Prologue
"Ah, fuck. Right there."
Ash stopped in his steps. What was happening, he asked himself. Surely, that wasn't his girlfriend's voice, right? There was no way that was Riley's voice right? But he knew. He knew deep down that she was the one moaning and it hurt that when they had sex together she never moaned that way. This seemed like she was enjoying it.
"Oh yes." He heard her voice moan out again.
"You like that?" He heard a grunt, an obvious male grunt.
Wait, male? He asked himself with a frown. No, there was no way that girl in the bed was his girlfriend. He is the boyfriend and he was standing right here with his clothes intact.
"Oh....fuck." He heard her moan again.
Ash took a look around to confirm if he was in the right place. If this building was the home they had purchased together. He did a slow turn and sure enough, it was their home. He moved quietly towards where the sound was coming from. His heart was beating extremely fast. It was tearing at his chest like a jackknife. Please let it be someone else he thought to himself but he knew deep down. He knew whose voice that was. He was sure of it but part of him was in denial. Surely she wouldn't do something like this to him right.....she did. Riley betrayed him and Ash stood with his mouth ajar as he watched the love of his life get pounded by another man he has never met in his life.
He had no idea how long he stood there, watching both of them go at it but it was long enough for her to climax.
"Riley?" Ash called out in a broken voice.
Should he be sad? Was he supposed to be sad? What would be the right thing to do now, if at all there was any right thing to do in this situation? He could not believe it.
"Oh shit." He heard the male mutter as he stood up from the bed.
He quickly picked up his clothes but before leaving, he turned to Ash.
"Your girlfriend is fucking hot by the way." He told him.
Ash just gave him the stink eye. He was aware Riley was beautiful. Her beauty was one of the things about her that had attracted him.
"You are home." She said to him as she stood up from the bed.
"Yeah, um. What was that?" He asked as he pointed towards the direction her sex partner left in.
"What did it look like?" She asked him.
"Were you having sex with him?" He asked her.
Riley turned to him and gave him a raised eyebrow in question. She knew he saw what just happened but maybe he was in denial.
"And he was pretty damn good at it." She told him
"Riley....."
"Let's face it, Ash. Before we started this relationship, you knew I liked sex. Hell, I can say I love it but since we've been dating, how many times have I gotten my climax like I had this night? I'll answer that for you. Three times and we have been together for three fucking years...."
"I'm trying. I'm learning...."
"Learning? If you wanted to learn then you should have come to me and not the yoga instructor or whatever she is that wants to get into your pants." She told him.
"You said you wanted me to do better...."
"Yes! Do better for me, with me and not some cougar." She said to him,
"She is not a cougar," Ash replied to her in a stern voice.
Riley was taken aback. She had her suspicions and frankly, she wouldn't have done what she did some few minutes ago if not for the boost of liquid courage and the bitterness she felt towards the said cougar who was teaching her boyfriend how to have sex. And now he's defending her?
"Are you sleeping with her?" She asked him.
"Some question that is. I just caught you in bed, our bed with someone else and you are asking me if I'm sleeping with some other woman? How many men have you slept with apart from him? Or wait, is this because you are a nympho?" He asked her with a slight tilt of his lips.
Riley blinked. She was in no way a nymphomaniac. All she wanted was to have good sex with her boyfriend.
"So this is when we get to be mean to each other?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"No offence Riley but you have always been a mean bitch. This is not new to you." He told her.
"What?" She asked him. Ash was someone who hated rudeness. He hated things like that so she was sure if she was a mean bitch like he claimed she was, they wouldn't be dating each other ... .right?
"How did you not know that?" He asked her.
"Yo.....you never said anything regarding it." She told him.
"Yeah, because I was willing to look past your flaws and stay with you regardless. But you couldn't do that for me and instead, you took someone else to bed. I should have listened when people warned me." He said with a shake of his head.
He was using his businessman's voice on her. He hardly ever used it on her. It was a stern voice, devoid of any sweet emotion. She knew he was hurt but did he have to talk to her this way? And what did he mean by 'when people warned him'?
"What do you mean by that?" She asked him.
"You know very well what I mean. Everyone said I wasn't fit for you. They insisted we were not a perfect fit for....."
"What? Who? Who the fuck said that? No one is....."
"Let's just stop this okay?" He said, interrupting her.
Riley swallowed. What was he talking about right now?
"W...what?" She stuttered.
"Let's just break up. I mean since we can't satisfy each other and that seems like the deal breaker in this relationship or whatever." He told her.
"Wait, no. No. I only did what I did because...."
