Chapter 5: Tonight, I'm claiming you.

Roxana

I slam my hand over my mouth to stop from screaming as the scene unfolds before me. Tears choke me.

My knees buckle, and my entire body shakes uncontrollably. Is this a nightmare? A lump forms in my throat. I can already feel wetness staining my cheeks.

This is the man I love so much—the man I gave up everything for, with another woman on the bed.

Naked. She’s bent over in front of him, grasping the bed sheet while Aaron is behind her, thrusting into her.

I can’t believe my eyes. My entire world is crashing down at my feet, and I can't do anything but watch.

Memories flood my mind. On that same bed, Aaron and I shared passionate nights. The way he’d whisper those sweet, assuring words into my ears, promising we’d spend forever together, that nothing in the world could separate us.

Now he’s busy ravaging another woman on it. A woman he claimed was his distant cousin who came by the last time I was at his house.

I saw her in the kitchen, putting on his shirt while cooking. I asked him, and he said she was a cousin visiting.

Turns out, she isn’t. She’s his lover. They’ve been staying together, f*cking on this same bed.

My knees are growing weak—so weak I might fall to the floor any moment.

I'm so stupid. So utterly senseless.

I left everything behind, I did, to be with him. And he’s here, not caring about me. My chest tightens so hard I fear it may rip out of my body.

How could he do this to me?

He endangered my life, knowing he didn't want me.

“Oh, Babe, i love your pu**y. It’s so sweet,” he tilts his head back, veins in his neck bulging as he thrusts into her.

“F*ck me harder, baby.”

“I love you, baby.” My chest hurts terribly. It’s hurting. Pain explodes inside me, too much to bear.

The room spins.

They don't notice me. They’re clearly enjoying it, tearing my heart apart further.

They finish and collapse onto the bed.

Just then, Aaron’s eyes fall on me—standing by the bedroom door with my backpack still on my back and my world crumbling at my feet.

He stands abruptly, panic written all over his face. “Rox…..” he calls my name, but I don’t hear him.

I'm far gone, deep into nothingness. Silent tears stream down my face, mirroring the pain inside me.

“Why?” The word escapes my lips before I can stop it. “Why did you do this to me?”

I can't think of any reason for him to break me like this.

“It’s not what you think,” he tries to move closer, but I step back.

The woman on the bed rolls her eyes, clearly annoyed. “Why are you begging her, Aaron?” she snaps.

I stare, unable to speak.

His eyes dart to her. “Babe, I...” he begins, calling her babe again—right in front of me.

What am I then? A trash can? Somewhere he throws his trash whenever he feels like it? I clutch the wall; it’s the only thing holding me up.

“She’s nothing. Just a thing to pass the time. I'm the mother of your child,” she states.

My world flips over. “You have a child?” Anger surges from nowhere.

My nails dig into my palms.

“I… I… It’s not what you think.”

I laugh—loud, bitter. “It’s not what I think? The fact that you’ve been sleeping with another woman, the fact that she has a child for you, isn’t that what you mean?” I feel an overwhelming urge to throw a tantrum.

I’m tempted to smash his head into a nearby wall, but I'm too stunned to move.

I step forward, grabbing his shirt. “You lied to me! You deceived me! And it’s not what I think?”

The woman on the bed immediately moves to my side and pushes me away. “Get off my man, weirdo.”

I fall to the floor, pain exploding through my body. I shudder, and tears burst from my eyes.

“You shouldn't have pushed her away like that,” Aaron snaps at her.

“Are you taking her side? Do you love her more than me?”

“No… I…”

This has to be a dream.

I close my eyes for a moment, hoping that when I open them, I’ll be back in my room with a romance novel beside me. But when I open them, I see something entirely different—and it shocks me completely.

Tristan is staring down at me.

My breath catches in my throat.

How did he find me?

His eyes are red. He looks dangerous—like the devil from hell, set to ruin and destroy.

My eyes take in the scene: Tristan’s brothers are entering, grabbing Aaron and his so-called lover, dragging them out.

Leaving Tristan and me alone.

My eyes snap to his, tears falling uncontrollably.

I can hear my heartbeat loud in my ears. “Tristan,” I whisper.

He just stares, as if he’s looking right through me.

For the first time, I look at him deeply, eyes running over his entire body.

He looks so dangerous—so ruthlessly handsome—covered in tattoos.

My breath catches again. His green eyes are captivating enough to make every woman weak.

Why?

“It’s time to go home, dear bride.”

What is he going to do to me? Will he kill me? I ran away, he can’t just brush that off as if it’s nothing.

I know men like him. He will definitely do something.

“Will you kill me?” tears well up in my lashes.

Tristan laughs, the sound echoing through the room. “I won’t. But trust me, you’ve defied me, so I must punish you.” Then he pulls me up and whispers in my ear, “Tonight. Tonight, I'm claiming you. I'm making you mine, and you won't be able to run from me again.”