Chapter 4

Draco whispers something to the bouncer who nods and shakes his hand earnestly.

Raven stands there petrified, too shocked to move, too stunned to think. Are her eyes deceiving her right now?

With her mouth agape, she stares longingly at Draco as he disappears behind the door again. Tears leak out of her eyes and her heart races hard in a heavy and steady rhythm. Mixed emotions of fear, joy and confusion all envelope her at the same time.

How is he here?

Is that even him?

Her eyes cannot be deceiving her, she would recognize her light and joy even with her eyes closed.

She hurriedly wipes the tears from her face and dashes towards the door after him, she scales the flight of stairs effortlessly, her heart drumming harder with every step closer to the door of the private bar.

The bouncer at the door puts his hands out to stop her but she ducks underneath him pushing the door open simultaneously. It’s almost like she didn’t see the man trying to stop her, she only cares about confirming that that man is indeed Draco.

She is immediately blinded by the swaying lights of different colours as she enters, the music sounds louder than it does downstairs and the air is pungent with the smell of cigarettes and another strong substance that makes her cough.

Her eyes adjust to the light and she can see the people up here clearly, their smell beginning to stand out from the other smell in the air. Rogues…..all of them, but what are they doing in this type of exclusive bar, in the middle of a city?

They usually hang out in inconspicuous spaces or so she’s heard.

She looks away from the eyes of the hard faced men staring at her, most of them having large sleeve tattoos and piercings, some with visible scars on their faces and forearms. The ladies too are not left out, their mini skirts and gowns running way up their thighs, so high that their underwears are practically visible with open back and low hanging blouses that have their boobs on display like wares at a trade fair.

Some of the women are smoking something that’s not a cigarette, swaying their bodies seductively to the music, enticing and entertaining the men who take the liberty to grope and fondle them and no one seems to be paying her any real attention.

Her heart pounds with a tremor, swallowing hard as she wades through table after table, making her way to the exact spot she had seen Draco earlier.

A few metres ahead, she spots Draco’s table, but the four tables before his are unoccupied and so are several tables after his, like everyone else is staying clear of him and his entourage.

“Take another step closer and it’ll be your last little bird,” one of the two men with Draco says as she walks past the row of empty tables to theirs.

The man is a mountain with arms so big, Raven’s sure that they are bigger than her thighs, his head is bald and he’s not even looking at her, he’s looking at the ceiling but somehow he sensed her.

“What little—”

The glass of whiskey in Draco’s hands slips as he raises his head up to look at her. For a moment his lips are parted, shock palpable in his gaze but they quickly turn icy and he turns to the woman beside him.

An extremely beautiful damsel with white long hair, wearing a short, strapless, red-leather dress that hugs her sultrily, her red lipstick and heavy make up hot and inviting. He takes the wrap of the substance she is smoking off her lips and takes a long drag and exhales, not taking another look at Raven.

Raven moves forward, her eyes coating with tears, pain searing her heart. Why is he behaving like he doesn’t recognize her? He clearly does. He may look a bit different, rougher with a fuller beard and sterner eyes but she would recognize those grey orbs anywhere, anytime.

How is he even alive? Has he been alive all this while that she has been mourning him in pain and despair?

What sort of betrayal is this?

“Draco?” She sounds unsure, her lips trembling as she speaks and she stretches her hand forward in an attempt to touch him when the big man grabs her wrist and yanks her back.

“What did I say?” He glares at her with a deadly look in his eyes, his hold so strong it is almost crushing her wrist, causing her pain but it’s Draco’s indifference that hurts the most.

“Oh c’mon Mouse, let the little bird come to play,” the other guy at the table smirks at her, talking to the big guy, his eyes having two different colours of red and green, his hair, a white mohawk. He flicks out a fancy pen knife and stirs the contents of his glass with it before licking the sharp edge and smiling at Raven with his blood coated teeth.

“What is this Draco, how are you alive? Who are these people?”

Tears spill out of Raven’s eyes, pain overwhelming her heart. The Draco she knew would never allow anyone treat her like this in his presence or even absence for that matter.

Draco looks at her again with a nonchalant gaze and he picks up the glass that had slipped from his hand, about to stand up when the lady beside him throws her leg across him and gently pushes down on his chest, “Oh no you don’t, you’re all mine tonight sweetie. The little bird can have you later and why’s she even calling you that name?”

She sits across him on his legs and straddles him and the sound of them kissing shatters what is left of Raven’s heart. She gasps softly, her heart ceases to beat and she stops struggling with Mouse.

If she ever pictured a world where she met Draco again, it never involved him kissing another woman in front of her.

Draco breaks the kiss and presses the lady against himself before he finally speaks, resting his chin on her neck. “Mouse, get that woman out of here.”