One Night With The Biker

Chapter 3

Summer’s POV

I stopped breathing.

Or maybe the rest of the world stopped with me.

I wasn’t sure.

One second, I was standing near the airport arrivals exit, watching my husband kiss another woman.

The next…

I was back inside my car.

I didn’t remember walking there.

I didn’t remember crossing the parking lot.

I didn’t remember unlocking the door or sitting behind the steering wheel.

I only remembered the moment I had finally turned away from Ethan and Natasha.

The moment I had realized I couldn’t keep standing there.

The moment I had walked back to my car because I had nowhere else to go.

Now, I sat frozen behind the steering wheel, staring through the windshield at the airport parking garage where they had disappeared.

My hands were still wrapped tightly around the steering wheel.

My heart was still pounding violently inside my chest.

And my mind was still trapped in that moment.

The moment I watched my husband kiss another woman.

No.

Not just another woman.

Natasha.

His personal assistant.

The same Natasha who had attended countless meetings with him.

The same Natasha whose name I’d heard so often that it no longer sounded unfamiliar.

The same Natasha I’d welcomed into our home whenever work had kept Ethan busy.

I blinked once.

Twice.

Surely I was mistaken.

Surely there had to be an explanation.

Maybe she had tripped.

Maybe…

My thoughts died before they could finish forming.

There was nothing accidental about the way he held her.

Nothing professional about the way she smiled against his lips.

It wasn’t rushed.

It wasn’t hesitant.

It was comfortable.

Practiced.

Like two people who had done it before.

Many times before.

My fingers tightened around the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white.

I couldn’t hear the people walking past my car anymore.

I couldn’t hear the engines.

Or the rolling suitcases.

Everything faded into silence.

Only one sound remained.

The frantic pounding of my own heart.

No…

No, no, no…

This wasn’t Ethan.

Not my Ethan.

Not the man who kissed my forehead every morning before leaving for work.

Not the man who had promised me forever.

Not the man who had spent two years telling me we should wait just a little longer before starting a family.

This had to be a nightmare.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Just for a second.

When I opened them again…

They were still there.

He was still holding her.

Still smiling at her.

My stomach twisted violently.

I thought I was going to be sick.

The bouquet of flowers I’d placed carefully on the passenger seat suddenly felt ridiculous.

The anniversary card.

The cake waiting at home.

The candles.

The dinner I’d spent hours preparing.

The tiny pair of baby socks hidden inside that little gift box.

Every single plan I’d made for tonight crumbled before my eyes.

A sharp ache spread through my chest.

It hurt.

God…

It hurt so much.

How long?

The question slipped into my mind before I could stop it.

How long had this been going on?

Was it weeks?

Months?

Had it started before we got married?

Every late meeting.

Every canceled dinner.

Every business trip.

Every phone call he’d stepped outside to answer.

Every time he’d told me work came first.

Had any of it been real?

Or had I simply believed what I wanted to believe?

I searched his face one last time.

Looking for guilt.

Regret.

Anything.

Instead…

He looked happy.

Truly happy.

That hurt more than the kiss itself.

Because somewhere along the way…

He had stopped looking at me like that.

And I hadn’t even noticed.

A tear rolled down my cheek.

Then another.

Soon I couldn’t stop them.

I cried silently, afraid that if I made a sound, everything would suddenly become real.

I wanted to storm out of the car.

I wanted to scream at him.

To demand an explanation.

To ask him why.

Why wasn’t I enough?

What had I done wrong?

Was loving him too much my mistake?

But I couldn’t move.

I simply sat there.

Watching the man I loved walk away with someone else.

Eventually, they disappeared into the airport parking garage.

Still together.

Still close.

As though they belonged beside each other.

Only then did I realize something that frightened me more than the betrayal itself.

I had no idea where to go.

Home?

The house waiting for us suddenly didn’t feel like home anymore.

Everything inside it had been prepared for a celebration that no longer existed.

The dining table.

The flowers.

The cake.

The gifts.

Even the future I’d imagined.

None of it meant anything now.

A broken laugh escaped my lips.

I’d spent the last two years building my entire life around one person.

Every decision I’d made somehow began with Ethan.

Would he like this?

Would this make him happy?

Would this fit into his plans?

Somewhere along the way…

I’d stopped asking myself what I wanted.

Who was I…

Without Ethan Carter?

The question terrified me.

My phone suddenly lit up on the passenger seat.

For one ridiculous second, hope filled my chest.

Maybe he’d seen me.

Maybe he was calling to explain.

Maybe…

The screen flashed a different name.

Lena.

I stared at it as it continued to ring.

Then I looked through the windshield one last time at the place where I’d watched my marriage fall apart.

My thumb hovered over the answer button.

I had no idea what I was going to say.

