CHAPTER 1
~Catherine's POV~
"Get out! You are fired, Catherine!" Mr. Henderson's face was as red as a ripe tomato as he hollered at her in the convenience store.
"You can't just fire me for defending myself!" I yelled back, my right hand still stinging with a fierce heat from slapping his cheek. "You touched me! You put your hands where they absolutely did not belong!"
"I was just guiding you past the counter! Who do you think you are, you ingrate?!" he roared, pointing a fat finger at the door. "Get your things and don't ever come back!"
"Keep your filthy hands to yourself next time, you creep!" I spat.
I ripped off my scratchy work apron, threw it directly at his chest, and stormed out into the chilly evening air. The cold wind brushed my flushed face immediately, but it did nothing to cool my boiling anger.
"Great. Just great," I muttered to myself, kicking a loose pebble on the sidewalk. "How am I supposed to pay for my textbooks now?"
The shop was conveniently located right near my university and offered excellent tips, which I desperately needed to cover my living expenses.
I was the middle child in my family, which basically meant I was the invisible one.
My older brother had moved out years ago, and my younger sister, Kelly, was currently taking a "mental health break" at our parents' house. Not wanting to bother my parents with my financial struggles, I always fended for myself.
"I need a hug," I whispered, pulling my jacket tighter around myself as I glanced around.
Instead of heading back to my dorm room, I decided to go to my boyfriend's apartment.
Claude always knew how to make me feel better. We had been together for three years, and he was the best, most caring, and understanding bf any girl could ask for.
When I reached his apartment, I pressed my thumb to the fingerprint lock. A soft beep sounded, and the door clicked open.
"Claude? Are you home?" I called out softly.
There was no answer, but the television in the living room was playing a loud sports game. I walked further inside and frowned. An array of dirty plates and half-empty wine glasses cluttered the kitchen counter.
"Did he invite the guys over again?" I asked the empty room.
I felt a tiny twinge of disappointment. I really just wanted to cuddle and vent about my horrible boss, not entertain his loud frat buddies.
He loved hosting parties with his friends, and though he invited me in the past, I was very busy and had to decline. In the end, he stopped inviting me to them.
But I didn't mind much. Because I grew up independent, it was easy to lose my parents' love amidst my siblings, but with Claude, I always felt seen.
And lately, I had caught him looking at engagement rings online. I could already tell he was going to propose soon. A warm, fuzzy feeling fluttered in my chest.
"A home," I thought. "I am finally going to have a real home of my own and with the man I love."
I smiled at my thoughts and headed to his study to drop my files and bag before going to greet his friends.
"Claude, I brought my—" I started to say, walking down the short hallway toward the bedroom, but froze.
The words died in my throat. From behind the slightly cracked bedroom door, I heard a sound that made my blood run completely cold.
It wasn't the cheers of his friends watching a game. It was a soft, high-pitched moan.
"Oh, Claude… right there. Yes. Fuck me harder, baby! Aaahh fuck!"
My heart stopped beating. My hand trembled violently as I reached out and pushed the heavy wooden door wide open.
The suffocating smell of sweat and cheap perfume hit my nose instantly. I stood paralyzed in the doorway. Claude was entirely naked, his back to me, thrusting wildly into a woman on his bed. The sheets were tangled in a wrinkled mess.
"What the hell is going on here?!" I screamed at the top of my voice so hard it tore my throat.
Claude gasped, completely freezing in place. He scrambled backwards, nearly falling off the mattress as he frantically pulled the white bedsheet over his waist.
"Catherine! I—I can explain!"
But I wasn't looking at him anymore. I was staring at the woman sitting up in the bed.
Her messy blonde hair, her smug smile, her familiar eyes. The entire world tilted on its axis, and my jaw dropped.
"Kelly?" I choked out, unable to breathe. "Kelly, what are you doing?"
My own younger sister smoothly brushed her sweat-soaked hair out of her face. She didn't even try to cover her bare breast. Instead, she let out a dark, mocking laugh.
"Well, look who decided to show up," Kelly smirked, leaning back against the headboard like a queen on a throne. "You're rather early today, sis."
Rather early? Today? Those words replayed in my mind till the meaning became clear.
"Are you out of your mind?!" I shrieked as hot tears suddenly spilled down my cheeks. "This is my boyfriend! My apartment! How could you do this to me?"
"Oh, please," Kelly rolled her eyes, lazily trailing her manicured fingers down Claude's bare arm. "Don't act so surprised. This definitely isn't the first time we've done this. Is it, baby?"
Claude swallowed hard, looking back and forth between us like a trapped rat. "Catherine, please, just listen to me for one second—"
"Listen to what?" I sobbed, clutching my chest because it physically felt like my heart was breaking into a million jagged pieces. "Tell me this is a sick joke. Tell me I'm dreaming right now!"
"It's not a joke," Kelly sneered, standing up and wrapping a silk robe around her body slowly, rubbing their affair in my face.
"It's not a… How can you…?"
She walked right up to me, interjecting my words, her eyes flashing with pure malice. "I've had him long before you ever did. You were just too blind to see it."
Her words made my heart clench.
"Why?" I demanded, my voice shaking with pure agony. "I have never done anything to you, Kelly! I loved you! Why would you do this?"
