Chapter 3 The Scent of Betrayal

My hands were shaking violently on the steering wheel as I parked my small car behind a row of bushes. The rain had started falling again, heavy drops splashing against the windshield in the dark.

Ten minutes ago, my cousin Mia had called my phone. She had been driving past the edge of town when she spotted Joe's car parked outside a quiet, secluded motel called the Pine Crest.

"Dara, I'm so sorry," Mia had whispered over the static line. "I saw him walk inside room 104 with a blonde woman. You need to come see this for yourself."

I stared at the glowing yellow light outside room 104. Every fiber of my body wanted to turn the engine back on and drive away. I wanted to pretend I never got that call. I wanted to keep believing in the ten years we had built together.

Instead, I opened my car door and stepped out into the freezing rain.

My sneakers soaked through instantly as I crept along the concrete walkway of the motel. My heart was pounding so hard against my ribs that it felt like it would crack. I stopped right outside the window of room 104. The thick blue curtains were pulled closed, but the small side door was unlatched, left open just half an inch to let the fresh cool air inside.

I leaned forward, my breath catching in my dry throat, and looked through the small crack.

Joe was standing by the edge of a large bed. His dress shirt was completely unbuttoned, hanging open off his shoulders. Wrapped tightly around his waist was a young woman with bleach blonde hair.

It was his new executive secretary, Chloe.

Joe laughed out loud, a rich, happy sound I had not heard from him in months. He lifted Chloe up by her thighs, tossing her onto the white mattress.

"You are so bad, Joe," Chloe giggled, pulling him down by his necktie. "What if your sweet little fiancée finds out you skipped your family dinner?"

Joe leaned over her, pressing a deep, hungry kiss to her lips that made my stomach turn into a cold block of ice.

"Dara won't find out anything," Joe said, his voice full of casual cruelty. "She's so gullible and boring. She believes every little lie I tell her. She's sitting back at the cottage right now, probably crying over my dinner."

Chloe laughed loudly, running her red fingernails down his bare chest. "You really know how to treat a woman, boss."

"Dara is just a comfortable habit," Joe muttered, kissing Chloe's neck again. "You're the one I actually enjoy."

I pulled back from the door as if I had been burned by a hot iron.

The air in my lungs vanished completely. Ten years. Ten years of giving up my dreams, ten years of waiting for him, ten years of being the dutiful, quiet girlfriend. All of it was nothing to him. I was just a comfortable habit. A boring, gullible fool.

I didn't scream. I didn't knock on the door to confront him.

I just turned around and ran.

I ran blindly through the pouring rain, my shoes slipping on the wet pavement. I didn't drive to my parents' house. I couldn't go to my friends. I couldn't bear to see the pity in their eyes when they realized my perfect golden romance was a lie.

Instead, my legs carried me straight up the gravel trail leading toward the small wooden guest cottage at the far end of the Vance family property.

I collapsed onto the wooden steps of the front porch, my clothes completely soaked, my whole body trembling violently from the freezing cold and the crushing weight of the truth. I buried my face in my hands, heavy sobs tearing out of my chest.

The front wooden door suddenly swung open.

A warm yellow light flooded over my soaked body. Rafael stood in the doorway, wearing a dark shirt and jeans. His jaw tightened instantly as he saw me sitting on the cold floor, wet and broken.

"Dara?" Rafael growled out, his voice laced with immediate concern.

He didn't ask questions. He dropped to his knees right beside me on the porch floor, his heavy hands grabbing my arms to pull me up. He lifted me off the cold wood effortlessly, carrying me inside the warm cottage and shutting the heavy storm door behind us.

He set me down gently on the edge of a soft sofa. He rushed into the bathroom and came back a second later with a thick, dry white towel.

"Look at me," Rafael commanded softly, dropping to his knees between my legs.

He wrapped the towel around my wet hair and shoulders, rubbing my arms firmly to bring heat back into my frozen skin. My chin was shaking so much my teeth were chattering loudly.

"He... he was with her," I choked out, a fresh wave of hot tears spilling over my lashes. "At the motel... I saw them, Rafael. I saw him with Chloe."

Rafael froze. His hands stopped moving on my shoulders. A dark, terrifying look flashed across his eyes, his knuckles turning pure white as his fingers gripped the towel.

"He called me boring," I sobbed, my voice breaking completely. "He said I was gullible. I gave him ten years of my life, Rafael. Ten years!"

"He's a blind bastard," Rafael rasped, his voice extremely low and dangerous.

He pulled the towel away from my face, his warm thumbs reaching up to wipe the wet tears from my cheeks. His touch was so gentle, so completely different from the harsh way Joe had grabbed my wrists earlier.

I looked into Rafael's dark eyes. The comfort in his gaze slowly began to shift into something else. Something heavy, thick, and dark.

His eyes dropped down to my mouth, his chest rising and falling heavily against my knees. I looked at his broad shoulders, his dark tattoos, the intense heat radiating off his skin.

A wild, dangerous spark ignited deep in my chest. I didn't want comfort anymore. I didn't want to be the sad, quiet girl who got cheated on. I wanted to destroy the golden boy who had broken me. I wanted to make Joe pay for every single lie.

"Rafael," I whispered, my hand reaching out to touch the side of his warm neck.

Rafael stiffened, his breath catching in his throat as my fingers brushed his bare skin.

"Dara," he warned in a raspy rumble, his eyes darkening completely. "If you touch me like that right now, I won't stop."

"Don't stop," I choked out, pulling his face closer to mine.