🔹Crystal Russell 🔹

Lamps and lights at every corner of the large club. People moved around with their drinks and danced to the music carelessly, enjoying the night to the fullest while I was proudly smiling at my success in planning the event.

I looked around the club to find Evan but he was nowhere in sight. When my phone vibrated in my hand, I looked up at it to see Adrien's name flashing on it. Moving to a corner, I answered the call.

"Hey! Please tell me you're coming." I yelled against the phone. I had invited him to the party and was expecting him.

"I am coming, but I don't think I can stay for long. Dad needs me to accompany him somewhere." He answered.

"It's okay. Just come soon. I'm waiting." I hung up on the call and went back near the drinks counter. The staff that I knew were all busy with their work and I didn't want to disturb them so I sat quietly waiting for Adrien or Evan.

Few minutes later, two girls, approximately of my age, approached me with an awkward grin. "Hi. You are Adrien Russel's wife, aren't you?" I froze in my place as I hadn't seen that coming. What was I supposed to do? Run from there or deny that or simply acknowledge it.

"Y-yes. I am." My answer made the squeal and I looked at them with bewilderment.

"Hey, could you please give us Adrien's number?" One of them asked and I raised my bro at her. Like hell I would. "Please, please."

"I'm sorry, I cannot do that." Their faces fell at my answer and they began giving me a pleading look. "At least his email?" I shook my head at them and they sighed.

"Or maybe just answer a few of our questions. We are just curious about how you both met and fell in love. For how long did you date? When did he propose to you? What kind of husband is he? Does he give you a lot of gifts? How is he in bed-"

"Woah woah! Stop!" I had to scream for them to shut their mouths in the loud music. "I don't think I want to share any of our personal details with you, so please leave me alone and enjoy the party." I tried to be as polite as possible although I was annoyed.

The girls murmured something to themselves and walked away from me.

'How is he in bed?' My face heated up as I recalled the night a few weeks ago. The night we came back from Anna's art gallery.

I was pushed against the wardrobe with Adrien's lips hungrily savouring mine. Breathlessly, I tugged on his shirt and he pulled away. "I just can't get enough of you." And his lips were on mine again, soft and pleasuring this time.

I pulled him closer by grabbing the collar of his shirt and his hands snaked to my back. His warm hands touched my skin through the open zipper and a bit his lip in anticipation. Leaving my lips, his mouth travelled to my jaw, then to my neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses along the way.

His hands roamed all over my body and I felt a tug on my dress that caused the dress to slip over my shoulders, putting a lot of my cleavage on show. I couldn't hold back anymore. I wanted to touch him the way he was touching me. My hands went up his neck to his hair then came back down. I fiddled with the first button of his shirt but it refused to open up.

When Adrien bit the skin of my neck and then swiped his tongue over it, I had lost all my patience. I untucked his shirt out of his pants and pushed my hands inside it, feeling his rock hard torso against my palm. His throat released a husky groan, making his chest vibrate and the heat between my legs increased every passing second.

Everything about him screamed of possessiveness. His kisses, his touches, his groans. I was pretty sure that my neck and shoulder were adorned with the marks Adrien had designed. Not that I minded. I wanted him to mark me as his. To hold me and love me.

I felt pleasured and euphoric until...

"CRYSTAL!"

I snapped my neck at my left to see Adrien frowning at me.

"Where were you lost? I was here a whole one and a half minutes ago." I rolled my eyes at his drama. "Are you not feeling good? Why is your face so red?" He touched my forehead with his knuckles.

"I am good." I took his hand away from my forehead and kept it in mine.

We spent the next few minutes talking about every possible thing after Adrien had been highly impressed by my work. Then we danced, like there was no tomorrow. I was swirling and swinging in his arms with pleasure. It was as if the world belonged to us. Only us.

But that was until my eyes fell on Evan who sat by the bar, looking at us with sour eyes. He turned away when our eyes met and gulped down his whole drink in one go.

What's wrong with him?

Adrien noticed my lack of attention and turned his eyes in the same direction. I gasped when I was yanked towards him by my waist. His eyes trying to hide his distaste. "Something wrong?"

I shook my head. "No. I was just wondering why Evan had been late to the event at his own club." He nodded and loosened his grip on me. "Let's go greet him."

