Unchosen Bride

Amaris' Second

"Yes, girl!" Inara exclaimed, her voice cutting through the thumping bass of the bar as she clinked her glass against mine with enough enthusiasm to nearly spill our drinks.

"We're just gonna drink ‘til we can’t feel our faces and dance like nobody’s watching, no f*****g men allowed, okay? Tonight’s all about us, babe—screw the drama, screw the heartbreak, and definitely screw any dude who thinks he can waltz in and mess with our vibe!"

She threw her head back with a wild laugh, her glossy curls bouncing as she took a big gulp of her neon-colored cocktail, the kind that probably had more sugar than alcohol but still packed a sneaky punch.

I couldn’t help but grin at her energy, even though my heart was still a bruised mess under all the concealer and forced smiles I’d slapped on before we left the house.

The bar was packed, bodies pressed close on the sticky dance floor, the air thick with the smell of cheap cologne, spilled beer, and desperation—but somehow, Inara made it feel like we were the only two people in the room, like we owned the damn place.

I lifted my glass to match her energy, the cold rim pressing against my lips as I took a sip of whatever fruity concoction she’d ordered for me, the burn of alcohol mixing with the sweet tang on my tongue.

"Cheers to that, babe," I said, my voice a little louder than usual to be heard over the music, a smirk tugging at my lips despite the ache still lingering in my chest.

"No men, no bullshit—just us getting sloppy drunk and shaking our asses ‘til we forget why we even came here in the first place."

Inara let out a whoop, slamming her glass down on the bar counter with a dramatic flair before grabbing my hand and tugging me toward the dance floor.

"That’s my girl! Let’s show these losers how real queens party—no tears, no regrets, just pure, unfiltered fun!" She said as she dragged me into the sea of sweaty, gyrating bodies.

I let myself get pulled into the crowd, Inara’s grip on my hand firm and unrelenting as we weaved through the mass of people dancing under the flickering neon lights.

The bass of the music pulsed through my chest, vibrating in my bones, and for the first time in hours, I felt a tiny spark of something other than heartbreak—like maybe I could actually let go, even if just for tonight.

My heels clicked against the sticky floor, and I nearly stumbled as she spun me around with a dramatic flair, her laughter ringing out over the noise.

"Girl, you better work it like you mean it!" Inara shouted, already swaying her hips to the beat with the kind of confidence that made heads turn.

She threw her arms up, her bangles jangling as she moved, completely unbothered by the stares or the occasional elbow from a drunk stranger.

I couldn’t help but laugh, shaking my head at her antics as I started to move with her, letting the rhythm take over even though my body felt heavy with emotional baggage.

Then I stopped dancing mid-step, my hips freezing in place as someone suddenly grabbed my wrist with a firm tug, pulling me out of the sweaty, pulsing crowd on the dance floor.

I figured it was just Inara being her usual dramatic self, trying to drag me to the bar for another round of questionable cocktails.

The thumping bass faded a bit as we moved through the sea of bodies, the air growing slightly less suffocating, and I stumbled a little in my heels as we stepped into a quieter corner of the bar near the hallway that led to the bathrooms, the noise of the music dulling into a background hum.

I was about to turn around with some snarky comment like, “Girl, what now? You tryna start a conga line or something?” but the words died in my throat when I finally glanced over my shoulder and realized it wasn’t Inara who had pulled me out of the chaos…

But it was none other than… Nevin… my ex-boyfriend, standing there with that stupid, familiar smile on his face like he hadn’t just shattered my heart into a million pieces.

My stomach dropped so fast I thought I might puke right there on the sticky bar floor, the fruity cocktail I’d been sipping suddenly churning in my gut as I yanked my wrist out of his grip, taking a step back to put some space between us.

My heels wobbled a bit on the uneven ground, but I steadied myself, crossing my arms over my chest as if that could shield me from the flood of emotions slamming into me—

Anger, hurt, and, annoyingly enough, a tiny flicker of longing that I immediately hated myself for feeling.

"Seriously, Nevin? What the hell are you doing here?" I snapped, my voice sharper than I intended but still not sharp enough to cut through the way my chest tightened at the sight of him.

He looked the same—too damn good for someone who’d cheated on me with some random college girl on vacation.

His messy hair, that stupid leather jacket I used to love borrowing, and those damn hazel eyes that always knew how to make me melt even when I was pissed at him.

