Page 121 of Corrupted Heart

It sounds different coming from someone else. It feels dirty, and not in the good way.

BrokenBee

Yes

DarkHearted1

Good

What the fuck am I doing? Shame and self-loathing wash over me as I head back inside and find my friends. I put on a happy face, telling Milena I appreciated her talk, and that I’m going to go home and curl up on the couch with Netflix. I smile brightly as I hug them both good night, then head outside to find a cab.

My heart knots as I slide into the back seat and drive off into the night.

23

BIANCA

The taxi pulls up in front of a luxurious building on Fifth Avenue.

There’s no excitement burning in my veins as I pay and step out. No nervous, anxious desire.

There’s only one man who stirs up those emotions in me.

And he’s a lying, cheating asshole.

Okay, maybe scratch the “cheating” part, because we never had any sort of formal discussion about our “terms”. But, I mean, call me old-fashioned: I sort of thought monogamy was implied when you got married to someone, barring any sort of other conversation.

Silly fucking me.

Regardless, here I am. God only knows why. A sour feeling curdles in my stomach as I approach the door to the building. But I pause just as the doorman bows and reaches for the front door. The hesitation has me turning to glance back at the taxi as it pulls away.

Just then, my phone dings.

Frowning, I pull it out of my bag. I swallow when I realize it’s a message from my Venom account, and my teeth rake over my bottom lip as I open it.

DarkHearted1

When you’re at the address, look for the black town car.

I hear a discreet honk behind me, and I whirl to see the black car waiting at the curb, apparently for me.

Woah, what.

BrokenBee

I see it. I’m here

Darkhearted1

My driver will bring you to me

Okay, yeah, that does it. That’s the smack of reality I need to shake me hard enough to snap out of whatever insanity I was just descending into.

I don’t want this. I don’t want some random guy, And I really don’t want to play some sleight-of-hand bullshit involving multiple cars to unknown locations.

I close my eyes and exhale as I drop my head back.

BrokenBee

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