Left Me Broken

Chapter 4

I blinked and blinked until I was sure Zach Collin was really there in front of me. It wasn't another nightmare I had been suffering tonight. His brown eyes were filled with mixed emotions. But the way he clenched his jaw and glared at me made it crystal clear that he loathed me for everything that happened to us. I averted my gaze and tried my best to finish my drink without looking at him again.

“ Give me two shots of tequila. "

I flinched at the sound as I knew who it belonged to.

Despite all the nerves of my body were denying me not to look at him, my eyes diverted to him and I almost gasped as my eyes met with his fierce ones. He was dressed in a blue shirt and dark jeans. He had lost some pounds and his face was thinner than before. His brown eyes were filled with rage and hatred but the shine was lost from there too. Was he sick? Why in the world did I care about that? Well he still looked breathtaking handsome as I noticed some women there were ogling at him. The bartender served him the shots and finally he removed his glazing eyes from me and started to drink. He seemed to be alone, standing at the bar. Or maybe I was too quick to guess that. Maybe his woman was somewhere here, on the dance floor or in a restroom. His woman, the word pierced my heart as the word popped up in my head. I was his woman but now it would be anyone else.

He didn't spare another glance towards me as if I wasn't there. I felt insulted by his ignorance. But why? Perhaps a part of my heart which didn't let me forget him made me feel like that. Sometimes I started to hate myself for that. I decided to go from there but suddenly a face emerged in my head and my heart clenched with pain. Harvey, my child, my life.

I stood and made my way towards him. I stopped beside him and caught his attention. My cheeks burnt under his gaze as he stared at me with intensity.

“How is my son? Harvey.. is he doing well?" I asked with a wavering voice as a rush of tears appeared in the back of my eyes.

He scowled at me then chuckled bitterly. “ Oh now the mother of my son is suddenly showcasing concern for my son?"

“ Please at least allow me to meet him. It has been almost a year since I have seen him. I'm his mother." Never in my life I had thought I would beg him for something after I had found him cheating on me, breaking my trust and beliefs.

He roared,“ Ashley, you have lost that right when you did that on his birthday. Didn't you remember what you did?" He raised an eyebrow as he asked, “ A mother? No Ashley you are not worthy of being his mother he is better off without you anyway."

His words were like a sharp knife butchered deeply my fragile heart. He was so cruel and he knew he could still break me again.

“And who was the person who put me in that situation?" I snapped at him angrily.

He grabbed my wrist angrily before I could even react. I stepped back so quickly that I slammed into the bar counter.

“Stay away from my son before you can have a chance to hurt him again," he ordered as his eyes were dark and menacing. I had never seen him look this dangerous before.

“You knew that wasn't my intention," I cried in pain as I was pressed against the wooden furniture. But the pain erupted from my heart as I recalled his birthday. I knew that day it was all my fault and I had been regretting that with my every single breath.

“All right, that's enough, please leave her sir, otherwise I would have to call security guards," a deep voice cut in as the bartender Johnny stared at Zach.

Tears slid down from my eyes as I removed his hands from me. He averted his gaze towards the bartender and declared, “ It's not enough, man. Have you been ditched by someone for money? It was not that hard, right? But have you been ditched and gotten fooled by your wife who you think loves you with every shell of her body but then you found yourself hating her with every microshell of your body."

Johnny’s gaze transferred towards me with a shocked expression which he recovered quickly. Zach's accusations cut me so deep which wouldn't be visible but hurt me so much that I wanted to hurt him in the same way.

“ Don't you try to insult me in front of others because you know better than anyone who has betrayed who?" I warned him with a void of emotion. I never thought to cheat him, betray him for anything even in my dreams. My whole life revolved around him. I worshipped him like a god to the point I even forgot myself. I committed myself to him and did every duty of a wife without giving him a chance to complain and look, what I got in return.

Zach chuckled as he clutched my wrist in a deadly grip. He brought his lips near my ear as he said, “ Ashley, don't you dare to talk with me like that." His voice was heartlessly cold but when his lips slightly touched my skin, my body shuddered with anticipation. How could his touch still have an affect on my body? Why did my body react that way? I winced in agony.

