Chapter 005 - Starting All Over Again

Her flashback was cut short by a tear falling from her flushed cheeks.

She had been keeping her emotions but it finally broke loose after suppressing them for weeks.

Tonight was the first time she allowed herself to cry. As she did so, she promised herself it would also be the last.

As she wiped her tears with her palms, she remembered that night how Chloe woke up in daze only to realize she was there in the room.

However, instead of offering an explanation and begging for her forgiveness, Chloe had proudly lifted her chin.

“It's better you know the truth so Thunder would not be obliged to marry you. Your fiancé is my lover and we've been having an affair for two years.” Her cousin had declared. Ember felt as though the wind had slapped her in the face that time.

Thunder awoke to the sound of their voices, and he wasn't even startled to see Ember. He gave her a single icy stare before breaking the news that they were no longer engaged.

“Check yourself out in the reflection, Ember.” Her cousin had spoken and eyed her from head to toe. “Would Thunder really settle for a lady like you? You're an embarrassment to him. Gosh! you don't even know how to dress and I'm ashamed every time people think we are cousins. Remember this, you were just a pawn to make Thunder look good in the public's eyes so wake up! There's nothing special about you.”

The last thing Ember could recall before leaving the room was Chloe's insults and Thunder's laughter.

Curling her fists into tight balls on her sides, she pressed her eyes tightly shut until stars burst in her eyelids. But even with her eyes now closed. Thunder and Chloe's face and insults still haunt her thoughts.

Her teeth clenched on her bottom lip, bruising the delicate skin, spilling a drop of blood in her tongue where she tasted an awful metallic taste.

She was so angry at the two that she couldn't find the right words to describe her emotions. She wanted them out of her life for good and that led her to make a permanent decision. She decided to move on another city. That's exactly why she's leaving tonight.

Ember collected herself and once she calmed down, she got on her feet and started to pack her clothes inside her large suitcase.

As she was packing, her resignation letter dropped from the one of her things. Without thought she ripped it into pieces.

She hasn't had the chance to formally end her job because Chloe who was one of her superiors had fired her before she could pass her resignation letter.

She let go of a frustrated sigh and threw the pieces on the trash bin then continued packing her things.

An hour had passed after she finished arranging her personal belongings and she closed her large suitcase.

Realizing she was still in her white dress. Ember undressed, then changed into a beige jumpsuit which she paired with a leather flat sandals.

She checked herself in the full-length mirror and discovered her ebony curls was all over the place. Picking a brush from the vanity she tamed them into submission and tied them in a ponytail at the her nape.

A satisfied smile crossed on her lips after she saw her reflection on the mirror.

Ember gingerly closed the room. Her heeled shoes advancing on the length of the red carpeted aisle while her large suitcase trailed behind her like a shadow. On her way, she passed by the room Chloe had occupied. It was the same exact room where she found Thunder asleep, clinging to her cousin after a passionate love making.

Unable to help herself, she scoffed disdainfully at the memory, quickened her pace and made a beeline straight to the elevator.

The elevator dinged.

As she was skittering across the spacious lobby, she immediately spotted Icen Clayton's towering frame. He wasn't the type one would miss even in a crowd. He still hadn't removed his masquerade mask but she was one-thousand percent sure it was him.

He was on the phone but his piercing eyes surveyed the guests in the lobby. He appeared to be searching for someone in particular.

She quickly blended across the guests roaming the lobby before he could notice her. If he's looking for her, chances are he's would be looking for a woman in a white dress. Lucky for her that she changed into a beige jumpsuit.

Ember ran to the ladies room while muttering unintelligible curses under her breath and she hid there until she was sure Icen was gone.

As she fidgeted inside the tiny cubicle, she wondered if he'd been talking to the cops who were on their way to arrest her.

Terrified at the thought, Ember could only bite her nails.

A few minutes later, after she was certain that he was out of the lobby, she finally sneaked out of the ladies room. She skittered to the hotel upscale door after leaving her key card on the front desk.

Only did she release the breath she was holding when she was inside the safety of a cab.

“To the airport, please.” She told the driver.

Eyes closed, she leaned on her seat.

Tired and mentally exhausted, she had fallen fast asleep. She was jolted to awareness when the car skidded into a stop at her destination.

Ember handed the payment and got off the cab with her suitcase in her hand.

As she made her way inside the airport, she felt a rush of thrill at the knowledge of living in another city to begin again. She knew life will never ever be the same for her.

For the first time in three years she felt like a bird set free from a cage.

She let go of a contented sigh.

“I hope we will never meet again, Icen Clayton Blackstone,” Ember said to herself one last time and went on her way.