A Night Of Sin

Sometimes, I wondered when I'd finally break loose from this vicious cycle of abuse. It usually happens in four stages.

He'd get angry over a slight issue and beat my brains out. I would refuse to respond to his texts nor pick his calls. He'd come over to my apartment with a banquet of flowers promising and begging never to lay a finger on me. And then, I'd accept him.

I couldn't let go of him. Atleast, not now. Not when he was paying for my mother's treatment which I couldn't afford.

"Fucking slut!" He cursed. I have never been shot or stabbed before but the insults that spewed from Jake's lips-each time we had a disagreement, usually gave me a good idea on how either of those would feel.

"No, you don't get-" I tried to explain to him before he cut me off.

"You probably think I'm dumb!" He barked, his blue eyes smouldering with anger, burning brighter than ever.

"He only asked if I was the waitress he saw the other day-"

"Then you started smiling at him . . ." He trailed off, running his finger through his dishevelled jet black hair.

"It was just a friendly smile," I defended, shrugging my shoulders tiredly. Before I knew it, his coarse palm collided with my delicate cheeks violently, the force jerking my face in another direction. I held my cheeks, staring at the tiles.

"The fact that you fucking little bitch think you can challenge me after I've caught you in your promiscuous ways is appalling." He said, walking towards me and I began to move backwards in fear until I had gotten to the end of the wall.

He held my neck tightly, strangling it. I could feel life squeezing out of me as I struggled to croak out words of plea, hoping he'd listen to me.

"Look at the way he was smiling. . . looking at you lustfully and you were letting him stare at you." He enunciated every syllable when he got to 'lustfully' and tears streamed down my cheeks.

"P-please," I croaked out.

Thankfully, he let go of me.

I took in ragged breaths and coughed. Soon, he held my arm and his lucid eyes formed into a contrite expression and he started uttering his usual words of apology. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." He scratched the back of his neck then ran his fingers through his hair. I averted my gaze and wiggled my arm from his hold.

"Please, I'm sorry baby."

"For what?" I asked, and touched my aching throat.

"I'll just let you calm down but come to the room when you're ready to talk." He said calmly, before heading towards his room.

I wondered how long I'd continue like this with him and if his case was a mental illness. Ofcourse, I'd leave him after he has finished paying for Mom's treatment or when I no longer need his financial support. Even though I held on to him because of the financial support I got from him, I was worried about the girl that would date him after me. She would go through hell; nobody deserved that.

I grabbed my phone from the leather handbag I usually carried whenever I went to work; It matched with my uniform. I texted Amy, my best friend.

Me: Girl, he strangled me and accused me of cheating again.

Her reply came in almost immediately.

Amy: Isn't he tired of that? You should come home already.

I replied as soon as I saw her text.

Me: Maybe you should ask him and yeah, I'll come home soon.

I kept my phone in my bag and retrieved my handkerchief and wiped my face. I wanted to head home without informing him and then the doorbell rang. On opening the door, I saw a caramel skinned girl dressed all back, probably in her early twenties with blonde frizzy curls and dark shades which gave her a formidable appearance.

It occured to me that I had never met any of Jake's siblings in the past months that we had been dating. I assumed she was Jake's sister because he once told me that he doesn't have any female friends.

"Hey," I greeted, smiling while stretching out my hand for a handshake.

She gave me a withering look, frowning. "Who are you?" She questioned, raising a curious brow at me and I withdrew my hand still wearing a beautiful smile on my face. I hoped it was contagious.

"I'm Leila, Jake's girlfriend." I replied, beaming.

The girl let out a bitter chuckle. "Wow, so you're the slut who has been having an affair with my boyfriend." I didn't know if it was a question or not but she raised a curious brow at me, then continued. "And you dare open your lousy mouth to call yourself his girlfriend?"

My heartbeat raced at the mention of that word: Slut. I clutched my purse tightly with one hand, the other fist clenching as anger coursed through my veins.

"Excuse me, who are you?" I asked, surprised. She ignored me, pushing past my shoulder as she made her way into Jake's apartment.

"Baby," she called out and Jake rushed in, eyes wide. I stood there, watching them through the door that was ajar.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her in a frantic tone. "This is my boyfriend's house, am I not allowed to come here anymore?" She asked, jokingly while throwing her hands around his tensed shoulders and he pushed her away, peeking through the house to check if I was still around.

His blue eyes met my cold stare, and his face morphed into a sober expression. "It's not what it looks like." He said and I bent down to pick my bag that had fallen when she called him 'baby'.

"In my presence you're still trying to explain to your slut?" The stupid blondie asked him angrily. The wave of anger that crashed on me manifested in my actions as I walked into the house and gave her a resounding warning of her life.