“ You’ve already walked out of my life so stay away if you don't want to be more miserable than you already are, got it?

“ You're horrible, Zach. I wished I should've realized it sooner," I declared painfully, gritting my teeth, fury boiling inside me. “ Do you think I am that Ashley who you could toy with as much as you want? I promise you I will make your life hell thousands of times more." I finished without taking my eyes off of him.

His face hardened and the emotions which had been displaying in his eyes faded away quickly.

Something snapped just a foot away from us and both of us glanced towards it.

“ You're Zach Collin! Oh my god, you look so hot!"

A blonde girl uttered loudly as she took another shot of us with her cell phone. Zach jerked me away immediately and sauntered towards her.

“Hey, girl, delete this instantly."

I never saw him this angry over a photo. Maybe he couldn't tolerate the fact that he was with me in this one. The blonde trembled with alarm and stepped back immediately. Her face was contoured with profound fear as she slid her trembling finger over the phone’s screen.

I realized the people there recognized him, staring at us, mostly at him. It was clear as water my face would be all over i********: and other social media platforms with a caption something like Zach's spotted with a new girl or Zach's old girl is hitting him again. Zach cursed under his breath as he ran his hand through his hair. When you are popular it's most likely no one is going to respect your privacy.

The blonde noticed she wasn't the only one who had taken a picture of him without permission and she did what she thought was the best thing to do. She fled in a haste.

I ran my hand over my hair in frustration as many people stared at me with immense curiosity. I turned around and grabbed my purse from the bar table. I was about to walk out from there when I saw a woman wrapped her hand around his waist. She had a thigh length white dress which showed off her gorgeous body beautifully. Her blue eyes sparkled with lust and desire as she smiled at him.

“What happened, did something offend you?” she asked as she noticed his tense muscles.

“Nothing, just something unpleasant appeared before my eyes," His tone was deadly and heartless. She almost flinched as her hand dropped from his chest. But I didn't miss the pain and the longing in his voice.

“ I know I should've come earlier---” she trailed off as Zach forced a smile back at her as he took her hand into his.

“ Jane, you’re late," His voice was unnecessarily tender and soft.

Their closeness filled me with uncontrolled jealousy and pain. Why couldn't he love me back as much as I had loved him?

“ Oh, I’m so sorry, Zach. I got stuck in some work but now I am all yours," Jane responded, batting her eyes in mischief as she placed her hand on his chest. Zach's gaze transferred towards me and I stared back at him with an icy cold expression.

Jane followed his gaze and looked at me with a shocked expression. I knew she had recognized me. Although we had never met before, I was in the news for months after my divorce and she might have an idea who I was to him.

“ Urgh.. Your ex is pretty stunning," she mocked as her eyes glistened with disgust.

My blood boiled and my fist curled into a tight ball.

“ Of course, but maybe I am not as much as his woman that's why you match better with him," I retorted with a smirk playing on my lips.

“ I can't tolerate her even for a second," she paused and glanced at him. “ Zach, how did you tolerate her for years?"

Zach's eyes burnt with hate and rage as he glared at her.

I closed the gap between us and pointed my finger to her, “ Don't provoke me because believe me I can do better than what you’re just trying hard to do. Don't mistake me for a helpless poor girl. I too know how and when to bite."

Her eyes widened as she almost caught her breath. I moved back with a broad smirk and she looked like a wounded fox.

She made a horrible face as if she was stifling the urge to claw my face with her long nails. Perhaps she wanted to show herself as a good girl here but I didn't care for that. I was already bad enough for everyone, I, who dumped her husband for the sake of money.

Zach declared in a raging tone, “ I’m leaving."

He moved away with his long strides, walking through the crowd. Jane followed him after throwing a dagger at me through her eyes.

Suddenly he stopped and glanced back at me, his gaze focusing on me as he tried to memorize each detail of my face.

His earnest look made me feel uneasy and I didn't expect that my chest would feel so heavy. I bit my lower lip hard as I tried to control my overwhelming emotions. It felt like we were departing each other once again, separating our ways for forever.

He looked forward and disappeared from my sight. Just like that I was alone. I didn't stare too long towards the door.

I took a deep breath to calm my strained nerves down and walked out of the club with my chin holding high.