92 Days Before:
My stomach churned, as Troy Gabriels' hand slipped around the waist of the skinny blonde he was standing next to. I felt a wave of irritation and annoyance as the skinny blonde threw her head back laughing in return: Troy Gabriels was many things, but 'funny' was not one of them.
I didn't approach them or cause a scene though. Instead, I continued roaming around the room, carefully observing their movements. I watched as his hand slipped from her waist, down to her butt, and when she didn't shift his hand back, I watched as his left eye twitched in excitement. That was his tell-all: He was definitely planning on going back home with Ms Becky-with-the-good-hair. He was probably planning on making her his next victim too.
I would know.
I had suffered the same fate seven months prior.
I continued roaming in the shadows, watching Troy Gabriels and his new found object of affection intently. I wasn't exactly jealous, but I wasn't particularly ecstatic about the whole situation either.
I would have continued with my light stalking too had it not been for the clumsy waitress who bumped into me, spilling a couple of glasses of liquor on the remarkably shiny floor. I tried to keep my head down, and walk away unnoticed, but I was too late. Not only had I caught the attention of the MC, and a small group of formally dressed people standing closest to me, but I had also caught the attention of Troy Gabriels and his flimsy mistress.
***
Time appeared to be moving in slow motion as he whispered something in her ear, and then turned to walk towards me. Once he reached me, he grabbed me firmly by the hand, and proceeded to lead me down an empty hallway into what seemed like someone's private library, which now that I think about it was pretty ironic.
"What the HELL are you doing here?", Troy spat as soon as we were out of ear- shot. As he did, he shoved me effortlessly towards the corner of a bookshelf and then proceeded to lock the door, presumably so no one could walk in on him as he did whatever the hell he pleased with me. I got up slowly and dusted myself off. I would be lying if I said I felt any pain in that moment. To be quite frank, I couldn't even remember the last time I felt any physical or emotional pain, but judging by the red mark on my left knee, and the bruises on my shoulders, I knew Troy had hurt me real bad.
Before I could even think of answering his question, Troy scowled, did a double take, and scanned my outfit.
There was about 3 seconds of silence before a frown landed upon his beautiful facial features: "And what the FUCK are you wearing?", he spat again.
I was wearing a black bodycon dress, paired with silver block heels. My usually curly brown hair was straightened for once, just like I knew he liked it.
I could feel his piercing gaze on me as I proceeded to do a little twirl for him.
"Do you like it?"I smiled innocently. Well as innocently as I could, anyway.
His brows furrowed in frustration. "You look like a slut."
"No...YOU look like a slut leaving me all alone to hang out with a bunch of underweight bimbos.", I replied, fiercely, but just then, I caught a glimpse of Troy's face. He didn't look particularly amused, and so I rather hastily decided to soften my voice. "Come on, baby...let's go back home", I whispered, reaching out to palm his cheek.
Before my palm and his cheek could even meet, I felt a hot sting flash across my left cheek. This resulted in me withdrawing the hand that was meant to cup Troy's cheek, and instead, I cupped my own cheek where Troy's hand had landed in a cold slap a few seconds prior. Like I said, I hadn't felt anything in a really long time, but I would be lying if I said I didn't feel that slap. Though I only felt it momentarily, it was the first thing I had felt in weeks, and I had no idea how to react to it.
"I'm sorry", I replied softly, as involuntary tears floated down my cheeks. "What I meant to say is, this is how all the girls at your work functions always dress, so I thought you might like it on me. I didn't mean to make you mad or disrespect you", I finished with my voice trailing off into the distance.
Troy Gabriels let out a cold, bitter laugh which echoed across the empty room.
"You're so fucking pathetic, you know that?", he smiled a menacing smile. "How have you made it this far in life? You're so fucking useless and annoying, and depressing! What must I do with that? If you were in my shoes what the fuck would you do with that?"
I was now quite aware of the rush of tears flooding down my cheeks. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out, instead, all I could hear was the sound of heavy breathing emanating from my mouth.
" I can't deal with this!", he spat in my face while wailing his arms frantically. "You're so weak and frail and pathetic ALL-THE-DAMN-TIME! Keeping you at home is not punishment! I can't take you ANYWHERE looking like that. Home in your pyjamas and your little sad novels is where you belong."
By this time, he was now pacing up and down like how he always did when he was trying to keep track of his thoughts. "Now here's what we're gonna do, Sera", he said really softly, softer than I had ever heard him speak before. It was almost as if he was afraid of hurting me with his words. "I'm gonna leave first and head back out into the lobby. Then after that, you will leave quietly and gracefully, and go back home-your home, not mine. You're gonna go where you belong. Where you are wanted, Where I should have left you", he finished, and as he did, a soft smile played on his cheeks. It was almost as if he was sorry for everything he had done...almost.
He fixed his blazer jacket one more time, then he proceeded to fix his bow tie, and then he took a deep, deep breath. He took two steps towards me and then wrapped his bulky arms around me.
"There, there, Sera", he whispered soothingly as I sobbed into his chest. "Come on, baby. You know this isn't goodbye, not really. You know you're mine forever. ", he finished before planting a firm kiss on my forehead.
He then proceeded to turn his back towards me and walk away. I had never felt so helpless.
If I could go back in time and relive that moment, I would have forced myself to breathe and to open my mouth and to scream at him, at anyone or anything. Lord knows it would have helped and I wouldn't have ended up where I ended up. But unfortunately, that's not what happened. Instead of screaming or shouting, I just stood there motionlessly and watched what felt like the love of my life walk away from me.