"Because you think you are so perfect," Kelly spat bitterly. "Miss Independent. Miss Straight-A Student. You think you're better than me. I just wanted to show you that you aren't."
I stumbled backwards, the pain radiating through my entire body. I looked at the man I had loved for three years. The man I wanted to marry.
"You? Claude? How could you betray me like this?"
Rather than being remorseful, Claude ran a hand through his messy hair, suddenly looking annoyed. "Look, Catherine. Let's be reasonable here. You brought this on yourself!"
"I brought this on myself?!" I half yelled, my jaw dropping in sheer disbelief. "You cheat on me with my own sister, and it's my fault?"
"Yes!" Claude shouted back, stepping toward me. "You insisted on remaining a virgin until marriage! We've been together for three years, Catherine! Three years, and you never let me truly have you! I am a man with needs!"
"So you sleep with my teenage sister?!"
"I was drunk the first time!" he argued, gesturing wildly. "I thought she was you! And then… it happened again. But listen to me. I still love you, Catherine. I really do."
Just hearing him talk made me feel like puking. How had I not seen this side of him?
Claude moved, walking towards me.
"You are disgusting," I whispered, wiping my wet cheeks. Without spending a second, I turned around and grabbed my purse from the hallway table. "We are done. Don't ever speak to me again."
"Wait!" Claude rushed forward, grabbing my wrist tightly the second I stepped out the door. "Don't be so dramatic! We don't have to break up!"
"Let go of me!" I screamed, yanking my arm away.
"Just listen!" Claude pleaded, his eyes wide and frantic. "We can just have an open relationship! It's super popular these days. I can satisfy my physical needs with Kelly, and I can still give you the emotional love and the marriage you want! Men just can't suppress their primal desires, babe. You have to understand!"
For a second, the room was dead silent. I stared at his pathetic face, letting his twisted words sink in. He wanted to keep me around to play house while he slept with my sister on the side.
"You really are a monster," I spat, then yanked my arm back and delivered the hardest, most resounding slap of my entire life squarely across his jaw.
Claude stumbled back, clutching his cheek in shock. "Catherine?!"
"Don't you dare call my name again. You can go fuck your brains out. Trash deserves each other."
Without looking back at either of them, I threw the front door open and ran out into the night.
The second I stepped outside, heavy rain poured down. I didn't care. I just kept walking, letting the icy water soak through my thin jacket, completely washing away the tears on my face.
My mind kept replaying everything that had happened and how I had been blinded to the ugly lies happening under my nose.
Hot tears streamed down my face, only to be washed down by the rain.
I wandered for nearly an hour until the bright, flashing neon sign of a nightclub caught my eye.
My mind mentally registered the name—The Velvet Room.
I pushed through the heavy black doors, immediately assaulted by the booming bass and the overwhelming smell of alcohol and sweat.
I walked straight to the glowing bar and pulled out my credit card, slapping the plastic down on the sticky counter.
"Open a tab," I told the bartender. "Tequila. And leave the bottle."
He raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. He poured me a shot, and I downed it in a single gulp. An act I hadn't done before. Usually, I took my time with drinks when Claude offered.
At once, the liquid fire seared my throat, but it felt good. It distracted me from the aching void in my chest.
"Rough night?" the bartender asked, wiping a glass with a white towel.
"You have no idea," I laughed bitterly, pouring myself another shot. "My boyfriend is currently in bed with my little sister."
The bartender grimaced. "Ouch."
But he said nothing more. I took my time pouring shot after shot, until I started feeling the drink's effect.
I should have been curled up in Claude's arms tonight. Instead, I was drowning my sorrows in tequila to escape reality, silently cursing myself for being so utterly blind.
"You need a distraction, honey."
I looked up at the bartender. He smiled at me and continued.
"We're hosting a masquerade party down in the basement level tonight. No names. No strings. Just people having fun."
"Um.."
"You look like you need it." He reached under the counter and slid a delicate, black lace mask toward me. "On the house."
I stared at the mask. Normally, I was sensible, careful Catherine. But sensible Catherine just lost her job, her boyfriend, and her family in the span of two hours.
"Thank you," I murmured.
I tied the black lace mask over my eyes and grabbed my purse. I followed the pulsing, rhythmic music down a dark spiral staircase into the basement. It was packed with bodies dancing under flashing purple and blue lights. The music was so loud it vibrated in my teeth.
I tried to push my way through the crowded dance floor, but my head was spinning wildly from the tequila and the blinding lights. My heel caught on something sticky on the floor, and I pitched forward, bracing myself for a painful crash against the hard ground.
But the crash never came.
Instead, two strong, incredibly warm hands clamped around my waist, catching me effortlessly. I gasped, my hands flying up to land on a rock-hard chest covered by a crisp, expensive suit jacket. The scent of dark cedar, expensive cologne, and pure masculine heat flooded my senses, making my breath hitch.
I slowly looked up.
Standing above me was a tall, powerfully built stranger. A sleek silver mask covered the top half of his face, but his jawline was sharp enough to cut glass, and his striking, piercing eyes stared intensely down at me.
A slow, wicked smirk spread across his perfect lips.
"Careful there," his voice rumbled, deep and smooth like velvet, sending a sudden, electric shiver straight down my spine. He didn't let go of my waist. Instead, he pulled me just a fraction of an inch closer. "Can I have this dance?"