I only knew one thing.

I couldn’t be alone tonight.

I stared at Lena’s name until the ringing stopped.

A second later…

It started again.

I took a shaky breath before answering.

“Hey, stranger,” she said, her voice as bright as ever. “Don’t tell me you’re still preparing.”

I opened my mouth.

Nothing came out.

The silence stretched between us.

“Summer?”

“I’m here.”

“What’s wrong?”

Two simple words.

That was all it took.

My composure shattered.

I pressed a trembling hand over my mouth as tears escaped faster than I could stop them.

“Summer!”

“I’m…” My voice cracked. “I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not.”

She didn’t sound doubtful.

She sounded certain.

“You’ve never cried on the phone with me. Where are you?”

I glanced through the windshield.

“The airport.”

“The airport?” she repeated. “Weren’t you supposed to be picking Ethan up?”

I closed my eyes.

“I was.”

Another silence.

This one heavier than the last.

“Stay exactly where you are,” Lena said quietly. “Don’t drive.”

“I…”

“Promise me.”

“…Okay.”

“I’m coming.”

The call ended before I could protest.

I leaned back against the seat and let the tears come.

I wasn’t even sure how much time had passed before someone knocked gently on my window.

Lena.

The moment I unlocked the door, she climbed into the passenger seat without saying a word.

She looked at me.

Really looked at me.

Mascara stained my cheeks.

My eyes were swollen.

My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

She reached across the console and wrapped her arms around me.

I broke.

Completely.

For several minutes, the only sound inside the car was my crying.

She never rushed me.

Never asked questions.

She simply held me together while I fell apart.

When the tears finally eased, she handed me a packet of tissues from her handbag.

“Wanna tell me?”

I swallowed hard.

“I saw him.”

“Ethan?”

I nodded.

“With someone else.”

Her shoulders stiffened.

I didn’t have the strength to continue.

I didn’t need to.

The look on my face told her everything.

She let out a slow breath and rested her head against the seat.

“I swear…” she muttered under her breath. “If I ever see him…”

Despite everything, a tiny laugh escaped me.

She smiled faintly.

“There she is.”

“I’m so stupid.”

“No.”

“I spent all day cooking.”

I laughed bitterly.

“I even bought baby socks.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Lena’s expression softened.

She reached over and squeezed my hand.

“You loved him.”

“I still do.”

My voice barely rose above a whisper.

“And that’s the worst part.”

The drive that followed was quiet.

Lena didn’t try to convince me everything would be okay.

She didn’t tell me time healed all wounds.

She simply stayed beside me.

Sometimes…

That was enough.

About twenty minutes later, she glanced in my direction.

“I know somewhere we can go.”

I frowned.

“I’m not really in the mood.”

“I know.”

“So why are we going?”

“Because if I take you home, you’re going to stare at those candles, that cake, and everything you prepared.”

She was right.

“I don’t want you to be alone tonight.”

I looked out the window.

“Where is it?”

She smiled.

“You’ll see.”

The city lights gradually gave way to quieter roads.

Warehouses replaced office buildings.

The traffic thinned.

Then…

I heard it.

A deep rumble echoed through the night.

Not one engine.

Dozens.

The sound rolled through the air like distant thunder.

“What is that?”

Lena smiled to herself.

“Motorcycles.”

As we rounded the next corner, they came into view.

Rows of gleaming bikes stretched across a massive parking lot, their chrome reflecting strings of warm lights overhead.

Men and women dressed in leather cuts moved confidently between them, laughing, talking, greeting one another with easy familiarity.

The atmosphere felt unlike anything I’d ever experienced.

It wasn’t chaotic.

It wasn’t threatening.

It felt… close-knit.

Like everyone here belonged.

My eyes widened.

“Lena…”

She parked the car before turning to me.

“My boyfriend’s here tonight.”

I blinked.

“You never told me he was…”

“A biker?”

She grinned.

“I was waiting for the right time.”

I looked back toward the building.

The clubhouse stood proudly at the center of the property, built from brick, timber, and steel, with music drifting through its open doors.

People came and went freely, but there was an unmistakable sense of order.

Nothing happened without someone noticing.

Nothing felt careless.

“Is this… safe?”

Lena laughed softly.

“Believe it or not, this is probably one of the safest places in the city.”

I raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged.

“They look intimidating, sure. Lots of leather. Tattoos. Beards. Bikes.”

She smiled toward the clubhouse.

“But loyalty means everything to these people.”

“For them, brotherhood isn’t just a word.”

“It’s a way of life.”

I followed her gaze, watching another group of bikers greet each other with shoulder slaps and broad smiles before disappearing inside.

For the first time that night…

My curiosity was stronger than my heartbreak.

I had no idea that stepping through those clubhouse doors would change my life forever.