His Betrayal

Olivia

“Are you out of your damn mind, Aiden?!”

My voice echoed through the staircase as I stormed out of my boyfriend’s crappy apartment.

Aiden stumbled after me, half-naked, wearing only a brief. “Babe, wait! Please, let me explain…”

Before he could finish, I swung my bag hard at him.

“Explain what?!” I snapped. “That you slept with Eve, my coworker? Three years together, and you betray me with someone you’ve known for just three weeks?!”

He flinched. “I swear, I don’t know what came over me! It just happened…”

“Oh, save it!” I cut him off bitterly. “You said the same thing last time, with your ‘childhood best friend,’ and before that, your coworker. Three women in three years, Aiden! How stupid do you think I am?”

He opened his mouth, but no words came. My chest burned with anger and hurt. How could he do this to me?

Furious, I yanked off the thin silver ring he’d given me — the same cheap ring he’d used to apologize over and over again, and each time, I forgave him.

Not this time.

I threw it at his chest. “Take your lies back. I’m done, Aiden. Don’t come near me again.”

“Babe…” he tried again, but I was already gone, storming down the stairs. I ran out under the drizzling rain to my old golf car and sped off into the street.

My breath caught, and against my will, a single hot tear slid down my cheek again.

“Damn it,” I whispered harshly, wiping it away quickly. I focused on the road as I grabbed my phone and connected it to my car’s bluetooth. I needed to drown out the noise in my head and the ache in my heart.

The familiar voice of Linda Gabriel, the famous relationship expert, filled my ears.

“Ladies, if a man doesn’t value you, if you always have to beg for his attention or excuse his wrongs, you are not in a relationship; you are in a prison of your own making. Love should not feel like punishment. Walk away when you must, and walk away with your dignity.”

I took a deep breath, letting the words wash over me. They felt like both salt and healing on my wounded heart. Maybe I had been blind, tolerating far too much from Aiden. Maybe this was the wake-up call I needed.

Suddenly, my car coughed, groaned, and stopped in the middle of a lonely street.

“No… no… no!” I cried, desperately trying to start my car again, but the engine gave a single, hopeless noise. “Ahhhh!” I screamed in frustration and gripped the steering wheel hard.

Rain began to pour harder.

“Damn it.” I pulled out my phone and called Ella, my best friend.

The moment she picked up, I couldn’t hold back the tears. “Aiden did it again, Ella,” I said painfully. “God, I feel like a fool.”

“What?! I knew it! I told you that bastard doesn’t deserve you!” Ella yelled in anger.

She continued to rant about how she knew I was way too good for him and deserved better.

“Where are you now? The rain is crazy,” she finally asked.

“My car broke down in the middle of your street,” I muttered. “I don’t even know what to do anymore.”

“Stay there. I’m coming to pick you up right now,” she said, then added, “And don’t think for a second that you’re going home to mope! My man’s boss is opening a new club tonight. You’re coming with us, Olivia. You need to get your head out of heartbreak mode. Tonight, you’re drinking, dancing, and forgetting that idiot exists.”

“What? No, Ella, I just want to go home and…”

“Listen to Linda Gabriel’s podcast with a box of tissues and a bucket of ice cream?” she interrupted sharply. “Not gonna happen.”

I groaned softly, running my hand through my damp hair. Knowing Ella, there was no winning this argument. She wasn’t the type to take no for an answer.

***

Three hours later, here I was, in a tight red dress and high heels, courtesy of Ella, standing in one of the most luxurious clubs I’d ever seen.

“Ladies, enjoy yourselves,” Ted, Ella’s boyfriend, said with a wink. “Drinks are on me tonight. And if any guy gives you trouble, come find me. I’ll be right over there with my boss.”

“Thanks, baby,” Ella cooed, leaning in to kiss him on the lips. Ted smiled before heading off toward a private VIP section.

The moment he disappeared, Ella dragged me toward the bar.

“Two shots of the strongest stuff you’ve got,” she told the bartender.

I frowned. “Ella, I don’t think—”

“Nope,” she said, cutting me off again. “No thinking tonight.”

The bartender slid two glasses toward us. I picked up my glass hesitantly.

Ella clinked her glass against mine. “To freedom,” she said.

I sighed, then smiled faintly. “To freedom.”

The first shot burned down my throat like molten lava, but the warmth that followed spread through my chest, melting away a bit of my pain.

Ella grinned victoriously. “See? Not so bad.”

A few more shots later, the heaviness in my heart began to fade. The club seemed lighter, warmer, even brighter.

Ella leaned in close. “Let’s dance!”

I blinked, half-dazed. “Dance?”

“Yes! Come on!”

She pulled me onto the dance floor and started dancing. I moved to the beat slowly at first, letting the rhythm take over.

As I danced, memories of Aiden flooded my mind — how I’d supported him through everything: helping with his work proposals, editing his reports when he was too lazy to do them himself, even cooking and cleaning his messy apartment when he was too tired. Hell, I was more like an unpaid housemaid who serviced her boss with her body.

But not anymore.

I was done being anyone’s fool.

The realization sent a rush of energy through me. I moved my hips freely, swaying to the rhythm, letting every beat wash away the pain.

Ella cheered and danced beside me, laughing as we moved in sync.

Men started approaching, but Ella, protective as always, waved them off with sharp glares. “Not tonight, boys,” she said.

I laughed, feeling bolder and freer by the minute. But soon, the shots and dancing left me breathless. “I need a drink.”

Ella nodded, twirling around before disappearing into the crowd.

I made my way back to the bar. The bartender saw me coming and raised an eyebrow. “Back already?”

“Just one more,” I said.

He chuckled and poured me another shot. As I picked it up, he leaned closer and whispered with a teasing grin, “It seems you’ve already caught the attention of a shark.”

I paused, confused. “A shark?”

He nodded, tilting his head toward the far side of the room.

Curious, I turned my head and froze.

Standing a few meters away was a man who didn’t look real. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and effortlessly handsome. His dark green eyes locked directly on me. A few buttons of his black shirt were undone, revealing smooth skin and a glimpse of hard muscle beneath.

Gosh… he was hot!

I licked my dry lips unconsciously and turned back to the bartender with a playful smirk. “But I’m not the prey tonight.”

With that, I downed the shot in one swift gulp and walked toward the hot stuff, deliberately swaying my hips seductively, my eyes locked on his.

When I finally reached him, he looked at me slowly, his lips curving just slightly. “You shouldn’t play with fire, sweetheart,” he said in a low, husky voice.

I smiled sweetly, leaning a little closer. “Who says I’m playing?”

He raised a brow, looking amused.

I licked my lips again and tilted my head. “Tell me… how much for the night?”