Queen of my Heart

20

PAYBACK IS A BITCH.

That much I knew as I buried my face in my hands, trying to block out the agitated yells, the horrible cries, the cruel slaps.

“After all this time, you're cheating on me!” Gillian said, no doubt with her cheeks stained with mascara. “You said you love me, Shane. You said I'm the only one.”

Too many accusations were told, too little justifications were uttered. This was becoming more and more like the worst night I could ever imagine.

Shane was doing everything to come clean, but when it came to cheating, nobody could really redeem himself, could they?

“Gillian, honey, listen to me—” he began, but there was a faint sound of flesh on flesh, and when I looked up, Shane was down on the floor and sported a split lip.

Kian was heaving, his face red. “Shut up, mate. Just . . . Just shut the hell up. I knew there was something weird about you these past months. You sneaky arse.” He drifted his glare to me and I resisted the urge to cower from him. Be strong. “We shouldn't have trusted you, Juliet. I thought you're above this.” He scoffed. “But then I guess I can't expect great things from you after all.”

I thought my heart couldn't be more broken than it already was, but just hearing Kian's words shattered the rest of my dignity.

I didn't speak, just averted my eyes to the floor. My hands were shaking, my eyes watering so badly. I can't cry though. Not when I didn't have the right to do so.

“What if I didn't see you on the rooftop?” Gillian demanded. “Were you going to hide it from us forever?”

Kian snickered. “Of course, cousin. They would still go at it behind our backs.”

That was the last straw.

Here I was, trying to right my mistakes, and I ended up the villian. If there was one thing I will always fight for, it was my dignity.

But Shane already beat me to it. “Juliet was already ending things between us,” he said as he stood up, wiping his lip with the back of his hand. “I just didn't want her to.” He stared at me. “I love her that much.”

His confession was met with stunned silence.

I found myself standing up, drawing their attentions. My body was begging to lie down and sleep forever, but I needed to get away from this first. “I'm really sorry for everything I've caused. It all started with me, right?” I let my gaze linger on Shane, a kind of loneliness seeping through my heart. “I messed up this friendship. I think it's time I leave your lives for good.” I met Bryan's knowing gaze. “You never needed me anyway.”

Nicky reached out a hand to me, but seemed to think twice. He merely cleared his throat. “Don't say that. You've been a good friend and colleague, Juliet. Don't abandon your job just because of this.”

“He's right. We need you here,” Mark said with a sad smile in my direction.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I steeled my resolve. “That's really sweet of you, guys, but that can't make me stay . . . Not when the bigger picture is much worse.” I faced Gillian, who was glaring at me so coldly. “I'm really sorry, Gillian. It's not fair to you. It'll never be fair, and I hope that in time, I'll be forgiven for what I've done.”

“You'll pay for this, you bitch,” she snarled.

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but Bryan was already doing it. “That's enough. Juliet already apologized.”

“That doesn't make what she did any less horrible.”

“She never said it does, Gillian.” Bryan grasped my hand, a strange and warm protection against everything that's happened today. “We're leaving.”

We were almost at the door when Shane spoke up for the first time again. “Where are you taking her?”

Bryan beat me to answering again. “To where you won't ever find her.”

I looked back to see Shane's torn expression and felt something inside me broke some more. “Please don't hurt her, Bryan,” he said with an unspoken plea in his voice.

Bryan didn't even face him. “Like you did? Hell no.”

• • •

“Thank you for what you did back there,” I said as I sat on our porch.

Bryan looked down at me, stuffing his hands inside his pockets. Under the light of the moon, his eyes seemed to shine more than usual, his smile a little bit brighter. Just looking at him made my heart soar with happiness.

“Just doing my job as your friend,” he replied, sitting beside me.

A comfortable silence enveloped us and for the first time in so long, it felt like we had our own world.

I've been so accustomed with the constant buzz and noise of showbusiness because of the lads' career that I forgot what silence sounded like.

“Why didn't you cry?”

I blinked, meeting his gaze almost reluctantly. “I don't have the right to,” I said softly, and as if on cue, my eyes filled with tears. “It's hard, but it'll pass. Eventually.”

Just thinking about Shane made it so hard to breathe. I never thought someone could hurt me so bad.

Bryan raised a hand, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. “You have every right to be hurt, Juliet. You have every right to let out your feelings.” His thumb traced my cheek, I closed my eyes. “You deserve that and more.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “And you were wrong. I've always needed you.”

And just like that, I unraveled before him.

Gently, he lifted me and placed me on his lap, cradling my head on his shoulder. Soft sobs filled the otherwise peaceful night, and for the first time, I was okay with that.

I was okay with being vulnerable for a moment, in this lifetime, in his arms.

For the first time, I wanted to stay like this forever.

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Short chapter! I was about to make it longer, but I quite like the last line, so sue me lol.

ANYWAY. Random sharing: I was listening to Dear John by Taylor Swift when I wrote this, but I have no idea how I made such cheesy lines.

What do you think about this chapter? Am I getting better at updating more often?

Who likes See You Again by Westlife? I do! It's playing as I write this sentence 😂

~G