Is It Revenge Or Love?

Surprise Betrayal

The elevator stops, and my stomach flutters when it dings. The doors open, and Monroe stands there with a hand in his pocket. Every possible emotion flows through me as I launch myself onto him. My eyes spill over, and I gulp down huge pockets of air.

Monroe wraps his arms around me and holds me tight. He rubs his head over the top of mine, speaking soothing words to me. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so scared, and I am beyond grateful that he was here to save me. “I got you, gorgeous. I won’t let you go.” I let the tension drop from my shoulder, and my arms go along with it. I wrap them together around his body and bury my head in his chest. We stand this way for a while, and I let his heartbeat lull me.

Monroe pushes against me and caresses my face. “Thank you.” I struggle to get the words out. All of that screaming before has wrecked my throat. “I didn’t know how to get free.” Monroe kisses my forehead and strokes my back.

“How about we get out of here?” I nod and pull back from him. I look at his chest, and I frown. “What is it?”

“I’m sorry. I got makeup all over your shirt.” I look up at his face, and his smile damn near knocked me off my feet.

“That’s what dry cleaners are for.” Monroe grabs my hand, and we turn from the elevators, ready to get out of that place. Why I thought we could get out of the building without interference is beyond me. It didn’t take long before we ran into what amounts to a nuisance.

“Oh, my Lele! Are you alright? What are you doing down here with… him?” My mother and father are in front of me. I look at them before looking at Monroe. The look on his face speaks volumes, and I wonder what it was that I missed when I was gone.

“Mom, Dad, what are you two doing right here? Am I missing something?” To be here, of all places, right now is weird to me. If anything, they should still be in the main room where the rest of the partygoers are.

A voice flies through the air, saying to pick up my phone. It’s the ringtone that I have on my phone, just a loud Russian voice telling me that my phone is ringing and to pick it up. I look to see Monroe with his phone in his hand. I turn back to my parents and watch my Mom trying to shuffle away from me. A flash of red gets my attention. I step toward my parents and point under her arm. “What’s that?” I swallow and wince at the pain. It still hurts to talk after all of that screaming.

Mom turns her body away from me, reaching for my father. I step closer, determined to find out what’s going on. Mom turns entirely away from me, which ends up being her mistake. I see my red evening bag under her arm. I snatch it from her, causing my phone to spill out and fall to the ground.

Shock courses through me to the point where I fumble my bag, which drops to the floor. “Ho…how do you have this? Where did you get my bag?” Deon took it from me before he locked me in the suite. How could my parents have gotten my bag? Did they find it somewhere? Were they looking for me?

I look into their faces, and my last question is answered. There’s no way they were looking for me and have so much guilt on their face. Did they have a hand in this? Did they help Deon keep me hostage? My steps falter, and I back up. I want to be wrong. Every fiber of my being hopes that I have gotten things all wrong, but I’m not so sure that’s the case.

I turn and look at Monroe, but his face is unreadable. I feel like he knows something or at least has his suspicions. Without looking at the phone, I’m almost certain that he’s the one who called me just now. For him to do that, he certainly thinks something. “Well?!”

“I… I don’t know what you mean, Lele. I just happened to find your bag.” The look on my Mom’s face is one of her practiced expressions when lying to people. Anger surges through me at the audacity to lie to my face.

“DON’T LIE TO ME!!! I WANT THE TRUTH!!” My father steps forward, pushing Mom behind him.

“Don’t you EVER talk to your mother like that! You are our child and you will show us the respect we deserve!” I scoff, feeling the emotions getting stronger. I want to scream and cry, but I won’t give them the satisfaction.

“The respect you deserve?! I have a feeling that neither of you deserves respect. I have a feeling that you two either helped Deon or knew about it. How could you?” I look at both of them, but neither is saying anything. Dad looks defiant, and Mom looks like she’s waiting for direction from Dad. “HOW COULD YOU?!”

I hear footsteps coming toward us, even though the floor is carpeted. The footsteps are heavy, and the irritation is unmistakable. “What is going on here?” His voice washes over me, and I feel a surge of anger and disgust. I feel a presence behind me, but I refuse to turn around. “Jaylene, baby. I thought you were going to wait for me upstairs.” I don’t know what comes over me, but something inside me breaks at his words. His hand touches the small of my back, and I can’t contain myself. I twirl around, and my hand delivers the hardest slap I’ve ever heard in my life. The echo of the impact bounces off the walls. Two men in black suits pull Deon back and step in front of him. They reach for me but are blocked by the men I assume are working for Monroe. “What the f***k was that for?!”

“How fu.cking dare you! You kidnapped me! Who the f***k do you think you are?! Did my parents help you, huh? Is that why they had my bag? Did they know you were holding me hostage?”

“Holding you hostage?! Please, don’t flatter yourself. I had you upstairs so we could talk. I’ve let you f***k around long enough, acting like you don’t know your responsibilities or your place. That time is over. It’s time for you to do what you are meant to do.” During his disgusting speech, I detect movement out of the corner of my eyes. I ignore it; his words drive my rage higher and higher.

“f***k YOU!” The tears break loose and start to stream down my face. I feel a warm hand on my arm, causing me to flinch and move away. I look into Monroe’s eyes, and a calmness washes over me. “Please, take me out of here.” He nods and reaches for me again, this time being allowed to grab my arm. He pulls me away from them, and we walk toward the main lobby. I hear my name being shouted behind me, but I ignore it. I just need to get away from here as fast as I can.