Chapter 2 He hit me

Garcia

He hit me.....he hit me to protect this guy.

I held my cheek, stunned in place. The sting felt hot across my skin, but that was not even the real pain. My heart felt like it was about to explode.

I looked up, and our eyes met. His eyes widened, like he had just realized what he had done.

"G-Gracie..." he choked out. "I..."

Tears blurred my vision again, I didn't even try to stop them. I didn't know if I was crying because of the slap, or because the man I loved more than anything in the world had just hit me.

The man who used to open car doors for me. Who rubbed my back when I had cramps. Who once cried when I got food poisoning because he couldn't stand seeing me in pain.

That Charles just hit me to protect his lover.

I backed away slowly, breath coming fast, it felt like I couldn't get enough air. My hands trembled at my sides.

"Gracie, please," he said, stepping toward me again. "I didn't mean it. I just-"

"Don't you dare touch me, Charles!" I screamed.

He flinched and froze, his hand still halfway toward me. He took a step back, his face twisting with guilt.

Mark or whatever the hell his name was moved behind him and placed a hand gently on Charles's back.

"It's okay, Charles, I know you didn't mean to. You're too soft for that kind of thing."

My chest tightened until it felt like something was crushing it. I looked at the both of them, standing there like they were the wronged ones, like I had stormed in and ruined their peace.

God, it hurt. It hurt so fucking much.

I closed my eyes for a second, trying to catch my breath, to keep myself from collapsing into the floor.

I opened my eyes to see Charles was staring at me with pity. Mark still had that smug little curl on his lips. I swallowed the lump in my throat. My voice came out quiet, barely audible. "I just have one question for you, Charles."

"W-what is it?"

"Are you attracted to women?" My voice cracked. "To me?"

Charles opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Mark scoffed. "Does it really matter?"

I ignored him, keeping my eyes locked on Charles. His gaze dropped as he whispered. "I'm sorry."

It was just one word, and I understood immediately, he was gay. The guy I was about to marry in a few days was fucking gay.

My knees felt weak again. "S-So why? Why would you do this to me? Lead me on? If you are gay, why did you pretend to love me?!"

"I'm sorry, Gracie," he repeated, like that would fix the hole in my chest. Like that could explain why the man I trusted most became the one to hurt me the deepest.

"No," I said, shaking my head, my voice hardening. "Don't give me apologies. Just answer the goddamn question."

"You know our parents want us to get married," Charles suddenly said, his voice low. "When my parents found out I... liked men, they were furious. They didn't want a gay son. They wanted someone normal. They pushed me into this, Gracie. They thought marriage would fix it. That you would fix it. I didn't mean to-"

"Cut the crap, Charles," I snapped.

He flinched. He had probably never seen this side of me before. I was always the cute, innocent type when I was with him.

"Do you really think I'm going to feel bad for you now? After everything?"

He opened his mouth again, but I didn't let him speak.

"You used me, I was just a tool, a cover story for your parents. A perfect little bride to make you look straight. And I loved you. God, I loved you despite everything. Despite how cold you were sometimes. Despite how distant you felt in the bedroom. I thought it was stress, or work, or anything but this. But you played.....you played with me from the beginning."

I blinked away fresh tears, furious they were still coming. "If you had just told me the truth when we met... I would have understood. I would have helped you. But instead, you lied. You let me fall in love with you. You let me believe we had something real."

"Don't make your parents the villains," I said. "You're one too. Don't justify cheating with your sexuality!"

"I really am sorry," he said, staring at the floor.

I wiped my tears roughly with the back of my hand. "Keep it. I don't need it."

My fingers trembled as they touched the ring on my hand. It was our engagement ring. I remembered the night he gave it to me. The way I cried, the way I kissed him over and over again, promising I'd never take it off. And now, I was about to do the very thing I never imagined.

I pulled it off slowly, like the metal burned my skin, and I threw it at his feet.

"It's over between us, Charles," I said, my voice flat. "I want nothing to do with a scumbag like you or your trashy family again."

Charles shook his head in disbelief. "You can't do that, Gracie. I know you're angry, but this... this is a business deal. You know that. Our families-"

I let out a dry laugh. "A business deal."

So that's all this had been for him. I was just a business deal.

"Fine, then I'm walking away from your precious business deal. Find someone else willing to sell themselves for your lie. I'm done playing this role."

I looked him in the eye, and for the first time, I saw fear.

"Seeing you disgusts me," I whispered. "I regret ever falling for you."

"Gracia-" He was about to say something, but I didn't wait for the next lie. I turned and walked away, leaving behind the ring, the wedding, the life I thought we were building, and the man who never loved me at all.