Episode3
1306 Words
Izzy’s POV
Jocelyn didn’t stop talking the entire drive.
“What happened after you disappeared?” she asked for the fifth time, glancing at me while steering the car. “You just vanished. One minute you were beside me, the next thing,poof, you were gone.”
I stared straight ahead at the road, my fingers clenched tightly in my lap.
“Izzy?”
I didn’t answer.
My mind kept replaying the same moment over and over again.
Those piercing blue eyes.
His voice.
"You're my fated mate.’
The memory made my stomach twist.
“Okay, seriously,” Jocelyn said, slowing the car as we reached my street. “Did you go home with someone?”
Silence filled the car.
She gasped dramatically.
“Oh my God. You did!”
“I didn’t say that,” I muttered.
“You didn’t deny it either.”
I squeezed my eyes shut briefly.
“I really don’t want to talk about it right now.”
Jocelyn huffed but thankfully said nothing else as she pulled into my driveway.
My house looked exactly the same as always. Safe and welcoming
But I didn’t feel safe.
Not with the chaos spinning inside my head.
I opened the door quickly and stepped out before Jocelyn could continue interrogating me.
Unfortunately, she followed right behind me.
“Izzy,” she insisted as we entered the house, lowering her voice slightly. “You can’t just leave me hanging like this.”
“I’m tired,” I said, already heading toward the stairs. “I just want to shower and sleep.”
“That’s not how this works.”
I ignored her and continued walking until I reached my bedroom.
The moment I stepped inside, I closed the door behind me and leaned against it with a sigh.
For a second, I thought maybe Jocelyn would finally give up.
But then the door opened again.
She slipped inside before I could protest.
“You’re not escaping that easily.”
“Jocelyn…”
“Nope.” She crossed her arms. “You’re telling me what happened last night.”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You disappeared with some mysterious hot guy and showed up this morning looking like you ran a marathon. Of course I’m going to ask questions!”
I groaned softly and walked toward my dresser.
“It’s nothing, okay? It was just a stupid mistake.”
“A mistake?” she repeated.
I didn’t answer.
Instead, I reached up to rub the back of my neck.
Jocelyn suddenly went very quiet.
Too quiet.
A strange feeling crept down my spine.
“What?” I asked slowly.
Her eyes were wide.
“Uh… Izzy?”
“What?”
She pointed toward my neck.
My heart skipped.
“What about it?”
“You might want to look in a mirror.”
Confusion twisted inside me as I turned toward the full-length mirror beside my wardrobe.
At first, I didn’t see anything unusual.
Then I tilted my head slightly.
My breath stopped.
There, just above my collarbone, was a dark mark.
Two curved indentations surrounded by faint bruising.
My fingers slowly rose to touch it.
The skin was tender.
My stomach dropped.
“What… is that?” I whispered.
Jocelyn stepped closer, staring at my reflection.
“Oh my God.”
“What?”
“That’s a mate mark.”
The words slammed into me like a physical blow.
“A what?”
“A mate mark,” she repeated. “Izzy, someone claimed you.”
My head began to spin.
“No. No, that’s not possible.”
But the memory surfaced instantly.
The stranger’s lips against my neck.
The sharp sting that followed.
My knees felt weak.
“He marked me,” I breathed.
Jocelyn’s eyes were huge. “The guy from the club?”
Panic flooded my chest.
“What am I going to do?” I whispered, my voice shaking.
“Izzy”
“I have a boyfriend!” I cried. “Bruce will kill me!”
Before she could respond, a sudden knock echoed through the house.
Both of us froze.
My heart sank immediately.
Another knock followed.
“Izzy?” Bruce’s voice called from outside. “Are you home?”
My blood ran cold.
“He’s here,” I whispered.
Jocelyn reacted instantly.
“Turn around.”
“What?”
“Turn around!”
I obeyed quickly.
She rushed to my closet and grabbed a silk scarf before wrapping it around my neck.
“There,” she said, adjusting it carefully. “That should cover it.”
The knock came again.
“Izzy!”
Jocelyn shot me a warning look.
“Don’t touch the scarf.”
Then she walked out of the room and headed for the front door.
I could hear my heartbeat pounding loudly in my ears as Bruce stepped inside moments later.
His voice reached my room almost immediately.
“Where is she?”
“In her room,” Jocelyn replied casually.
Heavy footsteps approached.
Then Bruce appeared in my doorway.
His expression was dark.
Angry.
“So,” he said coldly. “You finally decided to come home.”
I swallowed nervously.
“Bruce—”
“Why did you hang up on me last night?”
My chest tightened.
“I didn’t hang up on you.”
“Really?” he snapped. “Because that’s not what it looked like.”
“You were yelling at me,” I said quietly.
His jaw clenched.
“And what were you doing in that club?”
“Jocelyn took me there for my birthday.”
“Your birthday?” he scoffed. “Is that what you call it now?”
My heart pounded faster.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” he said slowly, stepping closer, “I know you weren’t alone last night.”
My stomach twisted.
“I was with Jocelyn.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not lying!”
“Then who was the guy?”
“There was no guy!”
Our voices had risen enough that I could hear movement downstairs.
My parents were probably listening now.
Bruce suddenly stepped forward.
His hand shot out.
Before I could react, he grabbed the silk scarf around my neck.
“Bruce—”
The fabric slipped free.
My heart stopped.
His eyes dropped to the mark on my skin.
The room went silent.
For a moment, Bruce didn’t move.
Then his face twisted with fury.
“You cheated on me.”
“No!” I cried instantly. “It’s not like that!”
He laughed harshly.
“Oh really? Because that looks like a mate mark to me.”
Tears filled my eyes.
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” I pleaded. “I was drunk and”
“You slept with someone else!”
“I tried to stop”
“Save it,” he snapped.
He grabbed my arm suddenly and dragged me toward the hallway.
“Bruce, stop!”
He ignored me completely, pulling me down the stairs and into the living room.
My parents stood there, shocked.
Jocelyn looked horrified.
Bruce shoved me forward.
“This,” he said loudly, pointing at me, “is your perfect daughter.”
My face burned with humiliation as tears streamed down my cheeks.
“She’s a cheating slut,” he continued bitterly.
“That’s not t
rue!” I sobbed.
Bruce laughed coldly.
“Look at her neck.”
My mother gasped softly.
My father’s expression darkened.
Bruce shook his head in disgust.
“I’m done with you, Izzy.”
My heart shattered.
“We’re over.”
Then he turned and walked out the door without another word.
The silence he left behind felt unbearable.
- Writer
