Chapter 1
Emma stormed through the penthouse door, her heels clicking angrily on the marble floor like a ticking time bomb.
"Mark? Are you here?" She called out, her voice edged with impatience. After two years together, she expected her boyfriend to greet her warmly when she arrived home. But the spacious living room was empty and silent.
Emma furrowed her brow and looked at her platinum wristwatch, a 21st birthday gift from her father. It was just past 2 pm - Mark should have beat her home from the office. Her dad had made sure his position at Montgomery Enterprises was a cushy one, allowing him plenty of free time to wine and dine with her, the heir to the Montgomery fortune. Emma was certain Mark had clocked out early.
Strange, she thought, striding further into the apartment, her kitten heels muffled on the plush cream carpet. That's when she heard it - the muffled murmur of voices coming from Mark's bedroom. Emma froze, her blood running cold as an unmistakable feminine giggle accompanied Mark's low tones.
"No...it couldn't be," she whispered, her stomach twisting into knots. Not again. Please, not again. It can't be, at least he wasn't supposed to be this daft, he knew she was coming anywhere.
Emma crept down the hallway, her petite frame tense as a coiled spring, dreading what she might find. As she approached the bedroom door, she could make out Mark's words more clearly.
"God, you're so beautiful," he murmured in that fake, sickly sweet tone he always used when trying to be seductive. "Amanda, I've never felt this way about anyone before."
"Amanda?!" Emma's hand flew to her mouth to stifle her gasp of horror. No, it can't be the same Amanda - her best friend, her trusted advisor and confidante since middle school. That was totally impossible...right?
"Stop all of this, I am not her," Amanda's unmistakable voice responded with an audible eye roll. "You're just saying all this nonsense to get between my legs and I get it. This is what I wanted too. So stop playing this loving Romeo part for me, I'm not your girlfriend Emma. Save it for her, she will love to hear it."
Emma felt like she'd been struck by lightning. Her entire body went numb with shock as the merciless truth sank in. Amanda...and Mark...how could they? How could her best friend, the person she viewed like a sister, betray her in such a unforgivable way?
"i mean it when I say this, you are so special kind of breed, the best that has ever happened to me in a long time," he added.
Amanda rolled her eyeball, "it is enogh, I get it, I am not move by any of your fairytale, save it for her, she knew more than I do."
Rage and hurt bubbled up inside Emma, feeding off each other in a vicious cycle of pure fury. Emma saw red. She didn't bother being quiet any longer - she wanted them to hear her coming. With a deafening bang, Emma kicked open the door, the wood slamming against the wall.
There they were, Mark and Amanda, naked and intertwined on the bed, frozen with matching looks of shock and panic. For a moment, everything was silent as their eyes met Emma's. Then the dam burst.
"You...you..." Emma was shaking with rage, shivering with hurt and disgust that dripped from every word. "Amanda, you were supposed to be my best friend! What am I saying - you were someone I saw as a sister! I gave you everything, Amanda. How could you do this to me?"
Angry tears spilled down Emma's cheeks as Amanda opened her mouth, but no words came out. She clutched the sheet to her chest, eyes wide with fear at Emma's outburst.
"you were the person I run too for comfort when this animal here misbehave and but you were stabbing me behind my back, how could you do this to me, how!" Emma managed to complete her last sentence.
Ever the coward, Mark tried to intervene. "Babe, it's not what it looks like, I swear. Just let me explain..."
Emma laughed bitterly through her tears, the sound devoid of any joy. "Explain? How can you possibly explain being naked in bed with my supposed best friend? God, you're so pathetic, I can't even look at you. I can't believe how wicked you both are!"
She whirled around, heading for the door, but Mark jumped out of bed, scrambling after her in just his underwear.
"Emma, wait! Please don't go, I love you!" His desperate plea only made her angrier.
Emma stopped and turned, poking her finger into his bare chest accusingly. "You don't know the first thing about love," she hissed. "If you did, you wouldn't be sneaking around behind my back like some kind of animal. And you..." Her voice dropped to a deadly whisper as she glared at Mark with utter loathing. "Don't you ever in your life say that word to me again."
"Emma, no please, just listen, it is not what you think, just hear me out..." Mark begged, reaching for her, but she smacked his hand away violently.
Emma sighed, "it isnt what I think, go on tell me more lies I haven't heard before," she paused waiting for his response, but words failed Mark, this time she caught him redhanded.
" So the almighty smart talker Mark is now silent, it is so shameful,"
" I am…
"We're through, Mark!, read my lips I am through with this nonsense" The words tore from her throat with guttural anguish. "Don't ever speak to me again, or try coming close to me again, and you," she turned to Amanda who was still on sitting on the bed with shame, "the same with you, I domt want to see you ever again…"
Unable to even look at him a second longer, Emma turned on her heel and stormed out, sobs wracking her body. She slammed the door behind her with such force that a mirror crashed to the floor, shattering into a million pieces like her heart.