My Revenge, His Contract

Chapter 2 Fallout

I didn't remember leaving the house. One moment, I was outside the bedroom door, staring at the two people I had loved so much—those who had destroyed my life—and the next, I was in the driveway, car keys clenched in my palm.

The cold wind smacked me in the face, my chest was tight, my breathing shallow, and my whole body hummed with shock. For a moment, I stood by the door of my car, just staring up at the house, as if I did not recognise it anymore.

That had been my home.

Our home.

The place where we were supposed to grow old together, have a family and a happy life.

Now, all it looked like was a huge lie built out of marble and glass.

I unlocked the car door and slid inside. The silence felt suffocating.

Resting my hands on my lap, I waited for something to happen. A scream, a sob, anything? But nothing came to me.

It had to be the initial shock.

Then my phone started buzzing in my bag, making me flinch. I did not need to look to know who it was.

Noel.

I pulled it out of my bag, and sure enough, there was his name lighting up on the screen. I stared at it, my fingers hovered over it for one stupid second before I pushed it away.

He would be full of pathetic excuses about how it wasn't what it looked like, but it was exactly what it had looked like.

My best friend and my man.

The betrayal was raw.

When the buzzing stopped, I glanced at the phone. Message after message appeared. I didn't bother to read them.

Not even one.

Then the buzzing started again.

This time it was her, my so-called best friend. I scowled at her name, and a sharp, ugly laugh escaped my lips.

“That f*****g slut.” I muttered before slamming my hand against the steering wheel.

The horn blared, and I started the engine.

“Go to hell,” I shouted as I pulled away from the house.

I had no idea where I was going to go, no destination in mind. All I wanted was to get away, put distance between them and me.

The city blurred around me, streets that I knew so well passed by in flashes, the park where Noel and I had shared our first kiss, the takeaway we always ordered from on a Friday night, the salon where Mira and I spent hours together.

My phone kept buzzing, but I ignored it.

I kept one hand on the wheel and used the other hand to turn up the radio. I needed to shut out their constant calling. Suddenly, the low petrol warning light appeared on my dashboard, and I groaned. I did not want to stop, I wanted to keep going.

Pulling into the nearest petrol station, I got out and filled the tank back up. As I stood there, I recalled the ring on Mira’s fingers, the way that she was half dressed in my bed and the way that Noel had touched her. My stomach churned, and as I got back into my car, I glanced at my phone. Another message came through, and this time I opened it.

Noel: Baby, please answer. Let me explain.

I laughed out loud, a bitter edge to the sound. The absurdity of his attempt to explain only sharpened my anger, replacing any trace of sadness with cold disbelief.

Let him explain.

What was there to explain? I had seen it all for myself; nothing needed to be explained to me.

I switched my phone off, knowing that Noel would probably try to track my location.

Throwing the phone onto the back seat, I turned the radio up loud, pulled the window down slightly, and drove off. I drove for what seemed like ages before I finally saw a sign for a roadside motel. I checked in and finally let my body flop down on the double bed. The ceiling stared back at me, cheap wallpaper from the eighties that had seen better days, a flickering light in the corner, but for tonight, this was my home.

I kicked off my shoes and curled myself up in a ball, but still no tears came. I felt empty.

How long had it been going on?

That was the question that kept replaying in my head.

How many times had the pair of them stood in front of me and acted like nothing was happening between them? How many dinners? How many birthdays? How many weekends had been stained by their dirty little secret?

Eventually, the exhaustion dragged me into a broken sleep. I woke sometime in the night, disoriented for a few seconds before it all came crashing back to me. The ring, the shirt, the betrayal.

My stomach lurched, and I barely made it to the bathroom before I threw up. Afterwards, I slid onto the cold floor and pulled my knees to my chest.

“Why?” I whispered hoarsely. Why me? Why them? What had I done to deserve this?

Those questions spiralled uselessly until I was too drained to think anymore. dragging myself back to the bed, I somehow managed to fall back to sleep.

When I opened my eyes, it was morning. Bright rays of sunshine pushed through the thin curtains. My head ached, my body felt heavy and sore. Slowly, I sat up and ran a hand through my messy hair.

forcing myself into the shower, I stood under the boiling water, allowing it to scald me until my skin was red. I scrubbed so hard my arms ached, but nothing could wash away the memory of Noel and Mira together.

I thought about throwing my phone away, blocking them both, and maybe I should have, but something stopped me. As I stepped out of the motel room and into the daylight, a small smile formed on my lips. They thought that they had broken me, that I had cracked.

This was not going to be the end of me; it was only the end of them having access to me.