Chapter 10
250words
I'd lived those years in peaceful contentment, the past buried where it belonged.
Until last weekend.
My best friend dragged me to the hottest new club downtown.
And there he was—Adrian Mitchell—gyrating on the central platform above the dance floor.
For a moment, I thought I was seeing things.
Just a ghost from the past.
As I sipped my drink, my eyes kept drifting back to him.
Watching wealthy older women circle him like sharks, pressing drinks into his hands.
Watching him flash that practiced smile at anyone who slipped him cash.
Something bitter twisted inside me.
God, I'd been so young. So painfully naive.
As we settled our tab to leave…
Adrian Mitchell was working valet at the entrance. He'd scratched some Bentley and was getting reamed out by the owner.
He kept bowing and scraping, apologies tumbling out like a beggar's pleas.
When he finally looked up, our eyes locked.
"Victoria…"
He froze like a deer in headlights.
I crooked my finger, pulled a thick wad of hundreds from my clutch, and let them flutter to his feet.
His entire body went rigid.
I turned and slid into my waiting car.
In the rearview mirror,
He remained frozen in that half-bow, a pathetic clown in the night.
I couldn't tell if his face showed shame or humiliation.
But it didn't matter anymore.
When he chose to betray me, he should have known this day would come.
