Chapter 3
Ember Lounge was buzzing with neon lights and wild energy, even in the dead of night.
I slipped right into Suite 888—knew the place like my own living room. The moment I opened the door, a blast of deafening music slammed into me, making my ears ring.
The air was thick with smoke, the room crowded with all kinds of people—guys and girls sprawled everywhere.
There was absolutely no sign of Gideon being miserable or in agony, nothing like what I'd pictured in my head.
He was sitting dead center, shirt unbuttoned, cigarette between his fingers, arm wrapped around Delilah's waist, grinning shamelessly.
"Gideon, that's a dirty move—tricking her into coming over in the middle of the night?" someone jeered.
People started egging him on.
Gideon blew out a smoke ring, lazily swirling his drink. "Call it a test. You guys believe me or not, if I say I'm feeling sick, Seraphina would show up, even if she had to crawl here on broken legs."
"For real? Didn't she slap you?" someone teased.
"That was just her pulling that push-and-pull crap," Gideon scoffed, totally confident. "She's obsessed with me, can't survive without me. Give it half an hour, she'll definitely show up."
Delilah snuggled up to him, acting all cute. "Oh, if Seraphina really comes and sees us like this, isn't she gonna freak out?"
"The angrier, the better," Gideon said, pinching her cheek. "Let her get a reality check and stop chasing after me. Besides, I've got you, my little sweetheart. Why would I want that washed-up old lady?"
The whole room burst out laughing.
I stood in the doorway, clutching the bag of stomach meds so hard it crackled in my fist.
Turns out, I was nothing but a joke to them—a bet for their amusement.
All my worry and desperation, in his eyes, just proved how pathetic I was.
Every drop of blood in me froze; I was numb, cold to the bone.
Just then, someone spotted me. "Holy shit, Gideon! You actually pulled it off. She showed up!"
Gideon turned when he heard them.
He saw me standing in the doorway, and instead of looking embarrassed, he just flashed a smug grin.
"See? Told you she'd come," he said.
He crushed out his cigarette in the ashtray, then waved me over like I was some stray dog. "Since you're here, grab a seat. What, you actually brought me meds?"
Everyone's eyes locked onto me, all smirking, mocking, just waiting for a show.
I took a deep breath and stepped inside.
I didn't head straight for Gideon.
Instead, I walked over to the table and grabbed a random glass of ice water—half-finished, probably left by someone else.
Then I turned around, lifted it high, and—
Splash!
Ice water and cubes slammed into Gideon's face, soaking him from head to toe.
The room went dead silent.
The music stopped suddenly, and all you could hear was ice cubes hitting the floor.
Gideon wiped water from his face, glaring at me in disbelief, veins popping on his forehead. "Seraphina! Are you out of your damn mind?"
Delilah shrieked, frantically dabbing at him with tissues. "Gideon! Are you okay? Seraphina, how could you just splash him like that?"
I hurled the bag of stomach meds at Gideon, slamming it right into him.
The sharp corner of the box smacked him in the chest, and he let out a muffled grunt.
"Gideon, that water was to wake you up," I said, looking down at him, my voice cold as ice.
"Don't flatter yourself. I didn't come because I still love you. I just wanted to see if you were dead yet," I fumed.
"Since you're still breathing, here's to you and your two-faced skank—may you two stay locked in your toxic mess and rot together. Don't ever crawl out and ruin anyone else's life," I added.
With that, I spun on my heel and strode out.
"Stop right there!" Gideon roared behind me, sounding like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.
"Seraphina! If you walk out that door today, even if you crawl back and beg me, I won't even spare you a single glance!"
I didn't even slow down, didn't bother to look back.
When I reached the door, I shot a middle finger at the air.
"Beg you? Maybe in your next life," I sneered.
That night, I blocked and wiped every way Gideon could reach me—even that backup number I kept just for verification codes.
Made sure there was no way for him to ever find me again.
Early the next morning, I rolled my suitcase straight to the airport.
Merrowbay, here I came.
New life, here I came.
Sometimes, the saying "enemies always cross paths" hits way too close to home.
Lo and behold, I ran into Gideon and Delilah again—right there in the VIP lounge.
They were obviously off on a trip, dressed in matching couple outfits, all lovey-dovey, feeding each other fruit like they were in some cheesy romance drama.
When Gideon spotted me, his face instantly soured, and he yanked Delilah behind him like he was shielding her from some wild beast.
"Seraphina, are you done yet?" he snapped.
He marched over, blocking my way, his brows furrowed in a deep scowl. "You actually followed me to the airport? Did you put a tracker on my phone or something? You're seriously out of your mind!"