17. Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Seventeen
Natalie
T he apartment feels stranger than usual when I let myself in—or rather, I feel goosebumps on my arms as I walk through the hallway, heading to the kitchen.
It’s been a week since the incident in the kitchen, and I still don’t feel safe.
No one has tried to corner me again, but I notice the difference. The way they look at me now. Their gazes linger too long, carrying something unspoken yet heavy.
It makes my skin crawl.
I should quit.
I’ve been telling myself this for the past few days, but I’ve been holding back for some reason.
Ethan. He’s been absent. I think I’ve been lingering because I want to see him—I want answers. But it’s starting to look like I might never get them, and I don’t think I can stay here any longer.
It’s not just Ethan and the men, though.
I put my thoughts aside until I’m in the kitchen, and the door is firmly locked behind me.
“Anthony.” The name slips out of my mouth like it’s desperate to be heard.
With Ethan absent, his cousin has taken to stumbling into the house every night, drenched in alcohol and draped in a different blonde. Anthony has always been reckless, but this feels different. It feels like a switch inside him has been flipped, and with it, the entire balance of the house has shifted.
I set the grocery bag down on the counter and exhale, steeling myself.
“You’re never going to do it if you keep thinking about it, Natalie,” I mutter.
I haven’t told Danielle about the assault. Partly because I don’t want her to bring up her warnings about Ethan, but mostly because saying it out loud makes it too real.
And maybe, just maybe, I don’t want to admit to myself that I fell for a man who… never really saw me at all.
“Okay,” I say aloud, nodding firmly. “You do this now. You walk up to Anthony, and you tell him you’re quitting. It’s the end of the month, and he’s given you enough to cover your salary already.”
It would be nice to have the extra cash, but I doubt it’ll come from someone with his head high up in the clouds.
It’s probably a good thing, though. He’ll be too cooked up to question my decision, either .
Just like that, the switch in my head flips too. I stare at the groceries and curl my lip. “They can feed themselves.”
With a loud hmph, I storm out of the kitchen, intending to seek out Anthony in his bedroom, when I see him coming from the living room.
He looks horrible—like the sunlight met him at a bad time. Not even the shades over his eyes mask the exhaustion in his slumped shoulders.
“Natalie?” He calls my name and manages a smile. “I’ve missed you. Where have you been all this time?”
For a second, I’m tempted to feel sympathy, but I quickly push it away. “I’m quitting,” I say.
Anthony takes off his glasses, exposing his blood-red eyes. He blinks slowly like he’s having a hard time processing my words. “You’re quitting? Why? You don’t like working here? Did I?” he gasps, patting his pockets. “Did I forget to pay you for the week?”
“No,” I shake my head. “It’s not that. I… I have other obligations to attend to. I was going to give you a heads-up, but you haven’t been home in a while.”
He sighs resignedly. “I guess you’re right. I’ve been out and about, handling things. That’s why. Can I persuade you to stay?”
He gives me a pout that would’ve worked weeks ago. Now, I just feel sorry for him.
“I’m sorry,” I say, keeping my tone muted so he thinks I feel bad about leaving. “Maybe after I’m done with stuff? I’ll be willing to help out with events and other things.”
Anthony seems to have forgotten about his sadness over my decision because he smiles brightly—too bright.
“Sure. You can see yourself out, yeah?” He yawns and rubs his eyes. “I’ve had a long night. I need to sleep. ”
I nod and hurry past him, but as I get closer to the door, I can’t help but ask—I haven’t seen Mr. Cross around. I know it’s not my place, but is anything wrong?”
My question triggers something unpleasant in Anthony, and his expression turns sour. “My cousin doesn’t live here… of course not,” he mutters to himself. “He thinks that he’s better than me, so why should he be around his disgraceful cousin?”
My eyebrows arch, and my ears perk up as I overhear his soliloquy. I don’t say anything, though… because what do I say?
Anthony’s eyes sharpen all of a sudden as he fixes me with a suspicious stare. “Is that why you’re leaving? Because Ethan isn’t around? He’s not your boss, is he?” His tone is edgy, like he’s spoiling for an argument.
I’m not giving it to him.
“No,” I reply hastily. “Not at all. You hired me, Mr. Cross. I only asked because—because I was curious. I overstepped my boundaries. I’m sorry.”
He relaxes again, shoving one hand into his pocket. “Good. Because Ethan doesn’t care about anyone but himself. I know he changed towards you, but that’s because I begged him to.” His tone is laid back, yet his words cut me deep. “He’s self-centered and your absence wouldn’t register to him at all.”
I blink rapidly, caught between a throat tingle and confusion.
Is he deliberately trying to hurt me?
He mutters something under his breath before turning and walking away, leaving me frozen in place.
My chest tightens, and my grip on my bag loosens, the effects of his words pressing down on me like a vise. I should move.
