The birthday party was in full swing. I stood in a corner of the crowd, my phone screen lighting up again and again.
Your divorce cooling-off period has expired...
I stared at the text message, my eyes flickering.
Finally. It was almost over.
"Prudence!"
Bertram's low voice snapped me back to reality. His gaze dropped to my phone screen.
I locked it instinctively and hid it behind my back.
But Bertram only gave me one long, unreadable look before speaking.
"Alexis wants to go to Subzero for a bit. You're coming with us."
Subzero. The most exclusive club in the city.
"You two go ahead. I'll just—"
I caught the utter indifference in his eyes and silently mocked myself for the panicked way I'd hidden my phone.
I should have known by now. He would never care.
But before I could finish, his cold voice cut me off.
"If you hadn't behaved yourself tonight, I never would have let you tag along. You should be grateful to Alexis for the privilege of setting foot in a place like that."
I watched his retreating back, my nails digging so deep into my palms they broke the skin.
Subzero Club.
Bertram sat dead center, Alexis curled in his arms. The two of them flirted openly, shamelessly, right under my nose.
I told myself I could endure it. Just hold on until the party ended. Then the spinning wheel's pointer stopped in front of me.
"Well, well, what do we have here? A little lady!"
One bold man spoke first. When the man in the center didn't so much as glance up, the rest turned to me with leering grins.
"Since it's a lady, we'll go easy. One button undone, one drink. Three buttons, three drinks!"
"Don't listen to him, sweetheart. I'll only make you undo two. With a body like that, you should give us a little dance!"
The whole room erupted in laughter.
I pressed my lips together as their demands grew filthier, one after another.
But what shattered me wasn't them.
It was Bertram.
He was peeling a grape, head bowed, placing it gently between Alexis's lips.
"They say eating grapes during pregnancy makes the baby's eyes bigger."
"Really? Then I'd better have a few more."
Their voices were soft, barely above a murmur, yet somehow they cut through the music and the vulgar jeering and reached me with perfect clarity.
Did he love her that much?
Enough to sit there while his own wife was humiliated and not spare a single glance?
My throat sealed shut, packed tight as if someone had shoved a fistful of wet cotton down it. I couldn't even form a cry.
Then one voice rose above the rest.
"A man and a woman, alone in a room, ten minutes!"
Bertram's hands finally went still.
Like the first time we'd met, ten years ago, his gaze found mine across the crowd.
Only this time was nothing like that day. The eyes that should have been filled with love were murky, distant, hollow.
He seemed to read the plea in my eyes. He stood.
Just as I thought there might be a shred of conscience left in him, his words plunged me into ice.
"Prudence, games have rules. Stop being so dramatic."
I stared at him in disbelief. He was willing to push me toward a stranger, just like that? He didn't even care about his own reputation?
"If you don't want to do it, drink. Three glasses. That's all. Stop wasting everyone's time."
He'd forgotten. He'd actually forgotten that I was severely allergic to alcohol. Three glasses could kill me.
After a long silence, I drew a slow breath and spoke, my voice flat and even. "I'll take the room."
The words landed like a slap. Every face in the room went rigid, including Bertram's.
He hadn't expected me to choose that.
Seconds later, his expression darkened visibly, his voice dropping to a terrifying cold. "Fine."
I looked at him and laughed inside.
Who was that jealous act supposed to fool?
I was shoved into a room along with a man bundled head to toe, and the door locked behind us.
Before I could react, he grabbed me and flung me onto the bed.
The next second, he pinned me down.
"What are you doing? Let go of me!"
In the struggle, I tore his mask off.
Beneath it was a face I recognized.
The man who had kidnapped Alexis.
I froze. My eyes went wide. It took a long time before I found my voice.
"You... what are you doing here?!"
The man flashed a sickening grin, his yellowed teeth turning my stomach.
"Don't be scared, sweetheart. I'll be gentle." He reached for the collar of my shirt.
"Don't touch me! Get off! Help! Bertram!"
I kicked him off and scrambled to the door, pounding on it with everything I had. Even now, in danger, the first name that tore from my throat was his.
But all that came through the door was a love song, followed by Alexis and Bertram's voices entwined in a tender duet.
The man seized my ankle and dragged me back to the bed.
Seconds crawled by. My voice gave out, shredded raw.
In the silence that swallowed my last scream, I closed my eyes.
