bathroom

Asena

After running from the hotel, broken and shamed, I walk aimlessly around the city.

I should have gone home and figured out how to return four hundred invitations, cancel a venue and explain to everyone that there was going to be no wedding. Instead, I stumbled into this place that reeks of alcohol, sin and latex.

Maybe I should have figured out how to make Matteo and Sophia pay but… it wasn't the first time she did this to me and our parents were always on her side and so, what was the point of throwing a tantrum when I would end up at fault?

I didn't even know where I was going until I found myself in a club. It's the kind of place I would never have stepped foot into but tonight…

…tonight I'm not me anymore, am I? Tonight, I just want to wash away my humiliation with alcohol and then go back to my apartment and sleep my sorrows away before I face the world again.

I take another sip of my drink, the room tilting around me. I slam the empty glass on the marble table and tap it twice.

"You want another?" The bartender asks, cutting through my spiral.

I nod even though my vision is swimming. I just want to be wasted and numb.

He lifts a brow.

"Easy on that drink. You're already drunk."

"Your work is to serve me, that's what I'm paying for. I don't need your advice," I snap, venting my frustration at the wrong person.

He gives me a look that says "'ve seen a hundred broken girls like you", then silently refills my glass.

The room tilts slightly when I reach for it, and I grip the bar counter to steady myself.

That's when I hear it.

"Hey there, beautiful."

I turn, too fast, and nearly knock into him.

An older man stands far too close, wearing a lecherous smile that makes bile rise in my throat. His eyes drag down my body like I'm something on a menu.

He reaches for my waist. Instinct takes over and I push him away.

"Back off, bastard!" I growl.

His expression tightens before twisting into a grin again.

"Don't be a tease. You're dressed like you want attention and drinking like you want to forget something. I'm offering to help with both."

So he's been watching me. Waiting. Seeing the perfect prey.

He grabs my shoulders and yanks me toward him.

I wrench away, stumbling, almost falling.

"Stay away from me or I'll scream!"

He laughs, low and mean.

"Go ahead. No one here cares."

Panic claws up my spine. Fight or flight… but fight has never been my strength. So I run, staggering. I push through the crowd blindly, knocking into bodies, ignoring curses thrown my way.

"Hey!" He shouts behind me. "Where are you going? Don't be a bitch, whore!"

His voice trails after me as I weave deeper into the club. Neon lights fade behind me, replaced by a dim hallway lined with doors.

I grab the nearest handle, shove the door open, and slip inside. Slam it shut. Lock it.

My chest heaves. I press my back against the wood, willing my heartbeat to slow.

Footsteps pass outside.

Only when they fade does the breath finally leave me in a shaky exhale.

Safe. I'm safe.

I turn… and freeze.

My eyes widen dramatically at the sight before me.

A woman kneels between two men I would recognize even after decades.

Caspian Hale and Zavian Hale.

My bullies. The ones who called me little Mouse and made me feel like nothing.

Caspian head is thrown back as the woman takes his length in her mouth.

Her hand is wrapped around Zavian's cock while his palm covers her breast, squeezing.

Caspian’s hand is wrapped around her throat, the sight looking like a bondage scene from that film I secretly watched a few days ago.

She screams when Caspian thrusts deep inside her mouth and something hot coils tight in my belly.

I can't look away even when every logical cell in my body is screaming to.

I clench my thighs together, my breath hitching.

Heat pulses between my legs, foreign and unwelcome and… wrong.

I can't help but wonder if this is what Matteo wanted? This wild thing I don't know how to be?

Zavian lifts his head and his eyes lock on mine.

His lips curl into a small deliberate smile.

"Asena?" His voice sounds rough and amused.

"Are you going to stand there watching all night, or do you want to join?"

My face burns with shame– shame of being caught staring at something dirty and unable to look away.

Caspian turns, smirking. "Cute. I didn't think little Mouse had it in her. Who knew she liked to watch?"

His words send both delicious and shameful tremors straight to my core.

Oh God!

"I… I didn't mean to. I thought this was the bathroom. I'm leaving…"

Zavian is the first to pull away and I watch as he shamelessly pushes back his junk before zipping his trousers.

The woman releases Caspian's cock with a flop and he smacks her ass, another moan slipping past her lips.

The woman collects payment from Zavian and slips past me, the door clicking shut behind her.

I'm alone with them.

"Leaving?" Caspian rises slowly, wiping his hands and steps closer.

Zavian follows.

That's when my mind sounds warning bells.

I grab the door handle and twist, desperate to flee, desperate to create distance between me and my tormentors.

But nothing happens. The door is locked.

I turn to face the two smirking men approaching me with predatory gazes.

“ You want to run away, little Mouse? Wanna play hide and seek?” Zavian asks, amused. He seems to be enjoying this too much when I am nothing but a bundle of nerves.

"Please let me go," I whisper.

Caspian's hand slams beside my head, his heat blanketing my back. I smell the masculine energy radiating from him.

Our gazes meet and the look on his eyes steals my breath away.

I try to escape but Zavian blocks my front, towering over me.

"Where do you think you're going, Asena?" Caspian murmurs against my ear.

My body trembles, something reckless coiling deep in my stomach.

“ Running away after interrupting our fun? Asena, how will you compensate us?”