Chapter 2: It’s Your Fault Moans echoed like tunes, shattering my heart into a million pieces. I stood there impassive, eyes stinging and tears clouding. I told myself I was hearing things, that this was maybe some nightmare. But when I grabbed the doorknob and pried the door open, it wasn’t. A brunette-haired woman bounced on Dan, and when his eyes flew to me, they widened in shock. "Catherine!" The woman threw a look over her shoulder, not surprised. "I thought you said she wasn’t coming tonight." "I-I..." Dan stuttered, looking between me and her. "Ugh!" she growled, getting off him, not bothering to use the covers. "You said you’d end this. I’m done waiting. Get rid of her now!" End this? How long has this been happening? My breathing shuddered as I tried to calm my nerves. I don’t believe this. "Too late," I found my voice, the shaky undertone making me wince. "It’s already over." "Catherine, wait!" With heavy legs, I ambled back to the living room and clutched my bag, desperate to leave. "Catherine!" "We’ve been together for five years, Daniel, five years!" I yelled, tears gushing. "H-How could you do this to me?" "I can explain." "E-Explain? What? How I caught you cheating on me and—" "This is your fault!" I took a step back like I had been slapped. "Wha-What?" "I wouldn’t have done this if you weren’t so caught up in work." He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "What are you saying? Is that an excuse to—" "It’s always about you. The debts, and your fixation on saving some farm in the countryside. You even quit your job. It never ends, and it just keeps getting worse. I can’t deal with that anymore." "No, no, no! You do not get to throw that at my face. You know the reason I resorted to this, don’t just stand there and... and talk as if it’s my fault!" "I’m sorry you had to find out this way. This... can’t work anymore." I scoffed in disbelief. "Piper, she’s..." He sighed. "She’s better, and... and... perfect. She’s not you." He said it like I was the problem. "I’m better off not trying to live my life when yours is broken." "This is taking far too long," Piper said, coming forward, wearing his shirt. "Don’t take it to heart. Danny doesn’t love you anymore. Holding onto a wreck like you is enough damage." "Piper, enough." "What? She needs to know." She glanced my way. "He tells me all the time how he couldn’t wait to dump your ass. You should have been mature enough to end it rather than dragging him down with you." I moved my eyes to Dan, and he said nothing, just giving me hurtful eyes as if I was the one who broke his heart. I’ve had enough of this. "You couldn’t maintain your relationship. You may be some big-shot secretary. Ex-secretary. But you’re just a farm girl with too many debts. Heard you’re drowning in college loans, too. What’s wrong? Parents couldn’t afford—" I punched her square in the nose. "Do not talk about my parents!" "Piper!" Pain exploded in my hand, but it didn’t amount to the satisfying feeling that calmed my nerves. "She broke my nose!" She screamed, trying to stop the bleeding. "Just because your life is a wreck doesn’t mean you should throw it out on me, you bitch!" "GET OUT!" Dan boomed. "NOW!" He has never yelled at me that way before. Never. I shook my head, bottom lip trembling as I turned on my heels and walked away. ~☆~ I tried several times to stop crying, but I’m embarrassed to admit that on the drive back home, I was a sobbing mess. I blew my nose and tossed the tissue at the pile beside me. I fished out my phone and dialed a number, and at the first ring, she picked up. "Hey, Cat, what’s up? Good thing you called before I left for..." She trailed. "Are you crying?" "Tori, he..." "What happened?" "D-Daniel. He cheated on me." Two hours later, Tori, my best friend since college days, was in my apartment. "No, he did not!" Tori stated in disbelief after I told her the whole story. "Don’t waste another tear from your body over that cheater!" "I’m sorry I had to drag you out of work because of this. I-I couldn’t be alone..." "Hey." She placed her hand on mine. "When my girl calls, I answer." I forced a smile on my lips. "You know what? I’m gonna call that cheater and give him a piece of my mind!" She growled. "How dare he do something like this? The nerve!" I seized her hand before she could do it. "Don’t worry, I won’t use my number, the insults are always sweeter when he doesn’t know who’s calling." "That’s not necessary, I don’t wanna hear his voice or talk about him right now. I have had enough for one night." "Oh, Cat," she drawled sweetly. "I won’t rest until I do something. I can’t have you like this." "I broke that bitch nose." "What? How could you miss out that important detail? Damn girl!" I forced a laugh. "Did you bring it?" Tori smirked and pulled out a bottle of whiskey from her satchel. "I knew you’d come through for me." I snatched the bottle. "I’m jobless and single, the least I can do is drink and drop dead." "Wait, you quit?" "Uh-huh." "Holy shit! You actually did it. So what now?" Tori asked worriedly. "You were gonna use the severance pay to clear off the loan sharks at home." My rent expires this month, too. It was an urgent decision to quit because of the harassment. I had hoped to stay with Dan after that, but I suppose this is goodbye to Midnight. "Pack my shit and go back home." I drank from the bottle, wincing at the burning sensation in my throat, but it was just what I needed. I chugged more. "Slow down!" "My life’s a wreck—three years of working for King Corp and nothing to show for it. I’m trapped in a hole, and all I can do is orbit around it without climbing out. The one thing I-I knew I had a future with was Dan. I’m such a fool to think he could ever love someone like me." "Don’t do that to yourself. You’re the strongest person I know. You dealt with Ares King for three years, believe me, that has to be a world record for something." I huffed. "You didn’t just deal with that, but you kept working your ass off, trying so hard with your relationship with Dan. He may have screwed it all up, but those years weren’t wasted. The farm still stands because of you." I smiled. "Look, stay with me as long as you want, then we can figure out what to do next. Don’t leave Midnight, this city will make our dreams come through, it’s too late to give up on that now." "Tori... you already have enough on your plate. The last thing I wanna do is—" "My plate is just as much yours." "What am I gonna do without you?" I said in a cracky voice. "Hello, you can’t do anything without me." She smiled before pulling me into a hug. "Now we’ve got a mission." "M-Mission?" "Finish the whole bottle." I looked at the already half-bottle of whiskey. "Might happen sooner than expected." "Which is why I brought another. Tonight, there’s no room for tears or crappy Dan, the bitch called Piper, or even the devil. It’s drowning out until we go numb." "I’ll take ten of that offer, please." We both giggled. ~☆~ I groaned when I heard a familiar sound. It was a soft tune, but it felt like it’d rip my head apart. "Turn it off," Tori grumbled beside me, using the pillow to cover her face. "It’s my alarm..." I tapped the nightstand for my glasses. "Why did you set it so early?" It was already noon, so that can’t be my alarm. My eyes almost bulged out of my sockets when I saw the name on the screen. Devil Boss.