Cheating On You

Adda's POV ESCAPE. All night long, that was all I could think about. I was in the middle of a wedding-my wedding. One I never wanted- at least not with him. Young people were drunk, businessmen were trying to expand their networks, and my parents were doing everything to make the most of marrying off their only child. "Is your family that desperate?" the man beside me snickered. "Were you born ugly?" I shot back. He is handsome, but hell if I was going to let him get the better of me. He went quiet, clearly annoyed. That was Elijah— my husband, as of today. Our marriage was arranged by our parents. It’s not like we’re on the verge of bankruptcy; it’s just that my parents are obsessed with growing their business, and his family needed a supplier for their food venture. But that wasn't the only reason. This marriage was really about dividing shares and maintaining trust. It’s hard to explain. My phone started ringing. I tensed up when I saw Kenji’s name on the screen. "Elijah?" "What?" "I’ll go to the powder room." "I don’t care." I rolled my eyes and stood up. Instead, I headed to the side of the hotel and answered the call. "Hello?" I could feel the sadness in his voice. "Love?" "Love…" I couldn’t hold back my sobs. "Shhh, Adda, it’s okay. Please don’t cry." I felt even more guilty. I was the one he was comforting, but I could hear the sorrow and pain in his voice too. "I’m sorry, Kenji. I’m so sorry." Kenji Santiago, my boyfriend of six years. The man who changed my life and made me better. The man I'm hurting the most. "Don’t worry about it, Adda. It’s fine." I heard him sniffle. "You won’t leave me, right? You’re still mine, aren’t you? That marriage is just on paper. I'm still the one you love, right?" I know it’s wrong, I know this is cheating. But he’s the one I fell in love with first. He’s the one who truly had my heart. And there’s nothing between me and Elijah except words on a contract. "Yes, Ken. I’m yours. Always. I love you so much. I’ll find a way to be back to you, I promise." "I feel like I’m going crazy, Adda. I just want to take you away and run as far as we can. Or maybe get you pregnant so they can’t do anything about us anymore." He laughed through his tears. "I told you we could do that. Please, Kenji come get me here. Just take me away," I begged him. "I can’t do that to your parents, Adda. I’d rather go crazy from this pain than disrespect them." That’s what I can never understand about him. He’s so kind, almost masochistic. My parents never accepted him, he was never welcome in our home, they never even greeted him. He’s endured every kind of insult from them, yet here he is, still trying to understand them. The party ended, and we were now in a hotel in Baguio. They wanted us to stay out of town for a week, but we both refused. One night was enough for this pretense. I showered right away and put on pajamas. While Elijah was in the bathroom, I snuck out to the veranda to text and update Kenji. Honestly, I was so nervous. Elijah clearly had a strong personality and is very dominant. I wasn’t sure if he’d hurt a woman, but I knew he had a nasty temper. I heard the shower turn off, so I hurried back to bed and pulled the covers over me. I pretended to be asleep so we wouldn’t have to talk. I listened to every sound he made. It seemed he was done too, and he turned the lights off. I felt the bed dip beside me, he was lying down. My heart was pounding so loud I thought I’d go deaf. I was flooded with anxiety. "Where were you earlier?" What does he mean? Earlier? When Kenji called? s**t! "Stop pretending—I know you’re awake." I rolled my eyes and faced him. I was shocked to see him sitting beside me, his hair still wet, staring right at me. "W-what are you talking about?" I sat up too. I didn’t feel comfortable lying in bed with a stranger. He kept drying his hair as he spoke. "When someone called your phone, and you lied about going to the powder room." His voice was cold. I swallowed hard. "W-what? What are you talking about? I went to the powder room." Suddenly, he pulled me and gripped my arm tightly. "Don’t lie to me. Your eyes were red and puffy when you came back, and you looked like a mess. There’s no way you were just in the powder room, Adda. I’m not stupid." "I-I don’t know what you’re talking about," I stammered, trying to lie my way out of it. I tried to look away, but he held both sides of my face firmly and forced me to look at him. "You won’t tell me? Fine." He tilted my chin up and kissed me roughly, each touch was passionate yet painful, demeaning almost. "S-stop, Elijah, please." Tears streamed down my face. "Stop?" My skin crawled as he whispered in my ear. "Princess, I’m your husband. You have a duty to please me." Fear, anxiety, and disgust washed over me—I felt like I might break apart. "Don’t call me that, you f*****g jerk!" I sobbed. He looked at me, and for a moment, he seemed surprised. I saw concern flash in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by emptiness. "Fine. But be a wife tonight." He pushed me onto the bed and lay on top of me. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I cried and cried as he kissed my neck. "Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you tonight." He wiped my tears and kissed me gently. He kissed me passionately, as if making sure he wouldn’t hurt me. His hand moved from my arm to my stomach, down to my chest. I gasped. "Sshh, it’s okay," he said as he began to caress me. Soft moans filled the room. I saw him smirk, then his lips moved to my collarbone, where he started leaving marks. I tried to stay quiet, but the man knew exactly how to pleasure my body He lifted my top, kissing me from my stomach up to my chest, neck, and ears. "Uughhh… stop." "Honey, we both know you wouldn't want that." He whispered. I moaned loudly when he suddenly licked my ear. He's making me so weak, and he is getting exactly what he wanted. Elijah continued to fondle my chest as his other hand slowly slipped into my pants. "Uughh, Elijah please," I pleaded. He looked at me, as if asking what I wanted to say. "Don’t stop." 'That night, I forgot about Kenji'