Melody
Chapter fifty-seven
Aweek after dinner, I’m angrily slapping a bouquet together in the backroom of my shop.
The table I’m working on looks like a massacre with chopped flower stems and loose leaves scattered around.
I’m butchering everything with a firm hand, my craft only creating a weak balm for the hurt inside of me.
Dylan and I are trying to work through things.
We started attending couples therapy at my request, but it’s hard to fix things when he’s never here.
We got one appointment in before he received a call from his California office.
He had to take the next flight out, leaving me alone with wedding rehearsals and invitations.
It’s been an overload of preparation all without him by my side.
I feel like I’m losing my god damned mind.
“Ms. Melody?” Rita asks from the doorway, her electric blue hair tucked behind her ears. “Maybe you should take a break? The shop closed two hours ago…”
I sigh, slamming my shears down on the metallic table with a teeth-grinding ting. “You’re right.”
She fidgets uncomfortably. “Are you okay?”
“Super,” I huff before closing my eyes. “Sorry, Rita. I’m just stressed.”
Her expression softens. “I can get some overtime and finish this. If that’s okay with you?”
I offer her a kind smile despite my shit mood. “Of course. I need some sleep anyway. Rehearsals start early tomorrow.”
She takes over, and I let her before grabbing my purse off the coat rack and locking up behind me. The whole drive to the condo is strained silence as I thrum my fingers on the wheel. Nothing is okay anymore, and I don’t know what to do about it.
For the first time in my life, I want someone to save me. I want to relinquish all of the control and just let someone take care of everything for me. I’m tired and worn out. Every day is a new batch of chaos that I’m never prepared for.
All I’ve ever asked of Dylan is to be there for me. All I ever wanted was to be chosen by someone.
The tears fall before I can stop them, wetting my cheeks as I pull into the parking garage. I rest my forehead on the wheel, letting it all flow out as if it’s being yanked from my lungs. I sob brokenly, allowing myself to have this moment of sorrow.
Just like every other night, I cut the car, take a few calming breaths, and grab my stuff before shuffling into the lobby. The doorman greets me, but I don’t respond as I make my way to the elevators. I let my head rest against the wall until I make it to my floor.
Once the doors slide open, I keep my gaze averted so Mrs. Barlow doesn’t notice me. She’s a chatty neighbor, and I’m not really in the mood tonight. I unlock the door, prepared to step into quiet, sterile bliss, but freeze.
Mountains of beautiful red rose petals are scattered across the floor, the fresh scent filling the air as the dining room chandelier overhead shines dimly. It’s beautiful to see the blooms contrasting with the white floors, and my heart skips a beat.
Roses.
He knows I love roses.
There’s a trail of them that leads to the bedroom, and a smile tugs at my lips as I follow them. Out of all the flowers Dylan has surprised me with over the last two weeks, these are the best.
Was he saving this?
Waiting to surprise me when I least expected it?
That weight on my shoulders lifts slightly as I near our bedroom. There’s sound from the other side of the door—voices.
There’s a breathy quality in the tone that makes my head turn.
Music?
Is he playing music?
That’s so sappy. I love it!
I reach for the handle excitedly, my mind not quick enough to process the grunts and moans before it’s too late. The door swings open, revealing our bedroom heavily dusted with more rose petals—the bed, the floor, and the computer desk.
The computer.
I freeze, my blood turning to ice in my veins as a video plays on the screen. At first, I think it’s a porno. There are the sounds of skin slapping and a woman moaning so loudly it rattles the desktop’s speakers.
Until the man in the video speaks, and my whole world shatters.
“Yeah, you like that, baby?” Dylan growls breathlessly as his hips shunt forward. His elbow rears back before he delivers a blow to the woman’s rounded ass.
The brunette looks over her shoulder, her lipstick smeared. “Harder! Pull my hair!”
I slap a hand over my gaping mouth as I watch my fiancé pull this woman’s hair and pound into her doggy style. They’re a mess of limbs and loud sounds; meanwhile, my whole heart has just been ripped from my chest for a second time in my life.
Can’t breathe.
Can’t fucking breathe.
I’m so caught up in the shock—the betrayal—that I don’t register the footsteps behind me.
