But then I think of the tired lines around his eyes, thestorm of emotions that were so clearly brewing in his eyes behind his perfectly structured facade.
He loves me, and I’m causing him pain. The thought is sharper than taking a knife to the gut.
“I haven’t been living it up in paradise either, you know.”
“I know that, I just can’t figure out why. Anna won’t tell me, either.”
“I just have some stuff I have to sort through.”
“Let Zayn help you.”
I meet Percy’s kind eyes. They’re the colour of chocolate mud cake.
“What’s going on with you and Anna?” I ask, half to change the subject and half because I actually want to know the deal between those two. Anna likes Percy more than she’s letting on. I can tell by the way she’s been bringing him up in conversation every chance she can get since I’ve been staying at her place. He raises a suspicious brow, but I can’t help but notice the spark in his eye at the mention of my best friend’s name.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” he says, but thankfully he humours me anyway. “I like her. We’re having fun.”
“Short-term fun, or?”
“For the moment.”
There’s promise in his tone which makes me happy for the both of them. Across the room, Daniel now has three women surrounding him, all of which have a hand placed somewhere on his body. This is the part I can’t understand. He can have any woman he wants here, probably all of them at the same time, judging by the way they’re groping him now. Why does he have to hold onto me? Why is he so fucking hell bent on keeping me captive in a marriage I don’t want to be in?
As if he can feel my stare, his head jerks up to meet mine and a slow smile spreads across his face, taunting me.
“Ugh, what an asshole.”
“That’s never been a secret,” Percy points out, clearly a nod to me marrying him in the first place. How can I explain to Percy that I was broken and vulnerable when Zayn left? That I was in half a mind and Daniel exploited that expertly? I can’t, so I don’t even try.
Instead, I head to the bar and that’s where Anna finds us a few minutes later.
“All good?” Percy asks her after she tells the bartender that she’ll have what I’m having. I know I should call it a night, especially with two loose cannons roaming around the venue ready to explode, but I’ve always been a sucker for punishment.
“Yeah, everything’s fine.” Anna gives him a pointed look and nudges her head to where Zayn is currently sitting on a deep-seated leather sofa. Percy takes the hint and leaves.
“So what was that about?”
“Oh, you know.” Anna sighs dramatically, reaching for her martini. “Zayn told me that under no circumstances are you to be alone with Daniel. Which I already knew, but he felt was his duty to inform me.”
Warmth seeps through my chest like molten honey, soothing me as it spreads. Even after telling him it’s over between us and that I’m going back to my abusive husband, he’s still trying to look out for me.
“Who is that?” A woman who looks vaguely familiar yells beside me so her friend can hear her over the music. “He is damn fine!”
I know she’s talking about Zayn, even before her friend exclaims, “I don’t know, but I hope he’s not here as someone’s date. I would climb him like a tree.”
Looking around, I notice that more than a few women have their attention trained on him. Even one of the women who was all over Daniel mere minutes ago has now redirected her sights toward Zayn. And who can blame them? He looks like a gorgeous, brooding movie star with his perfectly asymmetrical face and tall, sculpted body. His posture is confident but stand-offish, which only adds to his appeal. He looks like the kind of man mere mortals don’t stand a chance with.
Even though he’s talking to Percy, who’s now taken the seat next to him, his dark gaze is trained on me.
I stare back at him, locked in a trance. My skin feels electrified. My pulse starts to flutter. It’s always been this way between us, and I’m starting to think it always will be. I take a sip of my drink and rip my attention back to Anna, who I belatedly realise has been speaking to me.
“ -and who the fuck are these skanks?” She nods back in Zayn’s direction and I watch with horror as two women approach the sofas and take a seat on either side of Zayn and Percy. My drink turns bitter on my tongue when the brunette places a hand on Zayn’s forearm. She’s pretty. Does Zayn think so? I essentially just broke up with him. Will he take this woman home? Sleep with her in his king-sized bed that I’ve grown so accustomed to in the last couple of weeks?
Incredibly, just as I thought things couldn’t get worse, they somehow do.
All the blood drains from my face as our song from the first night we ever spent together starts to play, loudly, throughout the room. I’d recognise the opening bars anywhere, even though I’ve refused to listen to the song in over a decade. Its melody is branded into my brain with a hot-iron. Not even a lobotomy could stop me from recognising it.
I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut.