I should leave before the reality of it all sinks in too deep—but one thought echoes louder than the rest .
Ethan never cared about me. He was only ever kind because Anthony asked him to be.
All this time, I let myself believe in something that never existed. I let myself get caught between the illusion and the truth when I should have been focused on the latter. I should have been smarter, more guarded—more careful about blurring the lines between reality and delusion.
A sob claws at my throat, but I choke it down, refusing to let it win.
I’m not going to let myself cry over a man. It’s not like I was in love with him.
It was a temporary delusion. Without another glance back, I turn on my heel and walk out of the house.
I slide into the backseat of a cab, my heart hammering as the car pulls away. My phone vibrates in my lap, Danielle’s name flashing across the screen. I ignore it. The call goes unanswered, but a text immediately follows.
Pick up. Or I’ll come find you. Don’t tell m e they don’t allow you to answer calls in the kitchen.
My phone rings again. With a deep breath, I steel myself before answering.
“I could’ve been handling something hot,” I quip, forcing a lightness into my tone.
Danielle doesn’t miss a beat. “And yet, I know you weren’t.”
I can practically hear the smirk in her voice, but there’s an edge of concern beneath it. “You read my message. If you were really busy, you wouldn’t have. That’s how I know you’re lying.”
A small laugh slips out, easing some of the tension in my chest. “Fine,” I sigh, my voice a little softer now. “What do you want? ”
“Well,” she says, making a happy sound, “I was thinking we could hang out. It’s been a while since we did that—you and me, a girls’ night out.”
“Danielle?” I ask with the tone of someone who knows there’s something behind it. “What happened? Don’t tell me you secretly got your heart broken while I was busy and you’re trying to recover?”
She scoffs, and I hear the sound of a chair scraping against the floor in the background. “Me? Get my heart broken?”
I roll my eyes.
I might’ve fallen into delusion for a few weeks, but Danielle’s love life is basically one fairytale after another. Fairytales never last.
“What is it?” I ask, leaning back.
Her voice drops into a whisper as she replies, and I have to bring the phone closer to hear better. “Well, my boss is being a dick. He’s been on my tail for the past week and I’m tired. If I don’t get an outlet, I might turn in my resignation letter tomorrow morning.”
A quiet snort bubbles out of me, but she doesn’t catch it. The irony is not lost on me—I just ended what could’ve been a long-term contract and Danielle is hanging on to hers.
At least one of us should keep their means of employment.
“Sure,” I shrug. “Where?”
“The club!” she yells, and I press my fingers to my temple with a heavy, knowing sigh. “I’m sorry,” Danielle drops her tone, “but I’ve been thinking about it all week long. I wasn’t going to broach the subject because you’ve been in a different headspace, but I need you. I need my best friend,” she whines.
And I need a distraction.
“What time do you want me to be there?” I ask, resigning myself to a night of drinking, loud noises, and even louder music.
** *
“Natalie!” Danielle pulls me into a bear hug that almost squeezes my lungs when she spots me standing near the club’s exit. “I’m so glad you came.” Her voice is high-pitched, which is the only way I’d be able to hear her anyway.
“I didn’t think you’d show up,” she adds as she takes my hand, pulling me further into the crowd on the main dance floor.
Me too.
I debated not coming, especially when she sent me directions to an unfamiliar place— Luna Royale . I’d heard of it before, always in conversations about “high-end” clubs, the kind that catered to the city’s elite. The kind where people went to indulge, not just unwind.
But I’m not here to have fun.
I’m here to forget.
“Come on,” Danielle urges, tugging me through the throng of bodies pulsing to the music. “I need to introduce you to a couple of people.”
Somehow, we navigate through the crowd and reach the base of a staircase. A red velvet rope separates it from the main floor, guarded by a bouncer who barely glances at Danielle before unclipping it. She moves forward, but I dig my heels in, pulling her back.
She turns, brows knitting together. “What?”
“Not what,” I correct. “Why? Where are we going? Who are we meeting? I thought this was supposed to be a girls’ night.”
Danielle hesitates for half a second before flashing a sheepish grin. “It was,” she concedes. “But then I ran into some guys while I was waiting for you.” She waves a dismissive hand. “You were late! I was bored. They asked if I wanted to hang out in VIP, and I figured… why not? ”
She blows a tiny, petulant raspberry as if that makes it any better.
I exhale sharply. This is exactly why I should’ve stayed home.
“Please?” She tugs on my hand, tilting her head. “Please, Natalie? I promise that if you feel uncomfortable in any way, we’ll leave immediately. And they are responsible. I totally vetted them.”
I roll my eyes. “Right.”
“Is that a yes?”
Do I have any other option? I nod and let her lead me up the stairs to meet a bunch of strangers while thinking about all the alcohol I get to have for free.
As long as it works for tonight. I’ll think about tomorrow in the morning.