Confess to me

NADIRA

I lost… my baby.

My husband.

My marriage.

Everything that mattered to me.

Sage had thrown me out of the house the minute the doctor declared that I’d suffered a miscarriage.

And to top it all? I was left with nothing on me. Not even a single penny.

“I’m sorry… for everything. You— you don’t deserve being treated like this, Nadira.”

I slumped my shoulders on the couch, sobbing quietly for what felt like hours. Asher had taken me to his house, since there was nobody else I could turn to for help.

I didn’t say a word to Asher. Instead, I sat quietly in my seat, brooding over my next line of action.

Sage had done me dirty. He’d had me treated like a slave for the past five years. And I’d endured it all— his anger, his maltreatment, his infidelity and abuse.

But now? It was all over.

I was done with everything.

Done playing nice.

Asher’s voice sounded distant even when he was sitting right next to me. But I could hear him call out my name, his voice laced with concern.

“Nae?”

“I want to be alone right now.”

That was all I said before standing up to my feet. I didn’t turn to look at him, or even bothered to throw a glance in his way.

I needed to plot my revenge. I needed to get back at Sage for all he’d done to me.

And Daphne— for making my marriage end before it even happened.

I was going to make them all pay.

*

One month later…

I’d found a way to adjust to what life had thrown at me. Not because I was going to let things slide, but because I’d spent the last month, plotting and planning my revenge.

News filtered into my ears. Well, it was all over the news and in the city.

Headlines read; ‘Billionaire and CEO, Sage Reynolds is set to wed his heartthrob in two months, after the divorce of his unknown wife.’

Unknown wife— that was all they knew about me.

There wasn’t a single picture of us on the internet… Not even footage of our wedding.

Sage was ashamed of being seen with me and had strictly kept the rule of keeping me out of the public. And it was all because of the incident that had happened on the eve of our wedding.

But now it was my turn to strike.

Things were actually working out fine for Sage, which felt painful to hear all the time. But, it kept giving me ideas on how to strike.

“Nadira,” I turned my head around from the bowl of flour in front of me, and my eyes caught sight of Asher, standing at the entrance of the kitchen, dressed in his usual black pants and grey sweater. “You should be resting and not stressing yourself in the kitchen.”

My lips pressed against my teeth, and I returned my focus back to the bowl in front of me.

“I felt like baking.”

I heard his footsteps walk in. For the past few weeks, we’d barely said anything to each other, but our conversation had gone a bit higher than I’d remembered.

“I guess you saw the news.”

I halted for a minute, the mixer still in my hands. My eyelids blinked a few times, and I found myself heaving a deep sigh.

“Yes.”

“I thought you said your divorce wasn’t finalized yet,” I was back to mixing the flour after adding butter in it. “Why is he already getting remarried?”

How could I answer? 

Sage had said our divorce was going to take three months, and I had no idea why he wanted to keep me around for that long.

I was tired of bearing the ‘Reynolds’ name. I mean, if it was going to come through a marriage with him, of course.

I kissed my teeth with my tongue, and plastered a fake smile over my face.

“I have no idea.”

He paused for a second, and it felt like I knew what he was thinking. And how he was feeling.

We were having the same knife twisted into our hearts. Both our partners had ditched us to be with each other publicly.

I heard his footsteps retreat, not from the kitchen, but to the fridge that was just a few feet away.

He opened it, and my ears heard him take things out just to put them back in. And then his husky voice spoke slowly.

“You… seem to be fine with everything.”

Fine? He thought I was fine?

I was fuming with rage!

A knot tightened in my stomach, and I flattened my lips, mixing my ingredients in the bowl with so much force that wasn’t needed.

Too bad— I was unleashing my anger at the poor bowl.

And not at the liars who’d wronged me.

“Of course, I’m fine,” I wanted to sound fine, but my voice was literally breaking apart, and I could already feel the tears that were stinging at the corners of my eyes. “I’m happy he’s moving on.”

“After what he did to you?” He slammed the fridge rather loudly, and twisted the cap of his water open. “Sage did you—‘’

“— you don’t have to remind me, okay?!” I didn’t mean to scream or cut him off his words, but I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I tossed the bowl away, and swiftly turned to face him, my tears streaming down my cheeks.

