Kael’s friends erupted into laughter, their voices carrying a cruel edge that made my blood run cold.
“Right, Selara’s perfect if you want a mate for life,” one of them teased.
“So… when’s the wedding?” another chimed in, grinning like it was already written in stone.
I froze outside the private room, my heart hammering in my chest. Kael had never really seen me as a partner, as someone worthy of care. To him, I had always been convenient—a presence to summon when needed and discard when it suited him.
I refused to step inside. I refused to give him even an inch of my attention anymore.
But as soon as I returned home, my phone buzzed with a notification. Selara had posted photos from the party. One slide showed the two of them laughing together, another captured Kael leaning heavily on her shoulder, drunk and completely at ease with her.
Fury surged through me, sharp and scorching. I packed not just my essentials, but stripped the apartment of every trace of myself. In two weeks, I would be gone, and nothing of me would remain.
Over the next few days, I ignored him entirely. By daylight, I immersed myself in photography, chasing shutter clicks and angles. At night, I lost myself in editing, in the rhythm of my own life—one that didn’t include him. Whether he returned home or remained out with Selara, whether he noticed my absence or not, it didn’t matter to me anymore.
A week before my departure, my room had become nearly empty. If Kael had even the slightest shred of sensitivity, he would have noticed the absence of my presence in the apartment. But I doubted he had.
That evening, I slung my bag over my shoulder, ready to deliver a client’s photo files and meet a friend afterward. Just as my fingers curled around the doorknob, Kael entered, a plastic bag of beer dangling from one hand.
For the first time since that night at the bar, we were face-to-face.
His amber eyes darkened as they settled on me, and a bitter laugh escaped his throat. “Well, well. We finally collide. Even though we share this space, we haven’t crossed paths all week. Not once.”
I didn’t answer. I refused to play his game.
“Haven’t we already forgiven each other a week ago?” he continued, voice sharp and dripping with sarcasm. “You even made me breakfast, like you always do. But after that… nothing. You act like the whole week vanished. How long, Railey? How long are you going to avoid me?”
“I’m busy,” I said flatly, adjusting my bag and preparing to leave.
Before I could step out, his hand shot out, grabbing my wrist and yanking me back. My breath caught as he pressed me against the wall, his presence heavy and suffocating.
“Railey,” he murmured, the alcohol heavy on his breath. “If you keep behaving like this… I will end up marrying Selara for real.”
I turned my face to the side, avoiding his heated gaze. My wrist throbbed under his grip, but I refused to show weakness. “Then do it. I don’t care.”
Kael’s eyes darkened further, frustration coiling through his tense posture. “Don’t care?” he growled. “Since when did you stop caring about me? Avoiding me doesn’t prove that you don’t—you’re jealous, and it’s obvious.”
He leaned closer, the menace in his voice sharp as a claw. “Oh, right. I haven’t shown enough of my love for you, have I? Fine. I’ll fix that… so you’ll never dare avoid me again over something so trivial.”
The bag slipped from his hand, spilling beer cans across the floor with a metallic clatter. Before I could react, he seized both my wrists, pressing them above my head against the wall.
“Kael, let go! You’re drunk!” I warned, voice steady, but he ignored me.
His left hand reached for my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze. His fingers dug into my skin as he leaned in, claiming my lips in a possessive, bruising kiss.
I struggled, kicking and twisting in his grasp, but my strength was nothing compared to his. For the first time, Kael’s roughness broke through, leaving me shocked and trembling.
“Kael… it hurts,” I sobbed, my voice shaking. “Was your promise not to hurt me… also a lie?”
Something inside him shattered. His body tensed, his drunken haze giving way to the stark clarity of realization. His grip slackened, his breathing erratic, eyes wide as if finally seeing what he had done.
“Railey… I…” he began, voice cracking.
I didn’t let him finish. The moment I was free, I shoved him back and fled the apartment, my heart pounding in my ears.
I caught my reflection in the elevator mirror and froze. My hair was disheveled, my face pale and raw.
“Bastard,” I muttered under my breath, scowling at the reflection of the man I had loved for too long.
Thankfully, meeting my friend afterward eased some of the tension. Her laughter, the warmth of normal conversation, grounded me back in reality. I was genuinely happy for her honeymoon, secure in the knowledge that her joy had nothing to do with Kael.
But my relief was fleeting. One of my clients for the day was… Selara. I couldn’t hold her final photo rolls any longer, so I made my way to meet her.
She greeted me with her trademark easy smile, flipping through the images. “These are really good. You’ve got talent.” She tapped her phone. “Oh, I’ve already transferred the payment, including the bonus.”
“Thanks,” I muttered, ready to leave.
But then she added, casually, yet deliberately: “By the way… since you didn’t pick him up that night, I brought him home. Not yours—mine. We… enjoyed that night together, Railey.”
I froze, eyes narrowing.
Selara tilted her head, watching me with mock sympathy. “That night, when he stayed at my place, he… mistook me for you,” she continued softly, almost tauntingly. “He was… out of control. He seemed desperate for you.”
My body went rigid.
Selara’s sweet smile didn’t falter. “So… I’m sorry, Railey. But an accident happened between us. I hope Kael explained it?”
My heart slowed in my chest, hollow and heavy.
She leaned in, voice dropping to a near whisper. “I know our… arrangement is only for our families’ sake. I know you’re the one he truly loves. But Railey… I saw how much he enjoyed that night. The next morning, he laughed about it, saying it was the most incredible night he’d ever had.”
I swallowed hard, every breath bitter and uneven.
Selara’s eyes gleamed, cruelly triumphant. “So… why don’t you just give up? Your relationship is already crumbling.”
She smiled again, soft and poisonous. “Oh, and one more thing… I want to hire you as my wedding photographer. Awkward, isn’t it, considering you’ll still be dating him by then?”
