My hair was falling out in handfuls. In the kitchen, staring at the cleaver, I actually thought about ending it right there.
That month locked inside, Alex would come by occasionally. Every time, I hoped a bottle of sleeping pills would mean I'd never have to see him again.
Days bled into nights. I couldn't tell them apart anymore.
When he found me lying on the bed, barely conscious, Alex slapped me awake.
"You'd better stay alive. Anything happens to you, your dad's next."
My father was critically ill. The treatment costs were astronomical. I'd just graduated—not a penny to my name. Alex had paid for everything. The best doctors. The best care.
He flung the medical bills in my face.
"Without me, could your dad afford any of this?"
That slap woke me up in more ways than one.
I hadn't wronged anyone. Why was I the one suffering?
If Alex could have countless lovers, why couldn't I?
He demanded I be his. He never demanded I be his alone.
Once I understood that, I accepted his terms gladly.
That was when Alex Gilbert entered my life.
I took a lover too—Alex Delgado's closest friend.
The next morning, Alex was blocking my doorway.
Face dark. Hair a mess.
"I texted you last night. Why didn't you answer?"
I was carrying out the trash. "Isn't this what you wanted?"
That sentence lit him on fire. He lunged forward, grabbed my chin, and bit down hard on my lips.
Blood flooded my mouth.
I shoved him back.
"This is what you call loving me? Wanting to marry me?"
"You went back to the States and slept with someone else."
"And now you're standing at my door."
"You're disgusting."
I said it word by word, staring straight into his eyes.
The rage in them nearly combusted. He slammed his fist into the wall.
"Just wait." He spat the words and stormed off.
My heart was pounding out of my chest.
He didn't know that right now, Alex Gilbert was still lying naked in my bed.
I didn't take the threat seriously. Usually he'd just sleep with some other girl for a night to spite me.
I didn't expect this.
Soon after, Alex sent me a photo from the hospital.
My father was in the background, unconscious on the bed.
Then a video. In it, he pointed at the oxygen tank, smiling, asking what I thought would happen if he pulled it out.
I shook so hard I could barely walk.
I grabbed a cab and burst into the ward like a madwoman.
What I saw made me bite through my lip.
My father lay still, unconscious.
And there was Alex in the chair beside him. Nurse Tanya was curled naked in his lap, arms draped around his neck.
In my father's hospital room.
The nurse looked at me, smug, shifting her body against him.
My vision went red.
"How can you be this shameless?"
Alex shoved her off and stood, smirking.
"This is what happens when you don't listen to me."
