Ruby(Red 2) JC [Revised]

10: Past With Joshua

Aerin's steps were heavy with exhaustion as she made her way back to her apartment after a long day at the university, her final year proving to be more demanding than she had anticipated. The weight of her books pressed against her arms as she trudged along, her thoughts drifting towards the comfort of home and the solace it promised.

But as she approached the door to their apartment, a sense of unease crept over her. The familiar click of the lock was absent, replaced by an eerie stillness that hung in the air. Aerin frowned, her mind racing with questions as she hesitated before turning the handle.

The moment she stepped inside, her senses were assaulted by the unmistakable sounds of passion emanating from the bedroom. Aerin's heart pounded in her chest as she processed the implications, her mind struggling to comprehend the betrayal unfolding before her.

"Nicole, it's not what—" Joshua's voice faltered as Aerin stormed into the room, her eyes blazing with fury. She wasn't interested in his excuses. "Tell him to get the hell out of here, Joshua," she demanded, her tone cold and unforgiving.

Joshua hesitated for a moment before obeying, his guilty expression betraying his remorse as he watched the younger man, likely Aerin's junior at the university, shuffled out of the room quietly, leaving behind an awkward silence that hung heavy in the air.

Once they were alone, Aerin turned her steely gaze on Joshua, her anger simmering just beneath the surface. "So, you think it's acceptable to cheat on me? To betray my trust and humiliate me in my own home?" she seethed, her voice trembling with righteous indignation.

Joshua tried to approach her, to offer some feeble apology, but Aerin recoiled at his touch. "Don't you dare touch me," she spat, her eyes flashing with anger.

Aerin's voice trembled with a mixture of hurt and indignation as she confronted Joshua, her words laced with bitterness. "So, banging me every night, making me your sex slave wasn't enough, huh? You got yourself bitches now?"

As Aerin's words of betrayal and anger poured forth, Joshua's expression twisted with a mixture of guilt and defiance. "I'm sorry, Nicole, but I don't think I like women. You were my way to test that, and now I'm completely sure," he confessed, his voice tinged with resignation.

Aerin's eyes widened in disbelief, her heart sinking at the callousness of his admission. "So you used me just to taste your sexuality? You fucking manwhore—" she began, her voice trembling with a mix of fury and hurt.

But before Aerin could finish her sentence, Joshua's hand lashed out, the force of his slap sending her crashing to the ground. Pain exploded across Aerin's cheek as she landed on the floor, her vision swimming with tears of shock and agony.

"You women talk too much," Joshua spat, his voice dripping with contempt as he knelt down and roughly grabbed Aerin by the hair, pulling her up from the ground.

Aerin cried out in pain as Joshua's grip tightened, her mind reeling from the betrayal and violence she had just endured. Through the haze of pain and anger, his words registered in her mind like a distant echo.

"Now that we are done, I have good news for you. I'm moving to Toronto tomorrow, and my friend Seungcheol is there," Joshua announced, his tone eerily calm as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

At the mention of Seungcheol's name, Aerin's blood ran cold. She would not allow Joshua's betrayal to go unpunished. With a steely resolve, she vowed to seek revenge on not just Joshua, but on everyone who had ever wronged her or her mother.

In that moment, Seungcheol became more than just a name – he was a symbol of retribution, a means to exact the vengeance she so desperately craved. And as Aerin lay on the ground, bruised and broken but unyielding in her resolve, she knew that her journey towards revenge had only just begun.