Page 2 of A Forbidden Arrangement
My chest locks tight, breath stuck in my throat. Every instinct screams at me to turn around, to walk away, to pretend I never came.
The door keeps sliding open, revealing a woman laid over Bradley’s desk, her dress shoved high over her hips. The plant I bought him sits tipped in the corner, dirt spilled across the carpet. The sight barely makes sense before the slap of his hips connecting with her snaps me out of my daze.
He whirls at my gasp, eyes wide, fumbling with his belt. “Dahlia, wait. Baby, please, it’s not what it looks like.”
I choke out a bitter laugh. “Is this the part where you say ‘I accidentally fell and somehow landed with my dick in her’?”
He circles the desk with both palms raised as if approaching a wild animal. “Please, listen to me. I’ve been under so much pressure. These clients, the late nights, all of it. I was losing my mind. I wasn’t thinking clearly. It meant nothing. You know you’re the only one I love.”
The blonde shifts, pulling her dress down. Her face twists, insulted at the word “nothing.” I almost laugh, because apparently, she thought this was more than a stress reliever.
My arms wrap tight across my chest. “Nothing? Are you really going to play that game? A little cliché, don’t you think?”
“I swear to you, it wasn’t planned. She came on to me. I should have stopped it, but I was weak. God, Dahlia, you know me. You know I’d never do anything to hurt you. Everything I do is for us.”
Bradley drags a hand through his hair, eyes shining with panic. “Don’t do this. Don’t throw away everything we’ve built over one mistake. Think about the house, the future we talked about, the sacrifices we both made to get here. You can’t mean to walk away because of this.”
Bile sours my mouth, his proximity making me nauseous, and I back away from his touch, giving myself some much-needed space. “Because of this? I just caught you havingsexwith someone else.”
His expression flickers, pleading hardening into irritation. “You’ve been so needy lately. Always tired, always sulking when I had to stay late. Do you have any idea the pressure I’m under? I felt alone, Dahlia. Maybe if you had been more supportive, I wouldn’t have slipped tonight.”
The audacity makes my chest burn. “You’re blaming me?”
He exhales sharply, composure cracking. “I’m saying this doesn’t have to end everything. You’re being dramatic. You have to see that. We’re stronger than this. You need me.”
The certainty in his voice makes me freeze.
The truth of his words stings because I really had given up everything. When he begged me to follow him here, convinced me to use the money I had left from selling the flower shop, when he started saying we needed to focus on work and not making friends…he made me depend on him.
“Is that why you didn’t bring me up here with you? So, you could keep me small while you slept with someone else on the desk I decorated?”
Something cold and smug slides over his face, like a mask falling away. “Dahlia, you know you don’t belong on this floor. You don’t even have a degree. You were never going to make it here without me. I built this. I made you. Without me, you have nothing. So stop being an idiot, and let’s go home. We will forget this ever happened, and you will make it up to me later.”
The words slam into me. Any lingering doubt vanishes. The man in front of me is a stranger.
“You are an egotistical, small-dicked, balding freaking asshole.” Before I can think, the heel of my palm connects upward into his nose with a crunch. Blood seeps between his fingers as he clutches it, eyes narrowing. Rage replaces the panic. I don’t wait for him to lunge. I kick his shin, hard, and bolt for the door, not stopping until I’m out of the building and the brisk night air hits my skin and reality with it.
I’m homeless, jobless, friendless…in other words, I’m totally screwed.
Chapter 2
Dahlia
I’ve been walkingfor hours, refusing to head back to our…his…apartment. I don’t think I can handle seeing his face without picturing the way he looked while he…okay, I can’t think about that.
Instead, I’m going into full survival mode. I knew watching all of those crime shows would come in handy. I’ve withdrawn the maximum daily amount of cash, so I’m not completely helpless, but most hotels still require a card down as assurance. Since Bradley and I share an account, he’d be able to find me, and I really don’t want to be found right now.
Not that he’d actually try. That’s probably giving him a little too much credit.
I would give anything to curl up in a ball under my covers while hugging a vat of ice cream and watching K-dramas until my brain melts.
Numb. I want to be numb to the pain tearing at my chest, to the knowledge that I’ve been a complete moron and let myself get into this position in the first place. After hours of sulking, I just want to forget about all of this for a single day. Then I can figure it out tomorrow.
The universe must hate me because a crack of thunder rattles overhead, and then rain sheets down, soaking me in seconds.
A door opens on my right, and the sound of music floats out. It’s a lounge located on the first floor of a brand-new high-end hotel, the kind with marble floors and ten-dollar bottles of water.
I bolt toward the entrance, fully aware that this is the type of place with a dress code, and I already look like a drowned rat. There’s a good chance I’m seconds away from embarrassing myself for the second time tonight.
