Semua Bab Wedcuffed: Bab 251 - Bab 260

Sarah POVSaturday NightThe zipper scarcely made it past my ribs before that breath of mine contained a curse.“God, why ever did I let you talk to me into this?” I muttered because I was yanking at the fabric back up again.“Because you are hot,” Ester said, flopping onto my bed as she had a glass of wine in hand, smirking like she was the devil in silk. “And because it has been a year, Sarah. It has been for a whole year since you did go out. You showed everyone you are not only someone’s mother or ex-wife or ex-lover. You’re you.”I looked at what my reflection was.The black dress was as a second skin. Silk sleeveless with a low cut and a slit high upon my thigh flirted dangerously. I would have put on that style of dress two years before now without even blinking. Before Gabriel. Before my body changed. Heartbreak, betrayal, marriage: these came earlier.Ester questioned, “You breathe, yes?”“Barely.”With her eyes softening, she got up then, fixed a strand of my hair back behind

Alessandro POVSaturday Night:11:12 PMThe message came through on my secure line a soft tremor against my desk's smooth mahogany. “Movement” showed in the encrypted notification as just one word.I was tapped by it to expand.Sarah Darell.Midtown Manhattan: It is the location for Club LUX.Entry was confirmed at 10:36 PM.The picture was not exactly gem clear after it was taken, but it did not need to be. Indeed, her outline was unmistakable within a low-resolution capture. Dark dress. Long legs. Hair down.My pulse began for to thrum beneath the surface as I stared up at the screen.She went out. To a club. Dressed like that.The message should have been deleted by me then. I should have shut off the tracker I swore I would only use to ensure her safety.But I didn’t.I grabbed my jacket in its place and exited before any next breath left my lungs.My driver, a man of vendetta, tore through Manhattan in the black car, weaving among traffic. Quiet and angry, I sat in the back seat.S

Alessandro POVThe stillness within the vehicle seemed huge. Sarah sank into the passenger seat near me with her head resting on the window; cool breath made mist. Her makeup had a bit of smear and her cheeks were colored by the warmth of alcohol with the subtle sparkle upon her collarbones still reflecting the dashboard lights with each streetlamp that we passed beneath.She stayed quiet since she finished not one word. Only the rare interruption of a breath, with the soft whisper of silk as she moved. I gripped the wheel tighter so my knuckles turned white against the leather.I did not want Sarah to deal with anything more tonight no questions, no judgment, no lectures from her best friend, since the driver was directed to return her home, as Ester was securely placed in the other vehicle behind us. I was not able to pretend that I had nothing to do with the spiraling that she was doing.My eyes did keep replaying the night. I could not forget the night.She danced across the floor

Sarah POVMondayThe morning sun slanted through the city’s sharp skyline also cast long shadows onto my bedroom floor. I felt so cold, even with all of the warmth in the light.Numb, even.Light from early morning filtering through sheer window coverings cast subtle stripes across the floor as I stood before the full-length mirror in my room. The silk barely hid aftereffects from one dark night I didn't quite manage so my robe loosely fit a shoulder. I tilted my chin as my eyes followed marks trailing along my neck and collarbone, faint to begin with, but incomprehensible to disregard. Overnight the bruises were obscured because they blossomed into shades of softened violet and darkened blood red, as if my skin retained the chaos of all he made me feel.I took a moderate breath so I uncapped the concealer then spotted it carefully over each stamp. Even though my fingers moved with practised beauty, still my hands trembled marginally, deceiving the storm inside of me. Each touch brough

Adrian’s POVMonday AfternoonI closed the door behind me a bit harder than necessary.The folder I held was now creased, its edge folded from the firmness of my clenching. I noticed it when my eyes fell down since I looked for a new focus, any thing other than that picture which burned into my memory.Sarah. Her neck. Those marksGoddamn him.The plush carpet did nothing to absorb the heat rising through me as I paced right outside her office. My brain’s logical part whispered this wasn’t my business now. She was free for seeing who she wanted, for doing what she wanted. We were divorced. She’d made that clear.That part of me was burning up, but the other part still woke at night and half-reached for her cold side of the bed before realising.I was certain of something. I knew with certainty just who it was that left those marks.That result exceeded all other issues. I was able to see it right in her face then. She clutched at her blazer as if she could pull herself back into her