Rosa’s POV
“What is wrong with you?”
Patra stood by the door, hand on the knob, in her usual bonnet.
I wobbled in, too distracted to say anything. “I need a breather.”
I heard the closing of the door behind me. It sounded very much like the closing of the chapter with Charly. A chapter he had won.
I fell on the couch and let out an air of exasperation.
“You're drunk, Rosa,” I heard Patra state the obvious. “Tell me, how did it go?”
I had no intention of letting Patra know that my marriage all this time to Charly was a sham and I had just been f****d by Alexander Kane.
Hell, no.
I rested my head against the chair. “I'm officially separated from Charles.”
Not that many people would know. In fact, it was only Patra that knew I was married to Charles Baker. So, I wasn't going to meet a pity party at work tomorrow.
That should count as luck, shouldn't it?
“You should fight for a good share of alimony,” Patra suggested.
If only she knew I was officially homeless.
When I didn't respond, she left me to my miserable self. I was still nauseated from the high concentration of alcohol in my blood, and as much as I dreaded meeting Alex Kane the following morning, I also wasn't looking forward to the hangover.
My phone chimed in my pocket, a reminder of the call I had with Charles Baker, and I groaned angrily. Then it chimed again.
Who the hell was texting me? For the sake of the calm that stopped me from marching to his house and breaking the windscreen of his favourite car, it had better not be Charles Baker.
I dragged the phone from my pocket and stared at the screen. I thought the drink had really gotten to my head because…
Why the hell was Alex Kane texting me?
I was so sure he didn't have my number.
But it was real.
‘Are you home? Just checking to make sure you got home safe.’
It broke my heart even though the intent of sending was from a place of care because it reminded me of all the things lacking in my relationship with Charles Baker.
When had he asked how I felt?
And now, a fuckboy was asking how I felt.
I had been the stupid fool all along.
I clacked at my keyboard, desperate to talk to someone who could understand me.
‘Home? I've just realised that the place I called home all along was never mine…’
I stopped typing.
What the hell was I doing? Alex Kane didn't know I was a married woman. I wasn't even married.
I deleted the text.
Another message came in from him. I loved the attention, even for tonight. Drunk Alex was definitely chatty. And caring.
Broke up with your guy after you found him cheating?’
My heart slammed against my chest and I sat up, sobering up.
Did he know? Had I spilled too much in the office?
He was still typing.
I was done for. I couldn't be homeless and jobless.
I dropped the phone, shutting my eyes in a silent prayer. Then the phone chimed again.
I reached for it slowly.
‘My guess. What else could it be? Who’s the ma dumb enough ot to see how sweet you are?’
I didn't know when the sigh escaped from my mouth.
He was waiting for a reply. But what could I tell him?
I started typing again.
‘All men are assholes. The world would be a better place without them. We don't need men, you know? There's dildo and it won't break your heart!’
I must have slept up while waiting for his reply. I woke up at my routine time and found myself sprawled on Patra's couch. She was kind enough to lend me a cover cloth.
I hoped she would be kind to offer me her place until I could find one.
I found the extra bedroom. I didn't know how Patra could afford a two bedroom as a receptionist but it was to my advantage right now. As I took off my shirt, I recalled the event from last night. Alex's touch all over my body, the taste of his lips and…
I slapped my forehead, bidding myself back to reality.
“Oh hell no…”
I froze by the wardroobe wondering what I had doe. Nausea hit first, my stomach churning at the thought that I had let another man - not just another man.
I had let Alex Kane touch me last night.
I raced to the bathroom emptying my stomach. But it didn’t take away the memory.
There was no way I would return to that office. How would I face him now? And when he ignored me like nothing happened or when he brought in more ladies to his office? That couldn’t be my life.
I had concluded that I wasn’t going back to work and was already back onnn hte bed, eyes gazing at the chandelier in the room. But then, I was penniless and homeless. How could I survive without a job?
I had spent years building someone’s empire, and now that I had been kicked out, I had nothing. Nothing but regrets.
So, I stood up, found a dress that could swalllow me and make me as invisible as possible, ad hoped Alex Kane wouldn’t show up for work. If Old man Kane did, I would beg for another department, even if it came with a demotion.
My courage died the very minute I stepped in front of Kane. I stared at the imposing building, exhaling and inhaling quickly.
But it was to late to turn back. So, I brisked in.
Alex's door wasn't locked, so I could tell that he was in, probably with a new woman, our encounter, pushed into oblivion. Either he had remained there all night or he wanted an early day today. Whatever it was, I was’t looking forward to an encouter.
But that was impossible.
My only hope was opening the door and seeing the old face of the Mr. Kane I had sabotaged for years.
I straightened my gown, already regretting my hazy decision to wear it in the first place. It was so big that I could rent it out as an Airbnb. But as I stepped into the office, something strange happened.
Alex raised his head. He watched me, every step I made towards him, with eyebrows lowered.
My knees weakened and I felt the heat between my thighs, a reminder of last night.
I haven't got this!
I forced a smile, trying to forget that I was on this very table last night, begging him to f**k my brains out.
“Good morning, Mr. Kane,” I managed with racing heart. At least, there was no rude bimbo this time.
He didn't look pleased with how I addressed him. “Alex,” he said.
I nodded curtly without saying a word.
“You - you look different,” he added.
I pursed my lips and said nothing.
He leaned forward, took out a file from his drawer, and pushed it to the edge.
“Sit,” he said invitingly. “I need you to sign here,” he said, offering a pen and pointing at a corner of the paper.
Maybe it was the hangover or the fact that my mind was racing that didn't make me read what the document contained. All I could think of while I sighed was the fact that Alex Kane had bee nice enough to ask me to sit and even offered me a pen. I was still lost I thought when I heard him say,
“You’ll be coming home with me tonight.”
Huh?
Did he say something I missed? Or had I said something I was supposed to be thinking about?
“Pardon?”
He stood up, holding the file in his hand. “You've just signed a contract to marry me, Rosa. Didn't you say last night that all men are the same? Maybe you're wrong. Maybe you’re right. Three years, and I’ll show you the difference.”
I ogled from the tall, domineering, unsmiling man to the piece of paper now out of my reach.
What the hell have I done?