“His secretary,” Kaden’s voice whispers in my ear. “Can you believe it? They’ve been fucking for two years, according to my sources.”
I can’t look away from the computer. I can’t think.
“I got tired of waiting for you to come to me,” he croons cruelly. “So, I decided it would be best to get the hard part out of the way now.”
“Two years…” I mumble numbly, my eyes still trained on the screen. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. I can’t…
“Surprise,” Kaden whispers.
I walk forward, not in my own body as I reach for the mouse. I pause the video, Dylan’s orgasm face frozen in time as I stare at him.
His secretary.
His fucking secretary!
She’s sent me gifts before when Dylan couldn’t make it back on time. She always picks up when I call his California office. She’s always fucking there.
“I’m going to let you process,” Kaden says as he eases down onto the end of my bed. He’s holding another large bouquet in his hands, as if he thought flowers would soothe this.
This is all fucked.
Everything.
Four years down the drain. He’s been screwing his secretary for half of our relationship. Any ounce of guilt I had for what Kaden and I have done is gone.
I need to think.
I need…
“Do you feel like telling me what he did now?” Kaden asks.
It’s hard to think when the literal devil is standing on my shoulder, whispering in my ear. To the man on my bed, this is a victory—a conquest that he’s been planning. To me? The last four years of my life have been a complete lie.
Sure, our relationship has been strained beyond belief, but I never thought…
Two years!
“Still not talking, huh?” He sucks his teeth as he rises off the bed. He stalks towards me, and I’m so caught up in my own internal agony that I don’t stop him as he collars my throat tightly. His head tilts down, not a speck of compassion or regret in his eyes. “Do you remember our deal, Melody?”
My brows draw deeply as fresh tears sting my face. “Is this a joke to you? Dylan has been cheating on me for years, and you have the nerve to ask about our fucking deal?!”
Kaden’s thumb brushes under my eye, catching the wetness before he lifts it to his lips, and his tongue swipes over his digit. “I never said I was a good man, little sister.”
My pulse thunders as a choked sob leaves me. “Oh, my god….”
Kaden’s eyes crease with his sick amusement. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me without proof. So, I waited until Dylan went running back to California.”
I press my fingers to my temples, my chest caving with the pressure as my question tumbles from my lips again. “Is this a joke to you?”
“Oh, no,” he chuckles wickedly. “Jokes are meant to be funny. You’re not laughing right now, are you?”
Rage swells. He’s enjoying this. Every shattered fragment, every tremble in my hands, he’s feeding off my reactions like a demon celebrating in his spoils.
“Get out of my house,” I rasp, my voice raw.
Kaden hesitates, not moving an inch to show me that he’s still very much in control before he leans down and levels our faces. “You’re angry, but not with me, Sunny. You’re angry that it’s all been a lie, even when you thought you two were at your happiest.”
Reality slaps me hard. My eyes widen, rimmed red and puffy, as my chin slowly tilts up to him. “You knew,” I whisper. “This whole time…”
His smile stretches. “Guilty.”
Something inside of me fractures beyond repair. “You knew…” I whisper again, unable to rationalize this.
He sighs as if a weight has been lifted. “Yeah, I knew. I did my research on him before I came back. A real piece of work.”
This is too much.
All of it.
“Get out,” I command, but there’s no power behind my words. No life.
Kaden’s hands sweep out to his sides in a grand gesture as he motions around the rose-filled room. “Come on, baby! I did all of this for you, and you want me to leave? I’m wounded.”
He’s basking in the heartbreak he orchestrated. Somewhere, inside of his sick, twisted heart, he thinks this is the answer to all of his problems. He isn’t expecting me to run into his arms. He wanted to damage any chance Dylan had of salvaging us.
Well, Kaden got one part of his plan right. There is no coming back from this.
My teeth grind as I swipe up my tears and lift my eyes to the man across from me. “I need time. Leave.”
He tsks, shaking his head as he slowly ambles towards my bedroom door. Before he can leave, he holds onto the frame and pokes his head back in. “Oh, by the way, this is only the tip of the iceberg. There’s more.”
My heart sinks.
More?
How deep do Dylan’s lies go?
“When you’re ready for the full truth, I left my address in your kitchen. Ask for Smerti.”
He leaves me alone with my thoughts, and I break down.