Heartbroken

~Dorla

“Where’s my little princess heading to?”

My father’s deep, commanding voice stopped me in my tracks. I spun around too fast, trying to hide the fact that I was checking the mirror blushing at my own self made makeup, and my makeup box slipped from my hands.

It crashed to the floor, brushes, palettes, and lipsticks scattering everywhere.

“Oops.” I laughed, bending down quickly to pick them up. “Today is Jason’s birthday, and I’m about to surprise him. My boyfriend.”

Dad leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed over his broad chest, eyes scanning my room like he was searching for hidden threats. “It’s already 6 p.m., Dorla. The birthday countdown started at midnight. What have you been doing all day?”

I stood up, still smiling, and tossed my hair over my shoulder. “It’s a surprise. I have 26 missed calls from him. By now he probably thinks I forgot. Then… tada! I show up looking like this.”

I did a little playful twirl, knowing I was being his spoiled baby again.

He chuckled, the sound warm but laced with that familiar edge. “Showing up unannounced to someone you love? Aren’t you scared of what you might walk into?”

I walked over and punched his chest lightly. “My man is nothing like you, Dad. Jason would never cheat on me.”

Dad threw his head back and laughed, the deep rumble filling the room. “Just say the word if he does. I’ll gift you his head on a silver platter.”

I rolled my eyes, already grabbing my bag. “I’m leaving now.”

Before I could reach the door, his voice softened. “You still haven’t given me an answer about the personal bodyguard, Dorla. I have too many enemies. I can’t have you walking around the city unprotected. You know how much you mean to me.”

He reached out and caressed my hair, fingers gentle. He knew that was my weakness.

I sighed dramatically. “Okay, okay. I promise we’ll talk about it properly when I get back.”

He opened his arms. I stepped into them without hesitation, burying my face in his chest for a moment. He smelled like peace and safety, basically, he's my everything.

He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, then to my forehead. “Don’t stay out too late, baby. And call me if anything feels wrong. I’m just a tap away.”

I pulled back, frowning. “A tap away?”

He smiled, mysterious and proud. “Before you leave, go to the gym wing. There’s something there for you.”

I took his hand, kissed the back of it, and gave him a bright wave. “Got it. Love you, Dad.”

“Love you more, princess.”

I turned and headed down the long hallway, heart fluttering with excitement for Jason’s surprise.

I took three deep breaths, trying to steady my racing heart, before pushing open the heavy double doors to the gym wing on the second floor.

My dad’s building wasn’t just a house, it was an empire. The entire floor was dedicated to training, and it was always packed with his men. Today was no different.

The air smelled of sweat, testosterone, I almost couldn't take it.

I hovered at the entrance, scanning the room, when one of the bodyguards broke away from the group and started walking straight toward me.

Arnold Black Russo of all people. Gosh, I'm screwed.

He was my father’s strongest and most trusted enforcer, the one man everyone whispered about with both fear and respect.

At thirty two, Arnold was a wall of raw power. Tall, easily 6’4, with broad shoulders and a heavily muscled chest that tapered into a narrow waist.

His skin was a deep olive tone, glistening with sweat under the bright lights. His hair was thick, dark brown with a few silver strands at the forehead that only made him look more dangerously handsome.

A light dusting of dark hair trailed down his bare, sculpted chest and disappeared into the low waistband of his black workout shorts.

He approached me shirtless, still breathing hard from whatever brutal workout he’d been doing.

“Excuse me?” he called out once. Then again, louder, “Excuse me?”

I barely registered the words. My brain had short.circuited.

“Dorla?”

The way he said my name, low, rough, almost intimate snapped me out of it instantly.

He extended a sleek black box toward me. I took it with slightly shaky hands.

“You’ll find a band inside,” he explained, voice calm and professional. “Wear it on your wrist at all times. If you’re ever in danger, just tap it twice. Everyone here, including your father will know immediately and come running.”

I was supposed to be listening, but my eyes kept drifting over his sweaty chest, the way his muscles shifted with every breath he took.

