Chapter 10

Richard’s POV

"Oh, Richard! Don't! Don't stop!"

"I definitely won't," I growled as I drilled into Melody.

She was something else.

I was about to release inside of her when someone banged on the door.

I jerked up, beads of sweat rolling down my body.

"Shit!" I swore. It was all just a dream.

The banging came again, harder and louder this time.

I dragged myself out of bed, my head pounding from the cheap whiskey I’d drowned myself in the night before.

I barely had time to throw on a shirt when I heard the door fly open.

Just as I was about to open the room door to see who had invaded my privacy, the landlord did the same—with two police officers standing behind him.

“Mr. Lawson, you’ve missed rent for three weeks. This is your final notice,” he said coldly, tossing a folded letter onto the floor.

I blinked, still half-asleep as I wiped my eyes. “Wait—what? I just need a few more days. I’ve got something coming through and—”

“Something coming through?” he scoffed, cutting me off. “You’ve been saying that for a month. We’re done here.”

The two officers stepped forward, and one spoke up. “Sir, you’ll need to grab your items. You’ve got ten minutes before we begin removal.”

“Come on, seriously?” I looked between all of them, hoping someone would change their mind. “I just need time.”

But none of them cared.

Ten minutes later, I stood outside on the pavement with a worn-out suitcase and a bag filled with wrinkled clothes and old work files.

That was all I had left.

The rest—my furniture, my bed—was being kept inside until I could pay.

Which I couldn’t.

I had no money.

I was officially rock bottom.

But I wasn’t giving up. Not yet.

I made my way across town to a place most people were too scared to visit. A pawn shop with blacked-out windows and a red flickering sign.

But the shop was just a front. What I needed was behind it—in a backroom office run by a man named Kelvin Roach.

He wasn’t a banker. He was the kind of man who gave out money to desperate people and didn’t ask questions. But if you didn’t pay him back… you’d regret ever meeting him.

I didn’t care. I needed the money.

The backroom smelled like smoke and dust. Kelvin sat behind a scratched wooden desk, chewing on a toothpick and looking at me like I was a bug.

“Richard Lawson,” he said slowly. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

I swallowed, ignoring the danger in his voice.

“I need a loan,” I said straight to the point.

He leaned back in his chair, a smirk playing on his lips. “Is that so?”

“Just a few thousand. Enough to cover rent and get back on my feet. I have contacts and deals coming. I’ll pay you back—”

He laughed, loud and sharp. “Contacts? Deals? You mean all those lawsuits you’ve got hanging over your head?”

I felt my stomach drop. He knew.

“I just need a chance,” I said, trying to stay calm. “Come on, Kelvin. You know I’ve always paid back in the past.”

“Yeah, in the past.” His tone changed. “Now? You’re a sinking ship, and I don’t do rescue missions.”

Two big guys stepped out from the shadows behind him. Kelvin raised a hand to stop them, but the message was clear. I wasn’t welcome here.

“Be smart, Lawson,” he said, staring me down. “Walk out. While you still can.”

My hands curled into fists, but I had no choice. I walked out with nothing.

***

I sat at the back of a dirty bar—the only one I could afford—staring into a glass of whiskey that didn’t burn as much as it should.

It was my third one.

The place smelled like old beer and burnt-up trees.

A few guys were passed out in booths and a woman near the bar was crying softly. The bartender was wiping glasses and pretending not to care.

I stared at my phone, the screen lighting up my face in the dim room as I opened Elle’s social media again.

There she was.

Smiling and glowing. Her hair was done up in soft waves and her lips painted.

She looked happy—really happy—as she sat beside him at some fancy restaurant, holding a wine glass in one hand and his hand in the other.

That idiot—Raymond!

The man who had everything I wanted.

And now he had her, too.

Just last month, I was on the verge of getting a promotion. The COO had promised me a better title, a bigger office, and a seat at the executive table. All I had to do was keep Melody close and stay married to Elle—two women who were nothing more than stepping stones in my climb to the top.

And now?

Melody was gone. Vanished the moment the scandals and lawsuits started piling up. Lawsuits for things we both planned together.

And Elle, she was with that bastard!

Elle was never that happy with me. I could see it in her eyes. The way she looked at him now—it was like she believed he’d built the stars just for her.

It made me sick.

I looked down at my shaking hands. I was angry. But it wasn’t just that.

I was hurt.

We were married for seven years. Seven long, messy years. I gave her my name, my home—hell, even when I wasn’t perfect, I stayed.

And now she acted like I never existed.

Like I was just some bad dream she woke up from.

I used to control her. I mean, she listened to me. Now, she only listens to him. She trusts him, and I'm sure she worships him.

I scoffed and finished the last of my drink. The glass hit the table with a dull thud.

She should’ve stayed.

If she had just listened… if she had just waited… she’d still be mine.

But instead, she went running to the one man who had everything handed to him—money, charm, and now, my wife.

It wasn’t fair.

And if I couldn’t be happy, then I’d make sure she couldn’t be either.

I wasn’t going to let Elle live her perfect little life while I was out here losing everything.

She belonged to me, but she betrayed and abandoned me.

I was going to make her suffer.