"Let's just stop with the excuses, okay? We should give each other space. I have work to do." He told her as he moved into his home office.
Riley collapsed on the floor. She just ruined the best thing that happened to her at the cost of getting a climax, an orgasm? None of it mattered. She sat there for hours crying. From feeling pity for herself to anger at Ash. He was the one she caught cheating. He was with the cougar and she was all over him. Riley knew what she saw. There was no way she was going to apologize to Ash until he apologized to her first. He said they should give each other space but hours became days and days became weeks and weeks became months. Riley understood the message. When he said they should take a break, he meant they should break up and that the relationship was over. She should have known that was the case.
THREE YEARS LATER
Ash's POV
"Oh yes. Just like that." She moaned.
I loved hearing girls moan. It was like a stroke to my ego because they were moaning because of what I was doing to them....could do to them. And I've been told I am a fantastic lover numerous times. I was enjoying my time with this little damsel when my brother walked in. I knew he was the one, there was no need to even clarify. He was the perpetual cock blocker in my life. He frowned on the way I lived my life while I enjoyed it and I would choose this in a heartbeat, especially after everything that had gone down with me three years ago.
I stopped thrusting into the girl and she frowned.
"Why did you stop?"
"Sorry sweetheart, I have something to do now," I told her.
"What? But why? We were having so much fun." She told me with a pout.
"Yes, we were and mind you we already had so much fun the previous night," I told her.
And I'm not lying. We fucked around yesterday night and I was about to kick her out of my bed but thought, what about I go into her again? Something along those lines, yeah.
"But you love my pussy, just continue." She said as she wiggled her butt.
My brother chose that time to walk into my room. He had a frown on his face when he saw the naked person on my bed. He rolled his eyes in annoyance while I smirked.
"I'm sorry, but you have to leave," I said to her,
My brother claims I'm harsh with girls but I'm not. As you can see, I added please to what I just said to her. That was me being polite right? I can be polite when I want to.
"But..."
And this was the part where I got annoyed. Why was it so hard for anybody to listen? I hate repeating myself. Just take the fucking message. Read the writing that is clearly on the wall and get the fuck out.
I'm pretty sure Blake, my brother saw the look on my face because he approached her.
"We will compensate you for anything and everything but we need you to leave now. Thank you for your time though." He said to her,
"But you'll call me later?" She asked me.
"No."
"Come on."
The girl pouted. Now that I was looking at her, she looked so fake. Even her voice was fake. Her voluptuous red hair was fake. She looked so different from my ex which I highly appreciate. There was a reason why I went after girls like her but the deal was one night and perhaps a roll in the sheets the next morning if I'm in the mood. Too bad they never really got the message.
"No is no. Pack your fucking things and leave. I don't want to see you around my house again." I said to her and walked towards the bathroom.
I could care less about what she would think of me. My brother would take care of that for me. There was nothing a little money couldn't solve, believe me, I know. I walked out of the shower to find out the fake beauty was no longer present. Yes, she was fake but she was also beautiful. I'm not even going to lie about that.
Blake stood with his arms folded across his chest.
"This has to stop." He said to me,
I feigned ignorance. Of course, I knew what he was talking about but I pretended not to. Besides, he wasn't my boss. If anything, I am his boss.
"What has to stop?" I asked him as I reached for a shirt.
"The girls. We can't keep on...you can't continue like this." He said to me,
"Of course, I can. Do you see any girls complaining about me or what I give them?" I asked him.
"Ash, it's been years since the Riley incident. Don't destroy your life because of your ex. You know deep down this isn't you." He said to me,
I saw red. "Don't you dare bring up that name. I warned you, I fucking did. This has nothing to do with Riley. And you say I'm destroying my life but when did my company pick up? After the incident with Riley. After she destroyed our relationship. The company is doing better than ever. You are just jealous you don't get to hit the club with the girls or roll in the sheets with them because you decided to tie yourself down."
Blake shook his head. He never replied to me. He was happily married but I doubted it would last. Not that there was anything wrong with his wife. I don't hate her, but I don't trust her. I don't trust most girls these days. I mean, I and Riley never had any issues apart from the one where she claimed I suck in bed. It was a minor issue that could be resolved, yeah? But guess what? We broke up. Yeah, anything could happen in relationships. If they are going to cheat on you, why tie yourself down? Spend as much time with the girls as you like but poor Blake doesn't want that. He wants Gianna. Not that I care though.
