CHAPTER 4: The Walk of Shame
Talia POV
The cab Mira sent arrived eight minutes later.
I slid into the back seat and gave the driver my address, then leaned my forehead against the cool window.
The city moved past me in fragments, glass buildings catching early sunlight, people walking with purpose, cars honking like the world hadn't cracked open overnight.
I felt out of place in it. Like I'd stepped back into my life without permission.
"That damn liquor," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut against the ache
The cab ride home was a blur of nausea and shame. Every bump in the road sent that deep ache through me, a reminder I couldn't escape. When we finally stopped, I paid without looking at the driver. I couldn't bear to see if judgment was waiting in his eyes too.
When I got home, the house was already awake.
My father lay stretched across the couch, coughing weakly, his chest rising unevenly. His eyes were dull, unfocused, his body smaller than I remembered.
Ash sat perched on the armrest beside him, laughing at something on her phone, her legs crossed, carefree.
The laughter stopped the moment she saw me.
Her smile froze. Her eyes widened.
"Good morning, Daddy," I said softly, even though I knew he couldn't respond.
"Talia, I... " Ash began.
I didn't let her finish.
Whatever excuse she'd prepared for leaving me alone after promising she wouldn't could wait. My head throbbed. My body ached in places I didn't want to acknowledge. And I was already late.
I turned and walked straight to my room.
I grabbed the files I'd prepared the night before, my hands shaking as I shoved them into my bag.
I didn't change out of the black glossy dress. I didn't look in the mirror. I called another cab and left. headed straight to the office.
The moment I stepped inside, I felt it.
The stares.
They dragged over me slowly, unapologetically. Whispered conversations stopped, then resumed in hushed tones. I kept my eyes forward, but the dress clung to me like a confession I hadn't meant to make.
Mira was at my side almost instantly.
"What are you wearing?" she whispered sharply. "Talia, you didn't even wash your face."
That was when it fully sank in.
I was still in last night's clothes.
The same dress Ash had insisted I wear. The same one that barely reached mid thigh.
The kind of dress that belonged under neon lights and loud music not under fluorescent bulbs and judgmental eyes.
Before I could react, Mira slipped off her long coat and wrapped it around my shoulders.
"It's long enough," she muttered, pressing her makeup pouch into my hands. "Bathroom. Now."
I didn't argue.
I fled
The editor didn't soften his tone.
Neither did the team leader.
They called me into the conference room.
"We expect better from you, Miss Talia," the editor said, his tone measured and cold.
"Particularly given your... unfortunate circumstances at home."
The team leader didn't even look at me. "Professionalism isn't optional."
Late. Unprofessional. Irresponsible.
They used all the words without raising their voices once.
"This is your final warning, Miss Talia," the director said flatly. "Tomorrow is the Apex Sovereign deal. If you are even one minute late, don't bother coming back."
I swallowed hard and nodded.
"Yes, sir."
---
Mira brought me hangover soup later.
It dulled the pounding in my head but did nothing for the deep, persistent soreness between my legs.
Every time I shifted in my chair, my body reminded me of last night, of heat and pressure and the way everything had blurred together.
What I'd done.
What had been done to me.
The difference felt thin and meaningless now.
I worked through it anyway.
Tomorrow mattered too much.
A partnership with Apex Sovereign would change everything for the company and for me, it meant a promotion. A salary increase. A chance to finally lift my family out of the hole we'd been sinking into for years.
Everyone else left at five.
I stayed.
I reviewed contracts, adjusted slides, double checked figures until my eyes burned. When I finally shut down my computer, the time read 10:26 PM.
---
The house was quiet when I got home.
My mother was asleep. My father too. Ash wasn't back yet, probably out drinking, laughing, spending money I'd earned.
I locked my bedroom door and collapsed onto the bed.
My room was simple. White walls. Pink curtains. A bed barely big enough for two people. Nothing like the place I'd woken up in that morning, too big, too expensive, smelling of expensive cologne and a darkness I still couldn't name.
This room was mine.
Small. Safe. Familiar.
I showered slowly, scrubbing my skin until it burned, swallowing painkillers afterward and praying the soreness would fade by morning.
I still couldn't believe it.
I'd lost my virginity to a stranger.
I didn't even know his name.
I tried not to think about him as I lay down.
I failed.
His face surfaced uninvited. The sharp line of his jaw. The tension in his eyes. The way his voice had dropped when he said, "This is wrong."
And mine, breathless and desperate: "I don't care."
Had I really said that?
My stomach twisted.
Tomorrow would be better.
Tomorrow, I'd be someone who hadn't made this mistake
---
Morning came too fast.
I dressed carefully, light blue blouse, brown trousers, black heels. I applied just enough makeup to look polished. Professional. Ready.
Today was my day.
The Apex Sovereign deal. The presentation I'd worked toward for months. The moment that would change everything.
I opened my bedroom door..
And froze.
My father was on the floor.
Gasping for air.
His face was pale, his body trembling violently.
"No," I whispered.
Then louder, as panic tore through me.
"No. No. No!"
-