey he ordered in a go.

“Another one,” he said pushing the cup away.

The presence of the handsome stranger got Hazel upset because Steven was handsome, so handsome that she fell for him the first day they met and now, she found out she was living a fantasy full of lies.

“You all are just so handsome and stupid, men are betrayals. They….

“ your man is a betrayal” Alex corrected, he didn’t know why he said those words but he hates to see heartbroken girls classify all men as scum.

Hazel raised her head and her blue eyes stared at Alex in anger, frustration, and heartbreak.

She sat up and dropped her bills before she drunkenly walked away.

Alex didn’t look at her instead he kept drinking his whiskey when his head began to play the image of the night. The image of his father announcing a marriage between him and his stepmother's daughter.

After his father got married to his mother's best friend a few months after she died in a hit-and-run accident with a truck driver, his life changed. Since he was ten till date, he has not felt loved by his father as he only does what his stepmother asked for.

Alex folded his fist as the image of his mother's death began to play in his head.

He was just ten when his mother was trying to cross over to where he was after buying the ice cream he insisted he wanted from the shop across the park they went to and a drunk truck driver hit her killing her instantly, Her yellow dress was full with blood, her legs were shaking as he stood there in shock watching his mother breathe her last breath while people around try to help.

Alex's hands began to tremble as his post-traumatic stress disorder began to kick in.

“Shit” he whisper as he try to control himself but the image began to play more and more and the guilt he feels began to kick in, whispers of voices from his mind telling him it was all his fault began to echo in his head making him hold his head.

The bartender frowns seeing Alex trembling.

“Sir, are you okay?” He asked Alex to immediately stand up and walk out of the bar to a corner as he tried to calm down when he heard a girl's voice.

“Don’t come closer” Hazel said nervously to the three men surrounding her.

“Common pretty, I know you will test better mmm, your blue eyes are so captivating,” one of the drunken men said giggling as scared Hazel tried to run away making them block her way.

“Just give us to taste and freely, you will walk away,” another said sniffing Hazel's hair who tried to move away.

“And if she doesn’t?” A very cold voice asked making the environment more chilly than it was.

The three men turned to Alex who stood behind them, he was trying hard to hide his trembling body and aching head.

“Mister, just walk away except you want to taste her too then you are well….

Alex didn’t let them finish he hit the man on his throat and he let him choke on his words. The others were scared and immediately they ran away.

Hazel was surprised at how fast the stranger was.

“T-thank you,” she said but Alex didn’t say anything as he turned to walk away, his head began to spin this time he fell on his kneel holding his head.

“ I was just a child” he whispered holding his head and making Hazel rush towards him.

“Are you ok?” She asked to see him breaking out in a cold sweat as his body began to tremble.

“Goodness,” she said as she tried to help him stand up.

“Sir please what’s your home address?” She asked but got no response she sighed stopped a taxi and asked for a nearby motel because she knew very well not to take a stranger to her little apartment.

The taxi man helped Hazel put Alex in his car as he drove them to a nearby motel.

After paying for the taxi, Hazel booked a room and took Alex into it.

She doesn’t know what’s wrong with the stranger but she knows he’s not in good condition.

“Goodness,” she whispered after she dropped the trembling Alex on the bed of the motel.

“Goodness, why is he this heavy,” she said rubbing her neck and sighing.

She looked at Alex who kept trembling making Hazel immediately strip him off his clothes, she stopped after seeing a big drooping black rose tattoo on his back making her frown. She knows very well what the tattoo means making her wonder what has happened in his life.

Immediately Hazel continued to strip him off his clothes as he’s already was looking pale and his body was so cold making her think it was cold so she immediately stripped herself naked to help him get warm.

On top of the small-sized bed, Hazel hugged Alex rubbing his hair gently as she tried to calm him down.

“Shhhh, it’s ok” She whispered.

Since his mother's death, Alex had never felt this warmness whenever his sickness kicked in, he felt the fragile hand rubbing his hair gently making his body start relaxing but he was still feeling headaches so he hugged Hazel tight making her smile as she felt her warmness was working.

She sighed as she kept rubbing his hair when she decided to stop and let him sleep because his body had stopped trembling.

Gently Hazel tries to leave Alex's embrace when he holds her tight whispering.

“Don’t go please” he whispered weakly for Hazel to stop as she stared at his lashes that had water on them.

“Is he crying?” She asked herself frowning……