MAYELI.
"Shall we?" Dane's polite request caught me off guard as he opened the car door for me. Despite his unexpected kindness, a nagging feeling of unease lingered within me.
Forcing a smile, I climbed into the car, Dane following suit. Once settled, Dane wasted no time in giving his command.
"Move the car, Adam!" he ordered his assistant, who sat in the front seat. Without hesitation, Adam complied.
"Yes, Sir!" he acknowledged, igniting the car's engines. In the blink of an eye, we were on our way, leaving the church venue behind us.
Sitting in the back seat beside Dane, I felt the weight of his silence pressing down on me, suffocating the air in the car with tension.
Finally, we arrived at the hotel, and I moved to open the car door to escape the stifling atmosphere. But Dane's hand on mine stopped me in my tracks.
"Don't do that, Mayeli... You are my responsibility now," he said, his smile gentle as he held my hand firmly.
His words sent my heart into a frenzy. No one had ever spoken to me like that before, not even Bryan, my boyfriend.
As Dane climbed out of the car, he graciously opened my door, and I stepped out, grateful for his gesture.
But as soon as we emerged from the car, cameras seemed to materialise from thin air, flashing brightly as they captured our every move.
Thankfully, we were escorted into the hotel building, where the intrusive cameras couldn't follow.
Dane held my hand tightly as we made our way towards the room that awaited us.
Feeling a sense of comfort in his touch, I relaxed slightly, allowing myself to be guided by him.
But just as I was beginning to ease into the situation, Dane suddenly came to a halt in front of a door, his expression unreadable.
"What's the problem, Dane?" I asked, furrowing my brow in confusion and concern, hoping for an explanation from him.
He turned to me, his once gentle smile replaced by a fierce scowl. Without a word, he released my hand, letting it drop limply to my side.
"Is there a..." I began to ask, but he interrupted me with a scoff.
"Listen to me, Mayeli... You were so eager to become my bride, all you could think about was the money, right?" His words hit me like a slap in the face, freezing me in place.
"Well, you have that money now... you have everything you wanted. But one thing I won't do is sacrifice my love life for you!" he declared abruptly, leaving me even more confused and bewildered.
"Your love life? What do you mean by…" Before I could finish my question, Dane abruptly opened the door, pulling me into the room and sweeping me off my feet in the process.
"Hello, Sister..." Scarlet's sneer cut through the air like a knife as she stood in the room, her presence sending a chill down my spine.
"What is she doing here?" I demanded, my fists clenched in a mixture of fury and rage, unable to comprehend the betrayal unfolding before me.
"You didn't think I'd love you, did you? All you cared about was the money, Mayeli, and that behaviour disgusts me!" Dane's words hit me like a blow to the gut, leaving me reeling with disbelief.
"Scarlet has always been here, she's always been my girlfriend, and I just want you to know your place," he stated coldly before turning away, leaving me standing there, alone and betrayed, as he walked closer to join Scarlet.
As Dane wrapped his arms around Scarlet's waist, her face twisted into a mocking smile, sending a wave of bitterness coursing through me.
"She's the only one I'll love, Mayeli, and that's final! After all, you never liked me yourself," Dane declared, his words like a dagger to my heart as I struggled to process the betrayal.
It dawned on me then, the cruel truth of their scheme. Scarlet and her mother had manipulated me into marrying Dane under false pretences, all to save my mother.
But now, standing here, I realised I had been nothing more than a pawn in their twisted game.
Questions flooded my mind, each one more agonising than the last. If Scarlet truly loved Dane, why hadn't she married him herself? Why had she forced me into this marriage, knowing the pain it would cause?
I struggled to grasp the whirlwind of thoughts swirling in my mind, my fingers fumbling as I tried to make sense of it all. My eyes blinked rapidly, unable to process the betrayal unfolding before me.
"Look at her... my poor sister is suddenly devastated," Scarlet's mocking tone sliced through the air, her words dripping with disdain as she glanced briefly at Dane.
"How could you, Scarlet?" I snapped, my voice laced with fury, my eyes burning with anger.
"How could I what? He belongs to me, Mayeli, and that's all you need to know! You're only here to give him a child, nothing more! Don't overstep your boundaries! After all, you're just a gold digger!"
Scarlet's words hit me like a slap in the face, leaving me feeling wounded and bitter. The sharp pang in my heart echoed the realisation that I had been used and discarded like a pawn in their twisted game.
Tears streamed down my cheeks, unstoppable and relentless, as I struggled to contain the overwhelming flood of emotions.
At that moment, only one thought echoed in my mind: I needed to escape.
Without a second thought, I turned on my heels and fled from the suffocating confines of the hotel room.
Avoiding the front entrance, where cameras awaited, I darted through the back exit, my heart pounding with every step.
There was only one destination on my mind: Bryan's house, my ex.