My fingers tightened around the cold porcelain vase, the weight of it heavy and trembling in my hands as if it carried every ounce of betrayal in my chest. My heart hammered so loud that I could barely hear the moans echoing from the bedroom anymore. My vision blurred with hot tears, but I didn’t care anymore, I wanted blood... His blood to be precise. The man I had defended, the man I had loved against all reason, was lying in bed with another woman like everything we shared had meant nothing. My arms shook as I raised the vase high above my head, my rage spilling out in violent tremors, ready to strike him down for making a fool of me. But before I could bring it crashing down, the girl on the bed suddenly turned her head. Her eyes widened as she noticed me standing there with a vase in my hand. "MARK!" she screamed, her shrill voice cutting through the air and startling me as well. Mark jolted upright instantly and his face twisted in shock when he realized what was happening. He scrambled up, his bare skin glistening with sweat and his muscles tensed as he realized I was standing there. My grip on the vase loosened just slightly as my mind was caught between fury and devastation. But the scream had already ruined my chance as he lunged forward, and the vase smashed down on his shoulder instead of his skull. "Ahh... damn it!" he cursed through gritted teeth as the porcelain cracked against him. His hand flew up to clutch the injured spot, and his face twisted in pain. I stood there, chest heaving, tears spilling freely down my face. Seeing him naked and completely exposed made me sick. He wouldn’t even share a bed with me, all in the name of remaining pure and now, he was standing in front of me completely naked. It made me want to vomit so badly. He looked at me as though he didn’t even realize he was named as he took a desperate step closer, trying to hold my hand. "Raina, listen it’s not what it looks like," he said with a panicked expression and his voice cracked with urgency. "Please, let me explain, you don’t understand... "he continued but I raised my hand to stop him. "Don’t touch me!" I shoved him backward, I felt so disgusted when he came so close to me. "Don’t you dare come near me!" I yelled angrily at him. Before he could reply, the girl jumped off the bed. She was quicker than I expected, as she grabbed one of his shirts from the floor and yanked it over her body. Her hair was a wild mess, lips swollen from kissing him and her eyes were gleaming with hatred as if I was the villain here. She stormed up to me and, without hesitation, smacked me hard across the face. The sharp sting sent my head spinning and my hand flew to my cheek as the pain spread across my skin. My knees threatened to buckle, but I refused to give her the satisfaction of seeing me crumble. She used a lot of force and my ear was ringing as well. "How dare you?" she spat venomously. "Who the hell do you think you are to walk in here and attack my boyfriend?" she asked me angrily as her body trembled in rage. The words sliced through me like blades and I could not even come up with any words to reply to her at the moment. I was too stunned and shocked to even think and the pain in my chest was suffocating. "Callie, stop!" Mark barked, rushing forward to drag her away from me. His hands gripped her arm as he pulled her back, glaring at her. "Don’t touch her!" he yelled at her while looking at me with a worried expression. I laughed, a hollow and broken sound that echoed through the apartment. "Your boyfriend?" I repeated, choking on the bitterness of the word. My palm burned with fury, and before I knew it, I raised my hand and slapped Mark across the face with all the strength I had left. The sound of it cracked through the air, leaving a red mark blossoming on his cheek. He froze, staring at me as if he didn’t recognize the girl who had just struck him. "You are filth, Mark," I hissed as my voice trembled. "I regret ever meeting you, I regret every moment, every breath, every piece of my heart I gave to you. I swear, I will make your life miserable for this." I swore angrily while glaring at him with hatred. Something in his face shifted then and his lips slowly raised into a sneer. For the first time, he finally dropped his mask. His desperation to explain, his fake remorse has all faded. He stared at me with a smirk. "Make my life miserable?" he asked me with a mocking voice. "Tell me, Raina, how do you plan to do that when you won’t even last in your own family?" he asked me with a mocking laughter that sent chills down my spine. My stomach dropped and my legs almost gave up on me. "You’re naive," he continued, his words felt like sharp daggers in my chest. "You think you’re strong, but you’re gullible. You were just a spoiled little girl looking for love, and I was smart enough to give you a story you would believe." he said while looking at me with a sneer. "What are.. you talking about?" I asked with a trembling voice. He leaned closer as his eyes darkened. "Do you really think that night when I saved you from those thugs was fate? Do you think it was some noble act? Oh..Please. That was all Celeste." he revealed and I froze. "Celeste?" I repeated in shock. "She was the one who told me where you would be and she wanted me to get close to you. She knew you would fall for the knight-in-shining-armor act. And you did, so easily. You ate it all up, Raina. Every lie and every performance. And you gave me everything I asked for in return." he said with a triumphant smile. I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. "No... no, you’re lying. You’re just trying to hurt me more?!." I screamed at him. "Am I?" he challenged, raising his brows. Follow current novels on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽 "Think about it, the money, the gifts, the apartment and the car. Did you really think I wanted you? You were nothing but my cash cow and damn, you were so easy to milk." he said with a smirk. The world tilted beneath me. My knees buckled, but anger forced me to stay upright. "You bastard," I whispered, raising my hand to strike him again. But this time, he was ready. His hand shot up and he slapped me first, the force of it snapping my head to the side and my ears started ringing again as my vision blurred. The humiliation burned deeper than the sting. And then, as if to twist the knife deeper, he pulled the Callie girl into his arms right in front of me. She smirked, while wrapping her arms around him and pressed her lips against his neck as though she was marking her territory. "You don’t own me, Raina," Mark said coldly. "You never did." he said with a mocking smile. My hands shook as I pointed to the door, rage burning through me. "Get out!... Get out of this apartment. It’s mine and I paid the rent. And also return the car too.. it was bought with my money!" I yelled at him angrily. He laughed in my face and his expression became even more mocking. "Yours? Oh, sweetheart, don’t make me laugh. Every receipt and every document is in my name. You can’t take anything from me. You gave it all to me freely, remember? That’s what makes this so sweet." he said with a victorious smile. I felt like my chest was caving in, like my lungs couldn’t draw breath anymore. He didn’t care about me as he turned back to Callie, and without shame or hesitation, he began kissing her again with his hands roaming her body right in front of me. The world crashed down and my heart shattered into pieces too small to gather. I stumbled backwards, my body moving without thought. My feet carried me out of the apartment and my tears were blinding me as the echo of their laughter chased me like ghosts. I didn’t even know where I was going. I just knew I had to get out of this place as soon as possible or else I would run mad. The night air slapped me across the face as I stepped outside. My breaths came in gasps, broken sobs tearing through my throat. My hands clutched at my chest as if I could hold the shattered pieces of my heart together. I wandered into the street with no direction or thought. Just the sharp pain from Mark’s betrayal. The screeching of tires tore through the night. My head snapped up and my eyes widening as headlights blinded me. That was when I noticed that a car was coming straight at me.