“Jayden, please… let me explain…” I begged, but he was already walking away from me.
Daniel laughed, oozing all his scorn as he walked towards me. “Oh, did I ruin your little affair? Shame on me.”
“Why don’t you go to hell, Daniel? I’m sure the devil will welcome you with open arms,” I said, confronting him for the first time ever.
“Feisty, are you now?” he said, mocking me. “We’ll take care of that, soon enough,” he threatened me.
“We don’t exist anymore, Daniel, so we aren’t going to take care of anything,” I told him, determined to fight him to the end.
This time, I wouldn’t go down without a good fight, even if it cost me everything.
He crossed the distance between us and slapped me in the face, as hard as usual, but this time, I stood my ground, not ready to give in.
“Please, go on… what better witnesses could I ask for than Seattle’s crème de la crème?” I asked, leaking all my disgust in every single word.
He clenched his jaw and made a move to grab me, but I was faster than him and rushed back to the ballroom. Gods were on my side, and I was able to reach the door before he grabbed me.
“Let’s go somewhere private,” he demanded.
I struggled to free my arm from his grip, and the weird looks from the people around us forced him to release me.
“I’m not going anywhere with you… not now, not ever,” I assured him. “Good luck dragging me out of here,” I challenged him, as I surveyed the ballroom looking for Jayden, but he was nowhere to be found.
Desperate, I looked for Madeleine. The woman would be the perfect shield against Daniel, even if she wasn’t aware of it.
“Do you think I care about what these people think?” he asked through gritted teeth.
“Of course, you do… what would people say if they knew the sadist bastard you really are? Do you want to find out? I have nothing else to lose,” I threatened him, as I crossed the room, straight to where Madeleine was standing, next to some of her friends.
“I’m sorry to interrupt you, Madeleine, but I’m looking for Jayden. Have you seen him?” I asked her with my best smile on.
“Anne… what are you doing here? Jayden told me he was taking you home…” she asked, surprised, her eyes fixed on my cheek.
I resisted the urge to cover the bruising I was sure was starting to show.
“Yes… he is… but we seemed to have lost each other…” I said, making up as I went. “I had to use the ladies’ room, and now I can’t seem to find him,” I added.
“He’s probably at the lobby waiting for you,” she told me, with a polite grin, before she turned to look at Daniel that had followed me across the room. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”
For a moment, I considered telling her he was no friend of mine, but if Madeleine was able to hold him back for a few seconds, I would be able to get the hell out of here.
“Of course, Madeleine Wells, meet my ex-husband, Daniel Hudson. He’s the CEO of a big company, back in New York,” I told her, disguising my disdain as much as possible. “He was just telling me he would like to hear all about the organization hosting this gala,” I added before I rushed away.
Daniel took a step to follow me, but Madeleine put her hand on his arm, and he was forced to stay, at least, for the few seconds, I needed to leave the hotel.
Jayden wasn’t in the lobby, but I wasn’t expecting him to be there, either. I didn’t even bother looking. I needed to escape, and that was my priority.
Grabbing the long skirts of my dress, I ran out of the hotel and jumped into the taxi that had just pulled over to drop a customer. For once in my life, luck was on my side, and we drove away, just when Daniel stepped out of the hotel.
Still frantic, I asked the taxi driver to take me to Jayden’s place. This time, I wasn’t leaving empty-handed. I needed to pick up my things.
I was counting Daniel still didn’t know where I was staying, and after the way Jayden had pushed me away, he wouldn’t bother looking in his place… or so I hoped.
I paid the taxi and rushed inside, still scared I would find Daniel again, but even more afraid Jayden would be home. The betrayal in his eyes would haunt me forever, and I wasn’t ready to see him again, because I was sure he wouldn’t listen to me.
Luckily for me, the place was empty, so I rushed to my room and rapidly packed the few things I could carry easily with me before I changed clothes.
Looking at the green dress puddling at my feet, I sobbed, remembering how happy I had felt when Jayden had given it to me. I had felt like a princess on my way to the ball with prince charming.
