Chapter 2 2

Xandro's POV

I slammed the door behind me, my hand gripping the steering wheel as I pulled out of the driveway. The tires screeched against the asphalt, the night air rushing in through the cracked window. I didn't care. The only thing I could think about was getting as far away from that house, from her, as possible.

I kept my eyes straight ahead, but my mind... it was spinning. Claire. The divorce papers. I couldn't believe it. The thought of her leaving hit harder than I expected. At first, I thought I'd feel a sense of relief, a weight lifting off my shoulders. But as I drove, my chest tightened, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was about to lose something that had been a part of me for far too long.

Gosh! Where had she gotten the courage from?

The woman I once thought I could control, and who now, it seems, was about to slip completely out of my grasp. It's almost too easy to hate her right now. For years, I treated her like an afterthought, constantly bringing women into our bed, letting her feel the sting of loneliness while I fucked around with anyone but her. The thought of her suffering... It used to satisfy me. It still does, in a way. After all, she's the daughter of the man who wronged me so deeply, the man who put me in this hellhole of a life. Every bit of pain I caused Claire felt like payback for her father's sins.

But tonight? Tonight, as I watched her handle over the divorce papers to me, something shifted in me. I had pushed her too far by getting Mela pregnant and being bold with the announcement.

The bar was a few miles down the road, a place where I could drown out everything. I pulled into the parking lot of the bar, the neon sign buzzing in the distance. I didn't want to be here, but I couldn't be alone either. A drink, or maybe ten, was the only thing that would dull the sharp edge of the thoughts swirling in my mind. I shut off the engine and stepped out, my legs heavy as I made my way to the entrance. Inside, the smell of whiskey and stale beer hit me like a slap to the face, but I welcomed it. Anything to numb the frustration, the confusion, the damn ache in my chest that I couldn't quite place.

The bartender gave me a quick nod as I slid onto a stool at the end of the bar.

"Rough night?" he asked, already reaching for the bottle.

"Yeah," I muttered. "You could say that."

He didn't ask more, probably used to the kind of men who came in here to drown their problems in alcohol. As I stared into the amber liquid being poured into my glass, I felt a bitter laugh rise in my throat.

"What the hell was I doing? I wasn't some damn teenager getting dumped for the first time. I was Xandro Romano, a man who had everything: power, wealth, control. And yet, for the first time in years, I felt like I was losing it all,"

The glass clinked as I took it in my hand, the coldness of it a stark contrast to the heat building in my chest. I downed it in one go, not even letting the burn settle before signaling for another.

The thoughts wouldn't leave. Claire's face. Her cold eyes. The divorce papers. Every damn thing she'd said, every word laced with pain. She'd finally seen through it all, hadn't she? She'd realized that I wasn't the man she married, that I wasn't capable of loving her. Also, thanks to my announcement, she had realized I didn't give a hoot about how she felt. She was nothing to me.

Wasn't it supposed to be this way? I wanted to break her, to make her feel everything I'd felt when her father destroyed my family.

But now.. I couldn't stop imagining she was going. This wasn't how our story was supposed to end. I groaned loudly as I downed another glass of bourbon.

God, what was I thinking?

"You okay, man?" a voice cut through my thoughts. I turned to see a guy I didn't recognize, a sleazy smirk on his face, eyes a little too bright.

"Yeah," I muttered as I stared into my glass. "Just... working through some shit."

The guy nodded, then slid off his stool. "You know what you need? A distraction. A pretty little thing to forget about your problems. Trust me, work every time."

I couldn't help the bitterness that bubbled in my chest. I gave him a look, but it wasn't hostile, just tired. "You think a woman's going to fix this?"

The bartender shrugged as he glanced at me. "A woman mightn't fix your issues right now, but they are good listeners and you look like one who needs a good listener."

I scoffed as I picked up my phone. He was right, though. I need a woman who would take my mind off Claire and listen to me ramble about her audacity. I sent a quick text to Mela informing her I will be at her place in a few minutes.

"Get me another one," I ordered as I dropped my phone. I closed my eyes and, as if on cue, the image of Claire appeared. Her trembled voice saying everything that she held in her for years. I sighed as I allowed her voice to replay again. I wasn't sure I wanted it gone because it felt like a sweet, sad trouble.

I downed another drink and sighed. Her voice became louder than my phone lit up with a notification. It was Mela.

"I'm out with friends, celebrating our engagement. The key is under the mat if you change your mind."

I scoffed as I downed another drink. Mela had a thing for parties, but she knew better to be in one now. I replied in one word: "Be careful, Mela."

The bartender flashed a concerned look as I grabbed the bottle. I muttered something incorrigible as my vision swayed and I almost fell off the barstool, but I pushed myself to my feet. The room was a blur of lights and faces, but I couldn't stay there anymore. The walls seemed to close in on me.

I pulled out my phone, fingers trembling, and scrolled through the contacts. My thumb hovered over Claire's name, the temptation to call her overwhelming, but I sucked in my breath and deleted her contact. I was going to be a father soon, and it was a clear victory having her out of the way.

But how was I going to avenge what her father had done to me?

I yelled as I stepped out of the bar and moved slowly to my car, trying to walk on the balls of my feet. I couldn't believe there will be a day when the thought of Claire leaving me will shatter my bones. I threw the bottle and fell on my feet as her face appeared masked with pain and betrayal.

This wasn't over yet.