Chapter 1 BROKEN UP

I'm staring at my boyfriend of 6 years in his apartment frozen in shock. There's a ring on the table, balloons tied up, a cute banner that says "Will you marry me?" He's on the other side of the room and he's not alone. There's a woman on his waist, kissing him and she's not me. Their clothes are strewn along the floor, hands busy on each other's bodies. She tells him she loves him and he says he loves her back. My feet are stuck up the ground and my heart is beating a mile a minute, trying to deny what I'm seeing.

I had planned a surprise to ask my boyfriend, Max, to marry me so why am I the one getting shocked?

Then it finally clicks.

Max, the love of my life, is cheating on me.

A couple of hours ago, I'd snuck into his apartment to plan a surprise engagement with a ring I got custom made. I'd spent all my savings on it and a good part of my rent. But it didn't matter because we were in love. A lot of things didn't matter to me. The fact that his mom hated my guts and always went out of her way to humiliate me. The fact that he didn't once try to step in for me because he didn't want his mom to be offended. The fact that my mother never respected my relationship and always tried to set me up on dates with old, rich men. The fact that he never showed up in public with me or got me gifts. I didn't care for all that. All I needed was Max.

He was the love of my life.

"Max?" I call out to him, barely able to hold myself up. I can't think. I can't even scream. My body won't cooperate and move like it used to. "Max..." I say and it comes out like a whimper. He turns to me in shock. Lipstick smeared around his lips. He doesn't even try to fix his shirt or wipe it off.

"Fuck." he spits out. I can tell he's annoyed from his tone and the anger burning in his eyes. "What are you doing here, Anesha? What the actual fuck!"

"I–" The words die on my lips.

The woman turns to me, amused. "Wait, is this your little girlfriend? The brokie with the mom who's trying to pump her out?"

I freeze instantly at her words. What? He told her about me. About everything. I grow limp, waiting for him to deny it.

"Shut up, Lilith. This is not funny. I didn't think she'd be here." He says instead, trying to fight back a smile.

"You told her about me? About that?"

"It's nothing serious. Just pillow talk between lovers."

I can't believe my ears. "Lovers? You love her?"

"What do you expect? We've been together for a year now. Mom invited her for the anniversary."

"Oh baby." she croons, delighted.

She pulls him in for a kiss and they get lost in the moment like I'm not there. My heart is beating loudly in my ears, threatening to burst out my chest. His mother knew this? She was in on this. All this while she'd been nothing but a thorn in my flesh for no reason when her son was cheating on me for a whole year.

"Maybe we should hire your little girlfriend to decorate. This is quite the setup." she says to me and sits at the table, fingering the steak. "You seem like a sweet girl. Very homely. Don't worry, I'm sure something is gonna work out for you soon." she snickers as I struggle to get to my feet and rush at her. Max grabs me as they laugh together and throws me, kicking and screaming, out the door.

I slam my empty glass on the table in the rowdy bar. "And that is how my night went." I say drunkenly to the stranger I'd been venting to the whole time. He looks at me, eyes unreadable. Those deep green eyes make me feel hot all over. Or is that just the alcohol? I can see the well-defined muscles on his arms and my mind starts racing with bad thoughts.

I've never been one to feel attracted to an older man but I can't help it.

There's something about him that's pulling me in.

"You've been through quite the ordeal."

His voice, slow and smooth, rolls through me, comforting and understanding. I launch into another rant, tears rolling down my eyes. "Damn right I have! All for the overgrown mama's boy. That retarded, piece of shit! I should have yelled at his mother when I had the chance. Told her her style was wack as fuck and she could shove her dresses up her snobby ass. I should have put him over my legs and beat him up but he'd probably like that. That crazy, no good, lying brute!"

There's a glimmer in his eyes when I'm done speaking. He sips on his drink to hide his smile. I stare at him as best I can. It's hard not to see how handsome he is despite his age. He cocks his brow at me and I smile sweetly. "You're not married, are you?"

"No, I'm not. Marriage isn't on my to do list but it seems like I won't be able to avoid it for long." he says bitterly, downing the rest of his drink.

"Let's get married then." I blurt out.

He looks at me like you'd look at a child doing a trick. "I'm much too old for you, darling."

"I don't mind. The older the berry, the sweeter the wine." I mumble, hiccuping. What the hell was I saying? I just got dumped.

"You don't even know my name."

"I can just call you Daddy till I find out." His eyes darken for a minute. He gives me a slow once over, settling on my lips. I gulp, a heat rising in me that I can swear isn't the alcohol. "Can I call you that? Daddy?" I whisper.

"Deimos." he drawls, eyes finally settling on mine.

"Deimos." I roll the word in my mouth, moaning it softly. It's familiar but I'm too drunk to care where I've heard it. I move towards him, emboldened by the alcohol swimming in my veins. "Don't you think couples should be compatible before they get married? Should we test it out with a kiss?" I reach for his face gently and he doesn't back away. Suddenly I feel nauseated. I turn away from him at the last minute. Toppling the chair as I fall to my knees on the floor and vomit. Pathetic, I think to myself as my eyes close and my head hits the ground.