Unfazed, I faced her specifically, "Apparently, you are the slut. If he had you already, then why did he go after me?"

With tired legs and a heavy head, I rushed up the stairs to the apartment I shared with the best person God gave me - Amy. We normally split the bills equally, but on days where I couldn't pay the agreed price because of my financial lack, she covered up for me willingly without asking for the money back.

The door unlocked the moment I slipped the key into its lock. I found Amy sitting on the couch watching TV in an oversized t-shirt and a bowl of Chin chin on her lap with the remote by her side. She tore her gaze from the screen the minute she was aware of my presence. Her favourite television series was flickering on the screen but that didn't stop her interrogating me.

She removed the bowl from her lap and walked towards me, outstretching her arms, waiting for me to receive them. I hugged her, pressing my small frame into her thick fleshy body as we shared a comfortable silence for a while.

"How did it happen today? " Amy enquired thoughtfully after we had shared our affectionate hug. We were now sitting on the couch, facing each other. I heaved a sigh, rubbing my forehead. "He implied that he didn't like the way I smiled at one guy. " I answered.

Amy's eyes widened in shock as she scratched her nose, blue acrylic nails brushing over her nose ring slightly. "That's the thing about abusive relationships - what causes the fights are silly. " She whinged, observing my features.

"What did he do to you?" She asked and sighed.

"Forget about that," I evaded the question because recalling the past events could make me cry. I just wanted to sleep and think about my life.

She held my gaze, reiterating the question. "What did he do to you?" At the sound of the question, the memories washed over me causing my eyes to brim with tears.

"The most painful part of everything was finding out that I'm not the only person he's dating."

Amy's fingers adorned with rings balled into a fist. "How could he fucking do that to you?" She asked through gritted teeth in a frown. Reaching out to uncurl her fingers, I sniffed as tears rolled down my cheeks. "Amy, don't do anything stupid." I implored.

"If you view the situation, you'd see how he's not benefiting anything from me. " I said, staring at her cold eyes. "I'm literally the one always collecting money from him and I don't give him anything back in return."

"It dosen't fucking matter!" She yelled, throwing a pillow on the floor out of anger. "I don't care if he's the one paying your mother's health bills. You need to break up with him."

Ever Since my father died, mum was either affected with one sickness or the other and because of that, we've spent all the money dad left on her health. The doctor said she's still yet to recover from the shock. Too bad there wasn't health insurance covering us.

I had to work extra hard to cater for my mom and my kid sister and then, it began to affect my grades. Just then, Jake came into my life. It felt like a light at the end of the tunnel because he took the financial burden off me. It was probably the reason for his attitude.

"How do you want me to get the money to cater for my needs then?" I whispered to the raging girl and intertwined my fingers with hers in a bid to calm her down.

"I could reach out to my dad to ask for help. "

"No, you don't have to do that. "

Amy's parents were divorced. Her rich father was a chronic cheat and her mother couldn't bear it anymore and because of that they went their separate ways. After that, Amy didn't want anything to do with her father because of the damage he caused on her mother's mental health, even hers too. It affected how she viewed commitment in romantic relationships.

"What are you fucking going to do then?"

"I'll try to get extra jobs by God's grace and I'll try not to let it affect my grades." She reached further, patting my face with my handkerchief, and pulling me in for a hug.

"You won't go back to him this time around." She said with a tone of finality.

"Yes ma'am."

"You know what. . . Let's party today."

"Hmm?"

"You're too uptight, come and have fun at this house party my friend invited me to."

"Honestly, I need to cheer up. I'll go."

"Are you serious?" I nodded.

She squealed."Really!? thanks baby!"

*

The building was monstrous and intricately designed. It reeked of elegance and class. I gave myself a once-over because I feared that I looked out of place here.

Amy forced me to wear a mini red body con gown that accentuated my tiny hips. My hair was packed in a loose bun with few strands left out on the front stylishly. I had a mild make-up on to compliment my overall look and partly to cover the red patches that Jake's slap had imprinted. Amy was wearing a strapless body con dress that hugged her overly visible curves and showed off her full firm breasts.

The atmosphere was loud and jolly. The loud music blaring from the speakers was vibrating through my body. It made me want to dance. In my mind, I was already throwing some dance steps that I knew I couldn't pull off in reality. Amy disappeared with the claim of wanting to see her friend who invited her to a party. Her friend was a side chick of the celebrant and the main girlfriend was the one who hosted the party in the celebrant's house.

I found myself in a couch that wasn't currently occupied by inebriated bodies and horny couples making out, and hoarded the space to myself. I was currently sprawled on the couch when I began to question myself on why I came. I suddenly felt left out. Like I didn't fit in.

