AWAKENED BY BETRAYAL

💔 Chapter three – The Escape

I went back inside, changed my clothes, grabbed my car keys, and walked out.

Richard called after me, but I didn’t look back.

Behind me, I could still hear Summer’s shaky voice.

“I’m sorry for causing trouble in your marriage.”

And Richard, always so sure of himself, replied,

“Don’t worry. You know Aurora. She loves me too much to make this a problem.”

He almost sounded convinced. Maybe he even believed it.

But I knew better. The woman he thought he owned no longer existed.

I drove aimlessly through the sleeping city, the streets glowing with wet neon. Every turn felt like running from my own reflection. Then I saw it, a brand-new nightclub, lights pulsing, laughter spilling into the night. Noise. Chaos. Distraction. Exactly what I needed.

I parked, leaned back for a moment, and dialed the one person who’d always seen through my smile, Juliet Stone. My colleague. My friend. The only person who had ever warned me about Summer.

When Juliet arrived, she hugged me so tightly I almost broke.

“I told you she wasn’t your friend,” she whispered.

“Forget it,” I said, forcing a smile. “I’m done crying. I want to live my life now.”

Juliet’s green eyes softened. “Finally. You deserve that.”

We ordered drinks. The music wrapped around us, loud and freeing. When my favorite old song came on, I laughed, really laughed—for the first time in months. I stood up to dance, feeling a little lighter, a little reckless.

That’s when I bumped into him.