I walked with Blake to the vehicle. I had to head to work because I knew if I slacked even one, then it would come to bite me in the butt and there was no way I was going to let that happen. I loved my life at the moment. It was better without Riley and I planned on making it stay that way.
Blake updated me on everything happening in the office and how our product was being highly praised. I was always good with my hands which was why I opened this company. No one would have expected that in just three years, we would be one of the richest companies in the states. We still had a long way to go but at least, the start wasn't so bad. And what more if your items could be used by both the poor and the rich. Everyone wants to make their life easier.
I was so busy with my work that I had no idea a message had been sitting dormant on my phone. It was only when it was eight, that I noticed it. One look at the message and I knew who it was from. There was no way I could forget that number. It had lived rent-free in my head for weeks. And after three years she decided to text me.
'I'm sorry.' it said.
I fought the urge to throw my phone against a wall. After three fucking years. She finally apologised to me but only after three fucking years. I scoffed and deleted the message. I was trying to keep up with my persona of being a bad guy. I tried concentrating on my work but I was unable to. Everything became a cluster of words.
"Fuck."
I hated how she still had the power to turn my world upside down. What was it about Riley that always made me lose all reasoning? She did me dirty. She was the one who destroyed everything we had. It was all her fault but it hurt me like I was the one who had done everything. Like I was the one who destroyed everything we had.
I knew there was no way I would be able to concentrate on my work which was why I took my car and drove to a bar. One, of my friends had been talking about it. It was a new bar and it was just a few minutes drive from my office. Forty minutes maximum. The bar was situated next to an old record label I doubted was still functioning. There was a long line to get to the bar but one of my friends knew someone there so I was able to cut the line.
It wasn't until I entered that I noticed it wasn't just a bar. It was also a club and seeing as it was a Friday night, people were lined up to get in. I should have known from the way people were dressed. I smiled. This was the perfect place to pick up girls. Girls who would make me forget about Riley.
I walked up to the bar and ordered a drink. I sat, nursing my drink when I noticed someone walking to the bar. I pretended I didn't care but I could see her very well from my peripheral vision. She wore a short gown and had long legs. Legs I would want to be wrapped around my waist as I pounded her. I should have known there was something wrong with my instant attraction to her.
She sat down and without saying anything, a drink was placed in front of her. I had to take my time. This woman exuded power and sex. All the other girls I had picked up were different. In a way, she reminded me of my ex.
I turned to her just as she turned to me. It was like she had no idea I was even sitting next to her. Okay, there was a stool in between us but damn. That scent, I should have known. There was only one woman I knew with that sweet scent.
"Ash?" She said in that sweet voice of hers.
"Hello, Riley. You look like shit."
Riley's POV
"I don't know how I'm supposed to feel." My younger sister, Diane said to me.
I frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Jane."
"Oh."
Our youngest sister who happened to be just eighteen years old was getting married. Yup, you heard me right, she was getting married. I felt it was too early for her to be tying herself down to someone already but it's not like I was her mother and in my mother's eyes, I'm the failure in the family. The oldest sister was still unmarried. Diane was twenty-six and was already expecting her first baby with her husband. Sometimes, I get jealous of how in love they look with each other especially when I'm the one at fault for everything happening in my life. There was a time when I was the apple of my mother's eye. I had the perfect fiance and my life was going well until I spoiled it. My mother doesn't know I cheated on Ash but she does suspect I did something to have caused the break-up and she still has not forgiven me. More so, after Ash's company became famous and he started being referred to as a billionaire.
She never even considered the fact that I had also opened my dream bar slash club. Nope. To her, a female should be either a housewife or should do something delicate as Diane did.
"Mum is all for it. Frankly, nothing we say will deter Jane from going ahead with the marriage." I said to Diane.
"And that's the issue. He looks like trash. I mean, I don't know what she sees in someone almost twenty years her senior." Diane said to me.
"His money?" I asked her.
It wasn't a secret. Jane was the one who took after our mother. Our mother's wayward ways resulted in three girls from three different men, all rich men except my father. I think that's part of the reason why my mother dislikes me more. My father was just an average man who lied to my mother just so he could get to spend some time with her. Sometimes that resulted in me. He asked her to marry him when they found out she was pregnant but she refused. Two weeks later, my father found out she was getting married to some rich guy and she gave him a document so he could rescind his parental rights.
While my dad may not have been rich. He refused to sign the document. He wanted to be a part of my life. And I wanted him to be a part of mine also. Too bad cancer thought otherwise.
"How am I not surprised?" Diane said with an eye roll.
My best friend, Rain, joined us just then and she released a loud sigh.