Then, my eyes caught a pair of sexy and attractive brown eyes watching me. I quickly averted my gaze because he had the kind of gaze that would wordlessly command you to halt in your tracks and fix your eyes on just him. He was strikingly handsome.

Him and a few guys which I presumed to be his friends, sat directly opposite me. There was a clear distinction between both spaces. It was as if there was a VIP section. The men there exuded class.

Desperate girls hovered around them, begging for attention and stretching iphones for selfies. Beside him was a blondie vying for his attention and it reminded of the one I had seen earlier on. My stomach twisted but I managed to shake off the feeling.

"Bitchh!" Amy squealed over the music. "You should be having a good time!" She sashayed towards me, her wide hips swaying to the rhythm of the music. She had a flawless skin that shone brightly under the disco lights. She tugged at my elbow and shouted. "I see how you are gawking at Lorenzo Henshaw." I didn't notice that my lips were slightly parted. Immediately she drew it to my attention, I closed them leaving no space in between. "Earth to Leila." She snapped her fingers on my face. "Uh. . .huh? Who is he?"

"He's one of the youngest CEOs in California and he's a founder of a tech startup."

"Wow. . .how come I haven't heard of him? "

"Your social life, girl. Work on it." She laughed, revealing her set of pearly white teeth. "But come to think of it, he's mostly pushing his company forward, not himself." She shrugged.

"Is he dating anyone?" I asked, stealing another glance at the dazzling handsome man.

"Are you fucking falling for him or what? You're into Journalism, you should walk over to him and conduct an interview for him. " She joked, pointing to his direction. I felt his intense gaze on him and I quickly lowered my gaze. Amy understood. "I think he's attracted to you. Don't blow this up." She said and blew a kiss, sashaying into the crowd.

Don't blow this up? What did she mean by that?

Determined to stop stealing glances at the man but have fun, I walked towards the bar. On getting there, I sat on the fancy bar stool, clutching my purse. I waved at the sexy dark haired bartender as he strolled over to me, smiling.

"What can I get you?" He asked, still beaming. I hadn't taken alcohol in a long time, my mom had forbidden me from taking it. "I'll take anything moderate, not too strong, not too soft."

"I'll take what she's having," a firm voice instructed, taking a seat by my side. The bartender gave us thumbs up and went ahead to start mixing and swirling different liquors together.

"I would have died by now if looks could kill."

Uh. What did he just say to me?

Please Lord, I don't want to get into any form of trouble with this CEO guy, I prayed internally.

"Uhm. . ." I stuttered. "I didn't mean it like that." His hands reached out to touch my tensed shoulder as he stared into my eyes like he could see my soul. His touch sent shivers through my body. "Come on, I was just teasing. Relax." His voice was deep and firm but he spoke in a calm manner.

From novels I had read, CEO's - especially the young ones were usually portrayed to be harsh and rude. But this one wasn't anything like that and it caught me off guard. I drank the remaining contents of the glass in front of me, all this while feeling his eyes boring holes into my soul.

When I was done, I started wiggling my wristband. I should have gone to the dance floor or looked for Amy but I was scared of walking through the crowd. I didn't want to feel the eyes of more people boring holes into my back.

"You seem uncomfortable here." He said, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Not really. " By now, he had gulped the contents of his drink and I wondered if he would ask for more. I said shifting uncomfortably and twisted my face to see him. His short curly brown hair swept over his face as his honey-brown eyes stared at me.

"From my observation, you are not comfortable here. Who brought you here?"

He's observant, I see. "Why do you think I didn't come here alone?" I blurted out.

"I just feel that way."

"I had a bad day today. " I took a deep breath at the recollection of what had happened earlier on. I continued. "So, my friend wanted to cheer me on and she insisted we party tonight."

"What a good friend right there. " He said and I nodded while he reached out to squeeze my palm. I liked how his palm covered mine providing a cocoon of comfort.

"Would you like to share what happened?" He asked, his lucid eyes pleady. I heaved a sigh of exasperation as I fought the tears that threatened to spill out. He squeezed my palm more and a lone tear showed on my face. He offered to wipe my face with a sparkling white handkerchief that had splashes of expensive perfume on it.

I accepted, and he wiped my tears softly. Just the few minutes I had spent with him, I felt cared for and accepted - a feeling I never knew while I was with Jake. I leaned into the counter, propping my elbows against and he did the same while we stared into each other's eyes. "Do you still wanna talk about it?" Silence. I cleared my throat that was slightly hurting me and then, I realised I had been raising my voice over the loud music. But it wasn't the same for him. He had a natural firm voice.

