Page 4 of The Enemy of My Enemy Is… My Fake Boyfriend?

The pounding noise from the janitor's closet came to a crescendo that ended in a grunt, a familiar grunt that did nothing to stop my thudding pulse or the bile rising up from my stomach.

Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.Was I about to have a heart attack or puke my guts out?

More muffled noises, shuffling, endless shuffling, and then the fiddling of a doorknob.

With one shaky hand, I clamped it over my mouth, needing to hold it all in. I didn't dare breathe as I heard them leaving the room and closing the door behind them.

There was a pause, a deafening silence. What the hell was going on?

"I'll go first," came a voice, an unmistakable voice. "We shouldn't go in together."

"I need the bathroom anyway," a whispery female voice said.

There were murmurs I couldn't understand, and then the rustling sounds of them walking away. On autopilot, I moved my head to the side, peeking around the edge of the big chair, my heart stuttering at the sight of Chase and Hannah heading back to the ballroom.

I could no longer deny it. Life as I knew it was over.

Two

Aria

My whole body shook with shock, adrenaline, nausea, every awful feeling combined. Part of me wanted to run after them, yell at them, make a huge scene and let the whole world know what a cheating rat my fiancé had turned out to be.

But something held me back, even amongst my jumbled, chaotic, freaked-out thoughts. Shame snaked through me... because I clearly hadn't beenenough.

And that's what kept me rooted to my spot, wanting to keep it all in and hidden, my shameful little secret.

After all, many women put up with their philandering men. It was a well-known fact. Smart, capable, even well-off women throughout history.

In a flash, I dismissed that thought. That wasn't me. I could never live with that.

Fuck my fiancé. Fuck him and his work wife. Fuck it all.

Somehow managing to raise myself, I stood up and kicked the annoying chair. Way down the hall, I spotted Chase turning left into the ballroom, Hannah out of sight already.

I stumbled my way after him, shock giving way to pure rage. How dare him. How dare he do this to me.

Two years. Two whole years of my life.

While I stomped the rest of the way, I envisioned all the ways I could kill him. But first... first, I'd start with a fork in the eyes. Then I'd dump hot candle wax over his head and ruin his precious hair, followed by a swift kick to his balls. And then I'd finally put him out of his misery for good.

Right when I rounded the corner into the ballroom, the emcee took the stage and began to speak. "And now ladies and gentlemen, for the main event... who's ready for me to announce the auction winners to benefit the children's hospital?"

I groaned. How on earth could I interrupt that?

I couldn't. I just couldn't.

At the last second, I veered away, instead clinging to the banister and rushing down the stairs, thankful that there wasn't a soul around to witness my torture. All the sudden, I had to get home. Ineededto get home.

Grabbing my phone from my purse, I wobbled, my ankle twisting with a bolt of pain. "Damn it," I hissed.

Now limping, I reached the bottom of the stairs and veered right, finding a hidden exit that I'd used before when I'd wanted to evade the paparazzi and curious onlookers. Carefully opening the door, I slipped outside into the night, not even thinking of any of the dangers that could be lurking in the dark, quiet side street.

Right now, my biggest concern was my pride. But fortunately, no one was about, so I took a second to lean against the wall behind me, my ankle throbbing with every beat of my crushed heart.

"Call Annalise," I said into my phone.

While it rang, the stench of cigar smoke invaded my nostrils. Ew. God, that was gross.

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