Married To Moretti

Ch 4 - Oh My World!

My heart skipped as I spun around, my hand flying to my chest. “Benjamin!” I exhaled. “Are you trying to kill me this morning?” I whispered. We always spoke in whispers here.

He casually leaned against the desk, a teasing grin spreading across his face.

Benjamin. My coworker. My assistant.

We started working here around the same time, actually, the same day. Since then, we’d somehow ended up sharing most of our shifts.

“Relax,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re so jumpy, this early.”

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the books. “If you’re here to talk, you can start by helping me with these,” I said, sliding a pile towards him. He sighed dramatically but took them anyway.

“You know,” he muttered, glancing at me, “one day I’m going to figure out what you really do after this place closes.” My hands paused for just a second. Then I kept arranging the books like nothing happened. No one here knew about my stripper job. Not Benjamin. Not even my dad. And I intended to keep it that way.

I rolled my eyes. “Nothing interesting.”

Benjamin smirked. Like he didn’t believe a word.

It was almost closing time. I reached for my phone, checking to see if Damon had called.

Nothing. I sighed.

I considered calling him myself. I dialed his number. The call didn’t go through. A frown crept onto my face. Just then, my phone rang.

Sofia.

I picked it up immediately.

“Girl,” she said, her voice serious, “Damon was arrested this morning. I think it happened around the same time he dropped the call.” My heartbeat tripled.

“Are you sure?” I asked, my voice shaking. No matter how toxic things had gotten… I still cared.

“Yes,” Sofia replied. “My friend lives in his building, the same one I told you about. She called me this morning. They found drugs and illegal guns in his apartment.”

My grip tightened around the phone.

“What?” I whispered. Damon… arrested? It didn’t make sense.

“Maybe I should go see for myself.”

Sofia sighed. “No, Maya,” Sofia cut in. “The police raided his place. Apparently, they’ve been watching him for a while.” I eased back against the wall, suddenly feeling lightheaded.

“But… he never told me anything about guns,” I murmured. I did know about the drugs though, he tried giving it to me once but I declined.

“Of course he didn’t,”

I pressed my lips together, trying to steady the feeling building inside me. Anger. Confusion. Fear. And something I didn’t want… worry.

“Are you okay?” Sofia asked gently. “I… I don’t know,” I admitted. “I tried calling him earlier. It didn’t go through.”

“Well, yeah,” she replied. “He’s in custody. He won’t have his phone.”

Silence fell.

I stared at my phone screen, trying to slow down my breath. No matter what had happened between us… Damon had still been a part of my life.

“Do you know what station he—“

“Don’t even think about it, Maya.” She warned.

“Listen,” Sofia said after a moment. “Don’t overthink it. Just come to the club later. Work will distract you and we might get more information from people there.”

I exhaled slowly. “Yeah… maybe you’re right.” But even as I said it, the uneasy feeling in my chest refused to go away.

The call ended, but I didn’t move. I just sat there, staring at my phone like it might light up again. Like he might call back, explain everything, fix everything, tell me it’s alright. But the screen stayed dark.

I tried his number again. Same result.

I sank into one of the chairs tucked between the tall shelves. My legs couldn’t hold me anymore and my phone sat beside me. Damon. What should I do? His name still burned in my thoughts.

“Hey…”

Benjamin’s voice pulled me out of my spiral. I looked up and saw him stepping quietly between the shelves, his usual grin gone, replaced by concern.

“You good?” he asked, hands in his pockets, resting casually but watching me closely.

I forced a small nod. “Yeah… I’m fine.”

He frowned a little. “You don’t look fine.”

I let out a shaky breath, glancing down at the row of books in front of me. “Thanks… but I’m fine,” I said softly.

“Alright then,” he said, but his tone was skeptical.

I looked down at my phone one last time, Damon’s name still staring back at me.

Lies. Betrayal.

It didn’t even feel real.

I exhaled slowly, but it came out shaky, like my body was already giving up on me. My fingers tightened around the phone, like if I held it long enough, something would change. Like maybe it would all disappear.

It didn’t. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was how it ended. I locked the screen and set it aside before I could change my mind.

I stood up too quickly, grabbing my bag like I needed something to hold onto. Benjamin was still watching me, but I couldn’t look at him. If I did, I might break right there.

“Where are you going?” Cynthia’s voice cut through the air. “It’s fifteen minutes to closing.”

I turned to her, forcing my face to stay still, even though everything inside me was falling apart. “Please… something came up. I need to go.”

She looked at me for a moment, really looked this time, and something in her expression softened. “Fine. But next time, say something before you disappear.”

“Thank you,” I said quickly, already moving, already running.

I didn’t even remember how I got home.

One second I was outside, the next I was in my room, the door slamming shut behind me like the world had finally caught up.

And then it hit.

I sank onto the bed, my hands trembling uncontrollably. My chest felt tight, like I couldn’t breathe properly, like something inside me was collapsing in on itself.

I reached for my phone again, stared at the screen… hoping, stupidly hoping… Nothing.

That was when the first tear fell. Then another. And then I couldn’t stop.

I buried my face into my pillow, muffling the sound, but it didn’t help. The pain didn’t go anywhere. It spread, filling every part of me.

How could he let this happen?

My fingers curled into the sheets as I cried harder, my body shaking with it. I felt stupid.

In the middle of it all I felt something different. I didn’t know what it was yet.

But I knew one thing… It wasn’t going to be the same, ever again.