A Scandal With Mr. Nightwood

How could he do this to me? Weren’t we in love?

Tonight, on New Year's Day, where spirits were high, excitement in the air, my world crashed. 

My trust, my love, my future, my emotions, everything died when I saw my ‘forever’ was pressed against the headboard, his hands gripping the waist of my best friend, Amie.

“E-Edric?” 

The room went dead silent. 

Edric bolted upright, his hair a mess, his skin flushed with a heat that wasn't meant for me. He was shocked but not guilty or ashamed. 

Amie didn’t hide either, she simply leaned back, a slow, triumphant smirk spreading across her face.

"Kristine," Edric panted, wiping sweat from his brow, "You are early."

"Early enough to see the man I love fucking the woman I trusted?" 

My vision blurred. A single tear escaped, hot and stinging, trailing through my ruined makeup.

"How could you…?" I choked out, tears blurring the sight of them. 

"I thought... I thought we were building a life together, Edric,"

Impotent to carry the pain, the resonance of my sobbing echoed in the beautifully decorated suite yet it didn’t bulge the asshole before me.

“A life? Together? When did I agree to such an absurd idea?”

The cruelty of his statement made me flinch. I thought this was the worst my life could get. Boyfriend cheating on me with my friend on New Year's, right? 

No. Because in my hands lies a fucking pregancy test that showed the results ‘POSITIVE’ in digital ink. 

I had envisioned this moment a thousand times. The candlelight, the champagne, and the look of pure joy on Edric’s face when I told him he was going to be a father.

The future I dreamt to build shattered in one moment. 

What could possibly be more painful than this? 

“Both of you are assholes,” I whimpered, steps stumbling due to overwhelming heartbreak and weakness.

“How could you betray me? What have I not done for you? I gave you all my assets, my money, my love and this is what I get?”

Anguish coated my gray eyes. My black hair was in a mess, glaring outrageously through the salty tears at those two who returned a cocky smirk.

“So what? You are just a mess in the end. A pathetic woman. What do you have for me to desire you?” 

Shaking violently, the papers in my hands almost ripped as my chest constricted with inexplicable heartbreak. 

Praying they hold a slightest glimpse of regret in those eyes but to no avail. They were enjoying it.

“How can you say this? Weren’t we friends, Amie? Weren’t we lovers, Edric?”

“Exactly. We were.” 

"Go home, Kristine. Find someone on your own level." 

He laughed when Amie mocked me, purposely tightening her grip on him while pressing herself harder into him.

They had zero concern about my ache which flared my chest with the need to do the worst to them. They couldn’t get away with this so easily. 

“One day, you will regret betraying me, you will beg me for forgiveness… just watch!”

“You wish,” 

No, I won’t let it. 

My grieve evoked a strong, uncontrollable wrath in me. They won’t be forgiven easily.

I looked at the heavy crystal vase on the side table. My mind shut down. I swung.

CRACK.

The vase shattered against Edric’s temple. He slumped instantly, blood blooming across the white silk sheets. 

Amie screamed, scrambling back, but I was already at the door.

"Happy New Year, assholes," I spat, wiping my useless tears before showing my middle finger to them as I slammed the door behind me

Scowling, wiping my tears roughly, I showed them my middle finger before walking away, cursing them constantly in my heart.

After getting my heart ruptured, experiencing a nightmarish start of the years, I was expressing my grief to my best friend Rose at a dimly-lit bar.

“How could he do this to me, Rose? What is going to happen to my baby now?” I sobbed, tears streaming down my face without any intention to halt which I tried to hide in my palm.

"I always knew he was a dog, but Amie? That’s bottom-tier behavior." Rose shrugged, taking a shot of tequila.

“I hope both of them suffer in the worst way possible,” I muttered, tightening my grip over my drink, losing my composure. 

The merest thought my friend and boyfriend deceiving me for Lord knows how long was breaking my heart beyond repair.

“Come on, Kristine, it’s New Year. Maybe this is a sign for you to have a new start. He is not the last man on Earth,” She suggested.

“Or a sign that my life has reached its lowest point and I have to raise this baby alone,” I scoffed, wiping my tears roughly, pouring myself another drink. 

“Come on, you are Kristine Iglesias, you don’t need that man to raise a child,” She tried to be optimistic, clicking her glass against mine.

“But-”  

Utterly displeased but soon the alcohol started to blur my perception and I mindlessly agreed in order to subdue the overwhelming pain. 

“Fuck it, enjoy the New Year,” 

“Yeah… you are right… Why should I sob? We don’t need a pathetic baby daddy, ” 

I pushed my messy hair, shaking my head to discard the anguish, getting pumped for the night and surprisingly it worked as I was immersed in the moment.

"I am done being the victim, Rose," I said, slamming my empty glass onto the marble bar. 

The tequila had finally numbed the sharp edges of my heartbreak, replacing it with a reckless, golden heat.

"Good," Rose replied, her eyes darting toward the shadows of the VIP lounge. 

"Because the most dangerous man in the room hasn’t taken his eyes off you for the past twenty minutes."

“Who-” I followed her gaze.

Sitting in a booth carved from shadows and velvet was the irresistible man, Zayne Nightwood. The most bewitching, dominating business man. Owner of Nightwood Corporation, having chains of airlines, shipments.

Surprisingly, tonight, he didn't look like a businessman; he looked like a predator. 

“Zayne Nightwood?” 

Our eyes locked, he raised his glass. 

His breathtaking sapphire ones didn’t break the contact. Increasing the intensity of the moment which amplified my heart. 

“Your ex’s mortal enemy. How does that sound like ultimate revenge?”

I was shocked at her suggestion but then something wicked knocked in my mind. The alcohol fueled a sudden, reckless bravery. 

I didn't just want to move on. 

I wanted to burn Edric’s world to the ground.

“How…” I smirked back, raising my glass too, “Perfect,”

I stood up, smoothed my black silk dress, and walked straight toward the man who made the city tremble. I didn't wait for an invite. I stepped into his space, my fingers grazing the edge of his table.

“Mr. Nightwood.” I purred, extending my hand out to him which he grabbed without hesitation, pulling me into his laps. He seemed content, pressing me harder into him with his hot breaths on my neck.

“Where is that good-for-nothing boyfriend of yours, Miss Iglesias?”

“Ex,” I corrected him sourly, taking a sip of my drink, siding my hand to his knee. 

A wicked glimpse flickered in his eyes, as if it was the most felicitous news and simultaneously, we both sensed a hidden intention. 

“Finally decided to raise your standard?”  

I was barely in my sense, giggling as my fingers traced over his chiseled jawline, running my fingers through the beard of this devilishly handsome man.

“Uh-huh,” 

He saw lust clouding my eyes, pressing himself against me, running my finger down to his neck as he inhaled my scent.

“In that case,”

Holding my hand, he kissed my wrist while wrapping his other hand around my waist, blinding me in his spell and I subconsciously craved more of it.

“Would you like me to make your New Year unforgettable, sweetheart?” 

“I would love to~”