"Look, babe, I just wanted to talk," Nevin started, his voice low and smooth like he thought he could charm his way out of this mess, stepping closer with his hands raised as if to show he meant no harm.

My skin prickled at the word ‘babe,’ a nickname that used to make my heart flutter but now… I still don't know.

I took another step back, no, Amari.

"Don’t you dare ‘babe’ me, Nevin. You lost that privilege the second you decided to screw around behind my back with some beach bimbo on your little vacation getaway.”

My voice trembled with a mix of rage and raw hurt as I glared at Nevin, my arms still crossed tight over my chest like a flimsy barrier against the storm of emotions he’d just kicked up.

My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat, and I hated how just seeing him here, in this grimy bar of all places, made every wound he’d inflicted rip open all over again.

The dim lights cast shadows across his face, making those hazel eyes look almost sincere…

"Talk? You wanna talk now? After three years, after everything we’ve been through, you think you can just show up out of nowhere and act like I’m gonna hear you out?"

I spat, my words dripping with venom as I jabbed a finger toward his chest, stopping just short of actually touching him because I didn’t trust myself not to either slap him or crumble.

"You didn’t wanna talk when you were sneaking around with some college chick, so why the hell should I listen to a damn thing you’ve got to say now?” I continued, my voice rising a little despite the quieter corner we were in, my hands gesturing wildly as if that could somehow expel the frustration boiling inside me.

Nevin just stood there, taking the verbal lashing with that same stupid, almost sheepish look on his face, like he thought he could weather this storm and still come out looking like the good guy.

My chest heaved as I tried to keep my breathing steady, but every inch of me was buzzing with a mix of fury and something else—something softer and stupider—that I refused to acknowledge.

The faint smell of his cologne, the one I used to love, hit me like a punch, dragging up memories of late-night drives and lazy mornings in bed that I didn’t want to remember right now.

"Look, I know I messed up, okay? Big time. And I’m not here to make excuses," Nevin said, his voice still annoyingly calm as he shoved his hands into the pockets of that damn leather jacket, shifting his weight from one foot to the other like he was nervous but still too cocky to fully admit it.

"I just… I saw you across the bar, dancing with Inara, looking like you’re trying to move on, and it hit me hard. I couldn’t just stand there and watch you without at least trying to explain myself. I owe you that much after everything."

My eyes narrowed as I stared at him, my arms still crossed so tight I could feel my nails digging into my skin through the thin fabric of my top.

The nerve of this guy—showing up here, acting like he’s got some grand epiphany now, when I’m finally starting to scrape together the pieces of my dignity.

My pulse was racing, and I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, a mix of anger and the stupid, lingering pull I felt toward him despite everything.

The muffled thump of the music from the dance floor seemed miles away, like it was just me and him in this suffocating little bubble of unresolved bullshit.

“Owe me? You don’t owe me s**t, Nevin, except maybe the decency to stay the hell out of my life after what you did," I shot back, my voice low and biting, barely containing the storm of emotions swirling inside me.

My hands clenched into fists at my sides now, dropping from their defensive cross over my chest as I took another step back, trying to keep some damn distance between us because being this close to him was messing with my head.

I can’t believe he’s pulling this right now, acting like he’s got some right to crash my night and dump his guilt on me.

My heart was still hammering, each beat a painful reminder of how much I’d loved him—and how much I hated that a tiny part of me still did, even after everything.

"You think showing up here, looking all sad and sorry, is gonna fix anything? You cheated, Nevin. You threw away three years like it was nothing, like I was nothing, and now you’ve got the audacity to stand here acting like a few pretty words are gonna make me forget that?" I continued.

My chest felt tight, like it was caving in under the weight of every memory—good and bad—that came flooding back just from looking at him, standing there.

Nevin was about to open his stupid mouth again, probably to spout some more of that bullshit he called an apology, when suddenly someone's hand cupped my cheek.

I froze, my heart skipping a beat as I tried to process what the hell was happening.

Before I could even take a breath, a pair of lips crashed against mine in a searing kiss that made my eyes widen in shock.

My brain short-circuited for a second, and I couldn't figure out who the hell this person was or why he was kissing me like their life depended on it.

But then... f**k me sideways because I don't know what came over me... but instead of shoving him away or screaming bloody murder, which is what any sane person would do, I found myself kissing back.

My lips moved against him with a mind of his own, soft and tentative at first before growing more insistent as some primal part of me took over.