03- Katya is cheated on

KATYA

My phone fell out of my hand, hitting the ground in a dull thud.

My head spun as I tried to grasp what I had just watched.

Daniel had cheated on me. My stomach twisted violently, the video going around on a loop in my mind.

I staggered back, my legs hitting the edge of the sofa as I sank onto it.

“Okay… okay…” I muttered to myself, dragging a shaky hand through my hair. “There has to be… something…”

An explanation or a mistake…Anything.

My eyes snapped to the phone on the floor.

I lunged for it, grabbing it with unsteady hands and immediately dialing his number.

It rang three times.

“Pick up…” I whispered, my voice rising with each second. “Daniel, pick up the fucking phone.”

He did not and it went to voice mail.

I hung up immediately and dialed again.

Still nothing.

A hollow laugh escaped me. The thought that he was probably fucking someone else right at this very moment rose the bile in my throat.

I tossed the phone onto the bed this time and pushed myself up, my movements jerky and restless.

My eyes landed on the whiskey.

I grabbed the bottle, not even bothering with a glass this time, and took a long, burning swig straight from it.

It scorched down my throat, making my eyes water.

I took another swallow and then another until the tightness in my chest loosened.

Then I felt anger.

My grip tightened around the bottle.

Why did he send it to me?, I thought. What was he trying to prove?

Why would he insert himself into my life like some… some twisted messenger?

“Who does that?” I demanded aloud, even though I was alone. “Who goes around ruining people’s lives like it is nothing?”

That is what this was.

I stopped pacing, a strong thought suddenly forming in my mind.

Nikolai or whatever he calls himself is trying to ruin my life.

I am not letting this go.

I was still dressed so it was perfect. I was going to confront him.

I grabbed my phone, my clutch, and headed for the door.

…

The taxi ride back felt shorter or maybe I was just too wired to notice time passing.

My leg bounced impatiently as we drove, my mind racing faster than the car itself.

I could feel the anger burning in my chest as I thought about all the ways I was going to confront him.

The car pulled up in front of The Ninth Circle, the building looming just as dark and imposing as before.

Only this time… It fucking pissed me off.

I stepped out before the car had fully stopped, heels clicking sharply against the pavement as I walked straight toward the entrance.

The man at the door was the one who had taken my number and he recognized me immediately.

“Miss,” he said, stepping slightly in front of me. “What are you…?”

I did not answer him as I pushed past him, walking inside.

I saw the man I was looking for perched on a chair with women flanking every side of him. They hovered around him like he was the center of gravity, laughing, touching, vying for his attention.

“Hey…” The guard tried to stop me but I was already walking across the room to Nikolai who was watching me approach, those same intense green eyes locking on me.

The moment I reached him… I slapped him, hard.

The sound cracked through the air and everything around us had stilled.

Gasps erupted from the women around him.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement.

There were men in black stepping out from the shadows with guns strapped to their waist. I hadn’t even noticed them before.

My heart stuttered.

Maybe I did not think this one through.

Nikolai waved a hand and the men retreated back to the shadows.

Slowly, he turned his head back to me, his eyes glittering with amusement.

What did he always find so funny?

“How dare you?” I snapped, my voice shaking despite my best efforts. “How dare you send that to me?”

“I thought you should know what your boyfriend was doing in my club while you were waiting like a good little girl for him to come out of the bathroom” 

His tone was infuriatingly calm.

“You thought I should know?” I echoed, disbelief lacing every word. “Really?”

My chest heaved.

“That is the only reason you sent me a video of my boyfriend…” my voice cracked, but I pushed through it, “… getting his cock sucked by another woman on my anniversary?”

I watched the surprise enter his eyes at the mention of anniversary.

Ah.

So he didn’t know.

It made it a whole lot worse because it would have been much better to think he was trying to sabotage the day for us.

“I am sorry about that,” he said, and for once, the amusement was gone. “I had no idea.”

I scoffed.

My eyes were not brimming with tears and I was fighting like hell to keep them back.

“I don’t need your apology,” I muttered.

He studied me for a moment then he gestured sharply.

“Everyone out.”

One of the women, clearly offended, stepped forward.

“Nikolai…”

“Get out, Lily.”

His tone snapped like a whip.

She flinched…actually flinched then shot me a glare before turning and leaving with the others.

Within seconds, the space cleared and it was just us.

Nikolai reached for me suddenly, pulling me firmly into a seat.

“Don’t touch me,” I snapped, jerking slightly.

“You looked like you were about to fall,” he said simply.

I opened my mouth to argue but closed it… he wasn’t entirely wrong. I had felt the whole floor swimming before my eyes.

He leaned forward so we were so close, our faces barely inches apart now.

“How many glasses?” he asked.

“What?”

“How many glasses have you had?”

I blinked at him, my brain lagged slightly.

“I…That is none of your business.”

“Many, then,” he said calmly.

My frown deepened.

“How do you know that?”

His lips curved slightly.

“Because, Kotyonok… you would not be smiling at me like that if you were not drunk.”

I stilled.

Smiling?

I was…

Oh.

I was.

But I could not stop.

Everything felt… off-balance… I felt off balance and I suddenly wanted to do something wild.

I leaned forward some more until there was barely any space between us.

I could feel his breath against my face.

“Are you going to keep talking…” I murmured, my lips dangerously close to his, “…or are you going to kiss me?”

His eyes flickered…searching my face, like he was trying to decide something.

My heart pounded harder.

“I do no kiss drunk girls… I like my women sober when I touch them, Kotyonok”