Without even realizing it, I started biting my lower lip.

Snap out of it, Dorla. You have a cute boyfriend waiting for you.

But God… I’d been crushing hard on this huge, quiet, lethal man since I turned eighteen. Dad had once asked him to put me through a training session.

Thirty minutes of Arnold correcting my form, his hands steady on my waist, and I’d left the gym dripping wet and not from sweat.

“Safe journey,” he said simply, already turning away.

I was about to leave when he paused, glanced back over his shoulder, and lowered his voice.

“You look hot in that dress.”

The words were barely above a whisper, accompanied by a slow, dangerous smirk and a wink that sent heat straight between my thighs.

Gosh.

Did he just call me hot?

If he liked the dress that much, I wouldn’t mind giving him the privilege of taking it off me.

Before I could do something stupid like reply, I spun on my heels and practically ran out of the gym wing, my face burning. I didn’t stop until I was sliding into the driver’s seat of my black Porsche.

I gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to calm my breathing.

Get it together, Dorla. Jason is waiting.

But as I started the engine, all I could think about was Arnold Black Russo… and how badly I wanted him to ruin me.

I drove straight to Jason’s apartment, my black Porsche purring smoothly through the city streets.

When I arrived, I stepped out, quickly checking my reflection in the tinted window, my short red dress hugging every curve, paired with sleek black sneakers. If Arnold could call it hot, I knew Jason would lose his mind over it.

I grabbed the sleek Ferrari key fob I’d convinced Dad to get for him and the beautiful glass bouquet of red roses he loved. He had been dreaming about owning a sports car for months, and I’d made it happen.

The moment I closed the car door, my phone started ringing. It was my naughty friend, Lila.

“Hello? Dorla, where are you? Can I ask you a huge favor?” she asked, sounding urgent.

“What again, Lila? Money? How much this time?” I rolled my eyes, already walking toward the building.

“It’s not money, Dorla. Please… just don’t go to Jason’s house right now.”

I laughed lightly. “Too late, I’m already here. I’ll call you back later, okay?” I blew her a kiss through the phone.

“Dorla, please don’t…”

I ended the call before she could finish.

Having lesbian friends was honestly a blessing. Out of my three close friends, two were lesbians, Lila and another girl so they had zero interest in men and would never try to steal my boyfriend.

The third was my best friend since childhood, Alyssa. We were both straight and had the same weakness for huge, dominant men. She would never betray me like that.

I smiled to myself, already imagining the look on Jason’s face when he saw me in this dress. I slipped into his building, took the elevator up, and walked toward his door, flowers and key in hand.

Then I heard it.

“Fuck… harder!”

The unmistakable sound of skin slapping skin, fast and frantic.

I froze. Maybe Jason had invited that idiot Seth over. That guy was a total womanizer, and I’d told Jason a hundred times to cut him off.

But then the woman’s moan came through the door, loud and breathless.

“Oh God, this is heaven, Jason!”

My stomach dropped. I knew that voice. It was Alyssa.

With a pounding heart and trembling hands, I pushed the door open.

There they were, my boyfriend and my best friend. Alyssa was riding him hard on the couch, completely naked, her head thrown back in ecstasy.

The second she saw me, she scrambled off him like she’d been burned.

Tears instantly filled my eyes.

The flower vase slipped from my fingers and shattered on the floor. The Ferrari key clattered beside it.

“Dorla… I'm sorry, you’re here,” Jason stammered, grabbing a throw blanket to wrap around his waist as he stood up. “You should have called…”

His eyes landed on the key fob. “Geez, is this…?”

I didn’t let him finish. I slapped him hard across the face, the sound echoing in the room.

Then I turned to Alyssa, who was standing in the corner with her arms crossed, looking more annoyed than sorry. No remorse. Just irritation at being caught.

Bitch. I’d deal with her later.

Without saying another word, I stormed out, slamming the door behind me so hard the walls shook.