Over before it even began

~Candy~

I can’t breathe. My breath stalls somewhere inside me. 

I stare at the woman, Irina, and back at Axel. 

He knew this was happening when he fucked me last night? He knew he was about to become a husband. 

A wave of betrayal surges inside me. I feel used. Just like every other girl in his life, Axel has used and discarded me. It’s so crazy that I even thought he had changed. 

Irina struts over to me. She looks like she had just walked off the Vogue magazine, like she could walk Victoria Secret runway. Her make-up is perfectly matched; every shade fits her. Her dress fits her snugly with boobs pressing up. 

Her oval face is perfect, too. Her feline eyes and arched brows scrutinized me. She has long legs like a dancer, sinewy with tight muscles and golden long hair flowing down her back. 

She never has to worry about her weight or wearing the wrong shade of makeup. She’s perfect. Perfect for Axel. A blonde just like the girls he used to mess around with in high school. His type. 

Me and my flaming red hair don’t fit his type at all. Never did. I don’t know why I deluded myself into believing I ever did. 

“Candy, how lovely to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you,” Irina coos. 

I swear I can detect a faint tone of mockery in her voice. She has this syrupy accented voice that sounds so expensive. 

“Ansel, you dog! You never told me you had such a gorgeous goddess for a wife!” Irina continues, punching my husband playfully on the upper arm. 

I watch Ansel beam at her, enamored. He has never beamed at me like that. How many times, exactly, have they met up to know each other so well? My mind begins to race. 

“Yeah, Ansel, no one told me I’d be getting a new sister-in-law,” I try to chime in. Ansel glowers at me, as if to tell me to shut up while his new ‘bestie’, Irina, looks me over with the bored expression of a rich housewife shopping for a new bag. 

Under her scrutinizing gaze, I suddenly feel inadequate in my morning robe. The woman is fucking gorgeous. Her long lashes alone knock everything about me out of the park. 

“Oh boys, that is so disappointing. You should’ve introduced us a long time ago,” Irina chides, sweetly. My husband, my scary husband, doesn’t glare at her. At all. Irina gets to see his sweet, pretentious side. 

I turn again to Axel. He has suddenly mellowed, gone mute. He can’t even keep a straight gaze or meet my eyes. 

“Irina, we were about to have breakfast. Would you like to join us or do you want to take a quick look around the house with your fiancé? Axel, you could show your fiancée around,” Ansel says.  

Fiancé. I choke. The word is so foreign, so weird to describe Axel. Axel, the rebellious one. Axel, the bad boy. Axel, the player. Being a husband does not suit him. 

I pulse with rage, betrayal. 

“Suddenly, I’ve lost my appetite. I’ll be upstairs. Irina, it was lovely to meet you again,” I say in a tight voice, fighting back tears. 

“Oh, sweetie, we’re going to hang out. I want all the gossip and tips on how to deal with these two,” Irina says, winking at me. 

I muster just enough smile to get the hell out of there. On my way upstairs, I can hear their laughter billowing. A single line of tear spill down my cheek. 

How could Axel do this to me? How could he fuck me like I’m the only thing he wants in the world and then turn around ----

Oh, screw it, of course he did! This is definitely such an Axel thing to do. He had done it in high school when he used to screw around with all those girls knowing I liked him. He had only confessed to me when it was too late…when I’d already agreed to walk down the aisle with his brother. 

Maybe this is payback for rejecting him all those years ago. This is all my fault. I’m the one who set a high expectation, dreaming about all the ways he would save me after just one night. 

Axel doesn’t save anyone. He is just like his fucking brother. They don’t care about anyone but themselves. 

Back in the bedroom, I lie down on the bed and cry. I don’t know how long I stayed there when a knock comes on the door. 

I wipe my eyes and open the door. There he stands. 

Axel. 

His face is subdued. His hair is tousled and rough. He runs his fingers through it, attractively. 

“Where’s your fiancée?” I ask in a bratty tone. Yeah, I mean, what the hell is he doing here? 

“She’s gone. Left with your husband,” he replies sarcastically, putting a great emphasis on the word ‘Husband’ as if to remind me that I am still otherwise engaged. 

I roll my eyes. “She’s perfect for you.” 

Axel shakes his head. “I didn’t know how to tell you.” 

I take a deep breath. “You don’t have to tell me. It’s none of my business so you can just go. You don’t have to explain a thing to me.” 

I try to close the door, but Axel puts his foot sharply in the doorway. “Don’t pretend as if this isn’t happening.” 

My anger surges. “What do you want me to say? You are engaged to Irina and I’m married to your brother. Last night was just a one-time thing. It’s never gonna happen again. We don’t need to pretend around each other. We don’t need to say anything. Just go be with your fiancée and I’ll go back to my life.” 

Axel’s eyes darken, his jaws twitch. “Candy…” he calls out my name softly. 

My heart skips a beat, or two. My name in his mouth sounds like melted butter. It takes everything in me not to throw myself at him, to kiss him and feel him whisper my name into my mouth. 

But no, I should put an end to this now. All of it. It’s over. It never even began but it’s over. 

“Bye, Axel…” I say, closing the door. I can literally hear my heart breaking into a million tiny pieces.