“I’m trying to conceal all the pain your brother has put me through, and it hurts me to see him moving on like I wasn’t in his life for five years. So please… I need you to stop reminding me of everything I’m fighting so hard to forget. I’m not a robot, I’m human and I have feelings too!”

I was breathing hard and panting by the time I was done yelling. Asher stood in awe, frozen with his eyes fixed intently at me.

I wish I hadn’t lost my temper. He’d done nothing but treated me nicely after what had happened.

He walked closer to me, throwing his water bottle to the counter. I swallowed hard in fear when I saw him approach me with narrowed eyes, and a creased forehead.

Was he also going to yell at me?

Reprimand me for yelling at him?

Throw me out of his house for being an ungrateful bitch?

My lips quivered with all the thoughts that were running through my mind. I couldn’t let any of those things happen— I had to apologize.

“Asher…” I couldn’t even look into his eyes or hold his fierce gaze. “I’m… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t—‘’

His hands grabbed my waist, interrupting me from saying the words I had in mind. My heart began to thump in my chest with uncertainty, and I forced my head to him, staring at him with knitted brows.

His touch— it felt warm and sent shocking waves of shock through my whole body. I’d always fantasized about how his hands felt, but I’d never imagined them to be soft, warm and trigger all the feelings in me.

We were close— too close that it made my heart flutter. He pulled me closer into his hold, and I found my breath becoming unstable. 

I’d imagined the moment in my head, but it was years ago, when I was madly and unhealthily obsessed with him. Asher leaned his head forward in a way that I could feel our noses touching each other.

And his hot breath was on my face.

Damn… I knew I would stutter if I dared to speak.

Everything was happening so fast and… it felt like time had stood still just for us at this moment.

“Asher—‘’

“— Nae, forgive me.”

Forgive him? For what?

I arched my brows at him, staring into his seductive eyes that kept drawing me in, luring me closer into his arms.

He hadn’t done anything wrong to me. So why was he asking for forgiveness?

“Forgive you? For what?”

His eyes switched from the usual seductive expression to an intense one. It was a look of longing, burning desires, and unfulfilled dreams that were waiting to be unleashed.

He ran a tongue over his lips slowly, and I watched keenly like my life depended on it, his actions sending mixed signals to my brain.

And then with a deep, seductive voice, he whispered into my ears, his lips making me coil instantly when I felt how warm they were.

“For this.”

I felt his lips against mine immediately, giving me no chance to comprehend what was happening. 

Or what was about to happen.

Asher kissed me— he kissed me.

I couldn’t believe it, and I didn’t know how to react. But all I knew was that it felt good.

So good…

His lips were soft, and succulent. I wanted nothing but for this feeling to last a bit longer than intended.

I’d longed for this for years, but somehow, it felt wrong. He was my brother-in-law, and I was still married to his brother, at least for the next two months.

I shut my eyes tightly, allowing his lips to nibble on mine. My hands hung in the air, unsure if it was right to hold him the way I wanted.

The way I longed…

He pulled away slowly and when I was least expecting, his eyes still burning bright with all the emotions I’d seen earlier.

“Nadira,”

I swallowed hard, staring at him like he was a ghost. He’d changed more than I’d remembered. His tongue was burning with unspoken words— I could see it.

But I wished he’d never told me those words— the one I’d longed to hear, but dreaded the minute he uttered them.

“I love you.”

My eyes widened, and I felt something caught up in my throat, holding me back from speaking. Asher couldn’t see the hesitation in my eyes, and he pulled me closer, his hands placed firmly on my hips.

And then he kissed me… again.

His lips lingered on mine, but as I shut my eyes, all I could think about was Sage…

I wanted to ruin him— I was going to ruin him. But now that my revenge plan was ready to be unleashed, something else had happened.

Asher…

How was I going to keep revenge and love in the same place?

I wanted to tear the Reynolds family apart, and Asher was a part of that family. But now? Everything felt impossible.

I was going to have to choose one—Revenge?

Or…

Love?

Fuck whatever feelings Asher was making me feel…

I wasn’t going to spare his family.