Love In Disguise

Chapter Four

Sophia

For a brief moment, I found it hard to catch my breath. The atmosphere in the room felt heavy, as if all the air had vanished, leaving me in a state of utter disbelief. Derek, *my Derek*was standing there, smiling as if nothing could bother him. The same Derek who once vowed to give me a lifetime of love and devotion is now nonchalantly presenting Mia with a bouquet of roses.

“Derek,” I whispered, but my voice got lost in the midst of Mia’s enthusiastic conversation.

“Isn’t he just wonderful?” Mia beamed, wrapping her arms around him as though he held the key to all her hopes.

“Sophia, I’d like you to meet Derek, my fiancé. I told you he was incredible, didn't I?" Derek glanced my way, his demeanor calm and collected.

He looked at me with a blank expression, completely unaware of the bond we once had, as if our shared memories had vanished into thin air. He reached out his hand to me as if we had never met before.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said with ease. I looked at his hand, my thoughts swirling.

Was he for real? Was this just a mean prank? Yet his eyes remained fixed, and I felt a nauseating churn in my stomach as it dawned on me that he had no intention of recognizing my presence. I took a deep breath, managing a courteous smile while shaking his hand.

“It’s great to meet you as well,” I said, my voice trembling slightly. Mia smiled brightly, unaware of the turmoil swirling within me.

“Sophia is my best friend,” she said, giving my arm a gentle squeeze. “I’ve been really looking forward to you two meeting. Isn’t he simply amazing?”

“Of course,” I whispered, the word leaving a sour taste in my mouth.

Before Mia could launch into another round of enthusiastic praise for her perfect fiancé, I forced a bright smile and said, “I hate to interrupt, but I think I should take a moment to rest before dinner tonight. After such a long day, I’m looking forward to feeling refreshed for the celebrations ahead.

Mia sulked a bit but agreed with a nod. “Absolutely, darling. You've earned a break after all that you've been through. I’ll catch you at dinner, sounds good?”

She glanced over at a staff member nearby. “Ensure her bags are in her room, one of you took it before and please guide her there.” she said, acting like her father owned the cruise. I get it though, her soon to be husband who cheated on me now owns the cruise for a month so basically she's god around here.

“Thanks,” I replied, already moving toward the door.

Derek's eyes were on me, but I told myself I wouldn't look back.

“If you'll follow me miss Sophia” the young woman said. Her name tag read Karen and I tried to keep it in mind Incase I needed something and see her again.

Ignoring what I decided not to do, I looked back at Derek and Mia and quickly wished I hadn't. Derek was kissing Mia and he winked at me as he grabbed her ass.

“Awwww, those two, getting married in less than twenty days and they are still together, I'm my culture, the bride and groom stay apart two weeks before the wedding” Karen said as she caught me looking over my shoulder. I just smiled to wave it off, if only she knew the pain I was feeling inside me.

The journey to my room seemed to pass by in a haze. Karen with a warm smile guided me, talking about the ship’s features, but her voice seemed to fade into the background. My mind was racing, fragments of my broken reality swirling into a chaotic jumble.

As we rounded the corner, I noticed something that grabbed my attention. A slim, nearly concealed entrance opened up to what appeared to be an outdoor deck. It was so subtle that I probably wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t been searching for something to take my mind off things.

“Pardon me uhhh, Karen” I said, after struggling to remember her name without looking at her tag. “Where does that go?”

“Oh, that’s one of the private decks, It tends to be pretty peaceful in that place. Do you want me to show you?” she asked as she tucked away the book she was using to check what room my things were packed in.

“Absolutely, I would love that.”

As soon as we arrived on the deck, the refreshing sea breeze greeted me, bringing with it a subtle hint of salt and a sense of liberation. The only sound was the soft rhythm of waves gently brushing against the ship. “

Would you like something to drink?” Karen inquired.

“I need something strong,” I murmured, keeping my voice down. “A drink so strong it could take down an elephant.”

She let out a gentle laugh. “I'll see what I can manage.”

As she turned to leave, I found myself leaning on the railing and staring at her ass, the curves under them could clearly be seen as the wrap skirt brought out her elegant shape. For a moment all I wanted was that ass on my face and my tongue somewhere else as she calls me mummy.

Even though I wanted something to get my mind off what I was feeling, I knew getting laid with Karen was damn near impossible, so I started gazing out at the vast stretch of ocean before me.

I felt a sudden jolt, like I had been struck in the stomach. Mia mentioned to me earlier that she and Derek had been in a relationship for a year. A whole year. That meant Derek had been cheating on me with her for nearly the whole duration of our engagement.

The tears fell before I had a chance to hold them back, warm and painful, trickling down my face in quiet drops. I covered my mouth with my hand, fighting back the tears that were about to spill over. How could I have missed that? How could he treat me this way? It all started to make sense in my head. He had been bailing out on plans for both of us to hang out and he stopped coming to stay at my place when he was in town. I felt like a fool, I should've seen it coming.

I only noticed Karen was there when she softly cleared her throat. I hurriedly cleaned my face, putting on a strained smile as she passed me the drink.

“Here you go,” she said softly.

“I appreciate it.” She paused briefly, as if she had something to express. Before I could offer her a dismissive nod, she took my hand and while stroking and poking the middle of my palm with her finger, she said, “I'm here if you ever want to talk about anything or you need me to do anything.” and she walked away in silence.

As she got completely out of sight, I faced the ocean, put on my earbuds and played a song while trying to get lost in the beauty of the sea or probably get the glimpse of a dolphin or something.

Suddenly my mind was taken back to the Cruise captain, Saint. He looked like someone I had seen before and I went through my gallery looking at the pictures from the night at the club. I scrolled through the pictures and videos trying to find a clear video or picture of his face. I felt a huge lump in my throat as I saw a picture of him, the stranger I f**ked with was the cruise captain!

It was then my nostrils got filled with a familiar scent. I took my earbuds off and I heard his voice, deep and so alluring.

“Hey Scrooge, what you doing all alone in my spot?”