"Tsk." Adrien rolled his eyes and I hit his arm with a giggle before holding his wrist and pulling him towards the bar.

"Hey." I smiled widely at Evan. He just returned the smile and said nothing. I I caught Evan and Adrien glaring at each other before averting their eyes and I sighed at their childishness.

"When did you come?" I asked, trying to ease the tension.

"When you were busy dancing with your so-called husband." He gulped down another drink. I almost winced at his choice of words. Adrien shifted beside me, probably to grab his collars or throw a blow at his jaw but I stopped him.

I didn't say anything further. Maybe it hadn't been the best time to talk to Evan. It would simply spoil everyone's mood, but I had made a mental note to confront him later about his attitude.

The night grew darker and Adrien was gone after insisting I come along with him. He didn't want me to be with Evan in his absence after Evan's strange behaviour. It was very difficult to convince him that I needed to stay till the event was wrapped up and I would be absolutely fine. Nevertheless, he had kept Martin on duty for me.

The club was almost empty with only the staff moving around to wrap things up. I finally spotted Evan at a corner of the bar with a whiskey in hand. I went closer to him only to find his eyes dilated, his hair messed and his knuckles bruised.

"Evan." He glanced at me then kept minding his business with the alcohol. Irritated at his behaviour, I snapped. "Evan, I am talking to you. What's wrong with you? Why are you acting like this and how did you hurt your hand?" I touched his hand but he shrugged it away.

"Why do you care, Crystal?" His breath reeked of alcohol as he spoke. His voice was low but strained. Just how much has he been drinking?

"Leave me alone. Turn a blind eye on me like you've always done." This time, he didn't bother pouring the drink in his glass. He gulped it down straight from the bottle that I snatched from his hand.

"What are you saying? How much did you even drink to run out of your senses?"

Evan threw the glass on the counter across the room making it shatter into several pieces. I flinched hard and stared at him with bewilderment. He got up from his seat and came closer to me, making me take a few steps back.

"It's not the fucking alcohol that has driven me crazy, it's you! You are the one that's been on my mind. Why? Why do you not see my efforts to court you? Why do you not see me falling so hard for you?"

My mind was blown at what came up at me. Evan's confession was the last thing I had expected.

"You wanted to know why I was late?" He dug a box out of his pant's pocket. "Because I had been roaming around like a crazy fool to find something to thank you with. Something that you would be pleased to have. But you were too occupied with that man wearing the tag of your husband."

Stop. I wanted to scream at him.

I was frozen in my place and did not move even when Evan put that box on the counter, came up to me and cupped my cheeks. His eyes looked so vulnerable that it broke my heart. It broke my heart to have broken his heart.

"It's not fair, Crystal." His voice cracked, as if on a broken edge. "He doesn't love you, I do." My breath hitched. "But you are married to him, not me."

I love him. It was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't voice it out. I zoned out. I was lost. I didn't even notice something chapped but soft pressed on my mouth.

One second. Two seconds.

Then it hit me.

Evan was kissing me.

I pushed him away a bit less harshly than I intended. "Evan, no." A tear escaped my eyes.

"Why?" He pecked my lips again and this time I yanked my face away from his.

"Evan, please! You're better than this, please." A tear trailed down his face and he groaned. Pain and frustration flashing in his features. Thankfully, he didn't try to kiss me again but instead, he rested his head on my shoulder.

"I don't want to be better if it's not for you, Crystal. I fucking love you."

Then there was silence. No noise, no movement, nothing at all. It took me a minute to realise that he had passed out.

🔹️

I called Ethan and asked him to pick Evan up from the club before heading home with Martin. It had been difficult for me to hold back my tears in the car and I couldn't break down in front of Adrien. All I wanted was to wrap my arms around him and take in his warmth, but when I entered the house, it was stranded. Adrien was nowhere in sight.

Maybe he was still with his father.

I took my phone to call him but saw his message that said that he was already home an hour ago. When I dialled him, his mobile was switched off. I considered asking Martin about his whereabouts but since it was past midnight and he had just got off-duty, I decided against it.

My eyes landed on his open laptop on the coffee table in our room. I walked towards it and ran my finger on the touchpad. It turned on and what flashed on the screen made me gasp in panic and a cry left my lips.

"No."

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