His Kryptonite

Chapter 18

Laila's POV

The next day, it's a perfect Saturday morning, as I cool off in the pool. From a distance, I spot Lucas walking towards me. I flash him a smile and wave.

"Hey! How are you feeling?" I ask him.

"Better," he replies, slowly dragging a sunbed closer to the pool's edge before settling onto it.

Squinting against the sun, I shield my eyes with a hand to get a better look at him. "Well, you do look better," I respond, with only half-sincerity. Truth be told, his face still looks pretty rough, but it's certainly an improvement from last week.

"No need to lie, I know I look like shit."

I burst into laughter.

"I sure learned my lesson, though," he says, his tone tinged with regret.

"We all make mistakes, Lukes," I try to comfort him.

He shrugs. "Yeah. Almost cost me my life. I'm grateful for Michael though. Too bad I won't be able to attend his engagement party tonight looking like this."

As Lucas finishes his sentence, my face, jaw, and heart drop simultaneously. An engagement party? Tonight?

"Wait, what? Michael has an engagement party tonight? With Gabriella Gambini?" I ask, utterly shocked, desperately hoping I've misunderstood the information.

Lucas looks at me, a mix of confusion and puzzlement on his face. "Uh, yeah. That's the exact engagement party I'm talking about."

"And it's tonight?" I repeat, my voice filled with disbelief.

"What the fuck, Laila?!" Lucas replies, annoyed. He hates repeating information.

"I just... I didn't know."

"Pfft... Have you been living under a rock or something? Everyone's aware. People have been talking about it nonstop for the past two weeks."

Well, I've been involved with the main person of interest for two straight weeks, and not once did he mention that his engagement party was happening tonight. Not even yesterday, when we were intimately intertwined, did he bother to inform me. The sense of betrayal I'm experiencing is indescribable.

"You okay?" Lucas asks, sensing the sudden shift in my mood.

"Yeah, yeah! I'm just... surprised, that's all. I didn't pay attention," I force a smile and try to change the subject, hoping to avoid any further suspicion.

But as soon as Lucas leaves, I step out of the pool, dry off, and retreat to the solitude of my bedroom. A heavy weight settles over me.

I lie on my bed, staring at the ceiling, my heart pounding in my chest.

He's getting engaged today. Nervousness causes my legs to twitch, and a sting builds in my nose. I can't control the tears that slowly trickle down my face. I wipe them away angrily, but they keep coming, relentlessly.

I shouldn't be crying over Michael. It's irrational. I knew all along that he was going to marry Gabriella—he had even told me. But in the past two weeks, he never mentioned her, so I had pushed her to the back of my mind. I mistakenly believed I was the only one...

All along, I was nothing more than a temporary fling before the real commitment. It shouldn't hurt me, but it does. I despise myself for allowing these feelings to develop for Michael. I knew I needed to protect my heart, but I failed. I granted him access to my body, but I never realized when I had also given him access to my heart.

•••

I wake up hours later, realizing that the room has grown dark as the sun has set. I'm still dressed in my bathing suit. I must have cried myself to sleep.