Chapter 2 The Shattered Moments

Alexander fought with all the strengths he had left.

His body was failing him-limbs heavy, muscles unresponsive, vision swaying like smoke through water. The drug Summer had slipped into his drink was working fast, dulling his strength and clouding his mind. Every breath dragged through him like a slow suffocation.

But Alexander Wellington was not the kind of man to surrender easily. Not to her. Not like this.

"Summer, stop..." His voice cracked, rough and low. The words came out slurred, his tongue thick and dry.

Summer only smiled-slow, deliberate, predatory. Her breath was warm against his cheek as she leaned in close.

"Don't fight it, Alexander," she whispered, her tone soft enough to almost sound tender. "You'll see soon enough. I'm the only one for you."

Her words slid into his ears like poison disguised as sweetness.

His pulse pounded painfully in his temples. He could see her eyes-bright, glassy, desperate. This wasn't love. It was an obsession dressed in silk.

"Stop," he forced out, his voice trembling under the weight of the drug. "I'll-never-betray... Kimberly."

The name hit her like a slap.

Her expression cracked for a second-hurt, then fury.

"Then you'll remember her," she hissed, eyes darkening. "When she walks away from you."

-

Laughter filled Alexander's penthouse, the penthouse is across Wellington's hotel. Kimberly was having her bridal shower there. The sound of champagne, silk dresses, and unguarded joy.

She sat among her bridesmaids, surrounded by champagne flutes, silk ribbons, and talk of honeymoons and wedding dresses. She smiled and laughed as they chatted about honeymoon destinations and floral arrangements. Her phone buzzed insistently.

A message flashed across the screen:

"Alexander doesn't feel well. Bring medicine to his suite. Hurry."

Her heart tightened.

He wasn't feeling well? He'd seemed fine only a few hours ago.

She rose from her seat so abruptly her chair scraped the floor.

"Everything okay?" Sharon asked, brow lifted.

"Alex needs me," Kimberly murmured. Do you want me to come with you? Sharon asked.

"No, it's across the building,I will be back shortly" Kimberly replied, already halfway to the door.

Inside the elevator, her thoughts spun faster than the ascending numbers. What if he fainted? Why didn't anyone call me earlier? Why isn't Brian answering my calls?

When the doors slid open, she ran.

Her heels clattered down the marble hallway, the numbers on each door blurring past until she reached 1207.

Her heart was beating too fast.

She didn't knock. She turned the handle-and froze.

---

For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

Alexander was on the bed. His shirt undone, his body trembling and tense. And on top of him-Summer.

Her golden hair spilled across his bare chest. Her hands pressed against his shoulders. Her lips were curved into something between satisfaction and mock guilt.

The scene was damning.

Kimberly's voice came out small, cracked, fragile. "Alexander?"

His eyes flew open-wild, panicked. "Kimberly-no-it's not-what it looks like-"

His voice slurred, his movements sluggish, but she barely heard him. The sound in her ears was deafening. Her own heartbeat thundered, her mind refusing to understand what her eyes saw.

Tears blurred her vision. Her breath came in short, broken gasps.

She wanted to scream, to demand an explanation but her voice wouldn't obey.

Her lips trembled. "How could you..."

Summer turned her head, meeting Kimberly's eyes with a glint of quiet triumph.

That look shattered something inside her.

Kimberly's chest heaved. The air itself felt sharp, cutting through her lungs. "I loved you," she whispered, the words raw and trembling.

Then she turned and ran.

The slam of the door echoed like a gunshot.

---

Inside, Alexander lay there, chest burning with rage and despair. His mind screamed at his body to move.

He forced himself upright, the world tilting around him. Summer reached for him again, her voice shaking. "Don't-don't fight me!"

He shoved her away with his might.She stumbled, falling to the floor, disbelief and fear flashing across her perfect face.

Alexander staggered to his feet, every muscle shaking with exhaustion. He reached the door and slammed it shut behind her, locking himself in with his wrecked reality.

"Kimberly..." The name escaped his lips like a broken prayer.

His vision dimmed. He saw only flashes-her tears, her face, her heartbreak.

He tried to move again, but the room spun violently. His knees hit the floor. The drug was winning. His body was giving up.

The world tilted once more.

And then-nothing.

Alexander Wellington collapsed, unconscious.