"Yes-" Just then, I was Interrupted by the blondie that was all over him earlier on. She catwalked to stand by his side and whispered something into his ears as he scrunched his face. I wondered about the relationship they had.

"As you can see I'm busy." He told her in a stoic manner and that earned me a once-over from her. She hissed, walking out.

"Who's she?" I asked without thinking and for some reason, I prayed she wasn't his girlfriend.

"She's the girl my parents want me to marry." He shrugged. "I don't love her but I don't treat her badly either."

"Just because you don't love someone doesn't mean you have the right to treat them badly." I said and he nodded. He licked his lips in a simple way but it felt so sensual and I stared at him longer than I should. That was why when he asked me a question, I jerked slightly but smiled quickly so as not to get noticed.

"Do you love anyone?"

"Yes, I do." I said smiling, thinking of my mom, my younger sister and Amy. I know he meant that question in terms of relationship but when I think of love in general, these are the people that find their way into my thoughts.

He let out a hearty laugh in such a way that he threw his head backwards, his throat rumbling with laughter. I liked the sound of it. I wished I could bottle the laughter into a jar.

"What's funny?" I asked and he stopped laughing, flashing me an apologetic smile.

"I just thought about my parents: they claimed to be so in love yet they divorced." He was smiling but behind all that smiles I could see a heavy blanket of sadness wrapped around it.

"I'm sorry about-" He cut in, dismissing the topic. "So, who is the guy you're in love with?" He enquired, raising a curious brow at me.

I leaned off the counter, sitting upright but still facing him. "I know you're expecting to talk about a romantic relationship with a guy."

His eyes widened, stretching his left hand forward as if telling me to wait. "Are you gay?"

"Not at all. You know when we talk about love it must not necessarily be a romantic relationship."

He nodded. "For example, I love my mom so much."

I gestured a high-five sign and our palms clasped together. "You see..."

"Are you in a relationship though?"

I laughed. "You're determined to know if I'm dating."

"Well it's quite obvious. You are too pretty to be single but I'm just confirming." He shrugged.

"I don't think I'm still dating him."

Concern flashed through his eyes. "Why?"

"I found out that he has another girlfriend." I sighed. "Well, the relationship was quite-"

"It dosen't give him the right to cheat on you."

I objected. "No, I wasn't having sex with him and I was financially dependent on him, not giving him anything in return." A painful knot twisted in my stomach as I drew in a deep breath.

"He would have told you he couldn't cope with it anymore." I wanted to say something but he continued. "If he wanted his sexual desires to be catered for and you weren't able to do that, he should spoken to you about it."

Silence.

We settled into a comfortable silence as I marinated on his words. For a moment, I wondered the trick he used inorder to maintain a conversation with a complete stranger like me.

Amy walked over to the bar, swaying her hips and beaming as if trying to curtail her excitement. She flashed an apologetic smile and pulled me to the side. "Babe! I see you're bonding with him so well. Better get laid!" She chirped and disappeared. I smiled at her excitement.

On sitting back on the bar stool, I saw the bartender mixing and swirling into two glasses. He handed them and my eyes rolled in confusion.

"I ordered it for both of us. " He clarified.

"Uhmm... hope it's not alcoholic. "

"You're one disciplined girl I've met in a while. So you don't drink alcohol?"

"Nope," I answered quickly.

"It's not too strong, you can have this one." With this, he handed me the glass by my side. I received it, gulped the contents down my throat which burned me, causing me to scrunch my face. It intoxicated me and made me want more and more.

"You look good with that expression on your face." He said, laughing. I playfully hit his muscular arm.

When he recovered from the laughter, he urged me to drink more and I did. We ordered more drinks and we decided to go over to the dance floor and I carried my glass of drink along.

I held my glass with one hand and smiled at the handsome stranger whose strong arms locked around my waist. On a very close look, his face was chiselled, very carved and I felt like holding it delicately. His movement was in sync with mine and the music blaring from the speakers. He turned me around, and his lip brushed over my ears and I almost moaned at the contact.

"What's your name?" It then occurred to me that he has not even asked for my name all these while we've been together.

"Leila," I answered, sipping more from the contents of my drink. I began to feel tipsy, maybe drunk. I staggered, turning to face him and then the remaining contents of the drink spilled on his white.

"I'm so sorry." I slurred. "Let's look for a bathroom to wash it off."

He seemed familiar with the house as he led me to a luxurious room and then the bathroom. The moment our eyes met, I knew his was mirroring mine. Our eyes were full of lustful desires and we were determined to satisfy it, grasp the pleasurable moment and make it a night of sin.