"I'm ready to get out of here." She said to us,
Diane sighed. "Yeah, me too. We should be celebrating Riley's club but instead, we are stuck here with people I don't even like. And Christian is a no-show."
I turned to her. "He still wants nothing to do with Jane?"
Diane sighed. "Jane and mum. I can't blame him though, I almost lost the best thing that ever happened to me because of them."
I still remember everything Diane went through because of my mother and sister. They thought Christian wasn't good enough for Diane. He wasn't rich enough but he was handsome enough for Jane to seduce. He had told Diane about it but she thought he was joking and never gave him any mind until she saw everything play down in front of her. It was with luck that Diane was still able to end up with Christian and I am happy for her.
"He just needs time." Rain said to her.
"Nah. I'm not sure he will be able to get over the fact that everything was planned. He almost lost everything he worked hard to get. He doesn't trust himself around them and while he may not be abusive, he may be just because of them....does that make sense?" Diane asked us.
"I think the drink is getting to your head." Rain chuckled.
"I'm just drinking lemon water," Diane replied to her.
I saw my mother approaching us. I was not ready for a confrontation with her, at least not at this party.
I turned to my best people. "How about we get out of here? The demon approaches."
Diane dropped her water and picked up her purse as she wobbled her way out of the party.
"You don't have to ask me twice." Rain said as she followed after Diane and I followed a moment later.
I don't know what prompted us to go home and get wasted. Okay, so maybe Diane was sober but she sure as hell wasn't behaving like she was.
"Now this is what we should have been celebrating. We should have done this from the beginning." Rain said as she downed another shot.
I had lost track of how many shots that were. All I know is, I was feeling buzzed, giggly and everything in between.
It wasn't until the next day that I realised I had done something I never would have done if I was sober.
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I stared at my phone in horror. This wasn't possible. Why would I text him? Why? Why did I still have his number? Okay, calm down. I took in a deep breath before I had a panic attack. It could be that he never got the message. I mean, what was the probability that he still had the same number from three years ago?
I tried hard not to freak out. I thought about sending him another message just to let him know that this first one was a mistake but then what if he asked questions? Wait, I still don't know if he was using the same number.
"Fuck."
I knew there was only one thing to do. I wasn't sober enough but I could as well just go to the club and get drunk. Maybe then, I would be able to come up with what to do since drunk me was capable of more reasonable thoughts than sober me.
Yeah, that was what I thought when I walked into my club slash bar. It was everything I could ever wish for and a part of me wanted Ash to be with me. It would have been nice if he was by my side while I celebrated my success but I was the one who caused the split. I should have known that there was no way Ash would take me back after finding me in bed with someone else. A person whose name I don't even remember.
I never even thought of the fact that he had also betrayed my trust by hanging out with that cougar. I never thought of it, I just wanted him back and I swore I was going to apologize if that was what it took to get him back. Too bad my pride got in the way and I never got a chance until recently.
I had no idea there was someone next to me when I took a seat at the bar. I was concentrating on getting alcohol into my system. The bartender did not need to ask for what I wanted. He already knew what it was which was why he placed my drink in front of me immediately after I sat down. I made the mistake of turning to see who was seated on the other chair.
He had a familiar scent and I felt a pull towards him. I turned and my eyes came in contact with green eyes. Vibrant green eyes I remembered staring into every day and night. Tanned skin, kissable lips and a slightly crooked nose.
"Ash," I whispered in surprise.
What was he doing here? Did he know I was the owner of this club? No. I doubt he does. If he knew then he wouldn't be in here. I could not take my eyes off him which was why I saw the mocking smile take form on his lips.
"Hello Riley, you look like shit."
"I feel like shit," I replied to him as I took a sip of my drink.
I did that mainly to calm my nerves. My heart beat erratically. A million thoughts were going through my head. Like, did he see the message? Why was he here? How was he doing? I wanted to know everything about his everyday life now.
"I'm glad to hear that." He said to me with a smile.
I paused and gave him a look. He was glad to see me in this shitty state. He took joy in seeing me like this. I not could understand why he would...oh, scratch that. I could understand very well why he would be happy to see me in this state but it still hurt.
Compared to me, he looked better. He looked manlier and he had added a few extra pounds which looked good on him. And compared to when we were dating, he exudes sexiness. It was bleeding from his body.
He took a sip of his drink before placing the glass back on the table.
"Tell me Riley, what did you mean by that text?" His voice took a more serious tone and his stare hardened.
What was the probability that he had seen the message and was still using his old number? A hundred percent. Fuck me sideways and call me Samantha.