Heart Break.

Luisa wouldn’t let me answer the call.

I could tell because she was doing that thing where her face stayed calm, but her eyes begged me not to answer. Not to touch my phone and cause more mess.

But me?

I wanted a reason. Any reason.

Anything that wasn’t Mr Sebastian Voss standing on a yacht like the ocean existed to worship him.

Anything that could drown out the way my body kept reacting to him…

And what if Asa was calling to apologize?

So when my phone buzzed again, I didn’t wait for Luisa to stop me. I answered on the last ring.

“Hello,” I said, breathless.

For a second, all I heard was silence.

Then Asa’s voice came through…so mean and harsh. Like I was an inconvenience he’d already decided to punish.

“Why do you keep calling me, Maya?”

The irritation in his voice caught me off guard.

My stomach dropped.

“Asa, please. Just listen to me for a second.”

“I don’t want to listen.”

“Please.”

There was a long silence, then he laughed.

Tiredly.

“We’re really doing this again?”

My chest tightened.

“I…I just… I am so sorry, Asa. I was wrong to have blamed you like that. Please,” I pleaded.

“I don’t care, Maya.” he snapped. “You sounded pretty confident when you accused me of fucking our professor, and now you’re sorry?” He scoffed.

I opened my mouth and nothing came out.

Because I didn’t know what to say…I didn’t know anything and I let my stupid wide mouth ruin my beautiful relationship.

But how could I help it? How could I erase what I saw that day in the office?

They were both so close to each other, even a child could have noticed something was happening between them. But at the same time, I could be wrong.

“But I didn’t accuse you? I only asked if you were cheating on me with her….those are two different things, Asa,”

Asa exhaled like I’d said something pathetic..

My fingers curled around my phone so tightly it hurt.

“I don’t care what you think anymore,” he said, his voice calmer now. “We’re over now, aren’t we?”

“Asa….,” I whispered in a pleading tone, even though I hated myself for it.

“I’ll have to block your number now so you’d stop bugging me. Bitch,”

The words hit me like a slap, then the line went dead...

I stumbled backward…utterly taken aback. Did he just call me a bitch?

I stood there with my phone pressed to my ear like it might rewind time, like it might undo the damage I’d just done with my own mouth.

Luisa was already on the yacht ... and I could already hear her in my head telling me how she was right, and how stupid I was for answering the call.

******

On the yacht, I found the alcohol Luisa had promised….the bottles were stacked in a cooler hidden in one of the cabins where Mr Sebastian wouldn’t find them. I grabbed one, yanked the cap off, and lifted it to my mouth.

The first sip burned like fire sliding down my throat.

It didn’t just taste bitter, it stung…like it was trying to punish me for believing anything good could happen tonight.

I swallowed again, harder.

My eyes watered, and for a moment the heat stole all the thoughts from my mind.

Knock! Knock!

The door opened before I could even ask who it was…revealing Mr Sebastian.

Shit.

How could I forget to lock the door?

He looked at me like he already knew what kind of trouble I was in.

“Maya.”

The way he said my name made the space between my ribs feel too small.

Then his gaze dropped to the bottle in my hand. Still half-raised.

“Are you drinking?”

He stepped closer, fast.

My pulse kicked hard.

I tried to pull the bottle back. “Ugh… I’m twenty one. I’m an adult. I can drink if I want to.”

He didn’t argue with my words. He moved closer to me, and in one motion, he reached for my wrist and yanked the bottle away from my grip.

“What happened?… Luisa mentioned earlier that you needed to clear your head?…Why?” He asked, but I ran my hand through my hair, already feeling tipsy.

“Answer me,” he demanded.

My breath hitched. “Why do you care?”

For a second, I thought he’d just get irritated and walk away.

But instead, he froze.

Then his hand came up to my chin……tilting my face just enough to make me meet his eyes.

Our eye contact was brief, but it stole the air out of me anyway.

I tried to step back.

But my heel caught on something…the floor shifted..and I stumbled.

The bottle slipped from his hand at the same time,

I heard the sharp sound of it hitting the floor.

The bottle shattered….and then dark liquid spread around the floor.

I gasped.

“Oh my God,”

Mr Sebastian grabbed my arm before I could bend down to clean it, his fingers tightening hard enough to bruise me.

He didn’t look at the mess first.

He looked at me.

“Why do you keep doing this?” he asked.

“I’m sorry,” I said softly…my voice barely audible.

He moved closer to me…. And I felt the heat of him before I could understand that he’d closed the distance between us.

His hand slid from my wrist to my waist, steadying me against the wall….

I stared up at him, unable to move, unable to process what was really going on.

His other hand braced beside my head, his fingers splayed against the paneling, trapping me between the wall and his body.

His gaze dropped to my mouth, then back to my eyes.

And then he leaned in more…close enough that I could feel his hot breath against my lips, close enough that I could….

“Knock! Knock!”

A loud knock came from the door, followed by a familiar voice.

“Maya! Are you in there?”

Luisa.