NOT ROYALE ENOUGH [18+]

44

SARAH

"And here’s your latte, Sarah."

Adam handed me the cup after giving Sam and James their drinks, but I just stared at it, my fingers unmoving.

A gentle nudge against my shoulder snapped me back, and I turned to see James watching me with worried eyes.

"Is everything alright?" he asked, his voice low, careful.

I nodded, quickly brushing my fingers through my hair as if that would smooth out the turmoil inside me.

"Yes, everything is fine." A lie.

I forced a small smile and finally took the cup from Adam. "Thank you."

Then, without a second thought, I tilted it back, swallowing the entire thing in one go, desperate for something—anything—to burn away the tightness in my chest.

The silence that followed was suffocating. I felt the weight of their stares, the unspoken concern pressing against me.

"Sarah…" Sam started, but I couldn’t do this.

I couldn't sit here, pretending I was okay, pretending that every inch of me wasn’t screaming.

Pushing back my chair, I muttered a quick excuse and rushed toward the restroom.

The moment I stepped inside, a woman passed me on her way out. My hands shook as I checked under each stall, making sure I was alone.

And then, when I knew no one was there to see—

I broke.

The sob hit me before I could stop it, my body collapsing against the cold sink as the tears I had been holding in spilled free.

I gripped the edges, my fingers aching with the force of it, but it was the only thing keeping me from sinking to the floor.

Why? Why was I crying?

I had no fucking clue.

Or maybe I did.

Maybe I knew exactly why, but I was too stubborn to accept it.

"I would like to cut off this contract."

My own voice played in my head, over and over, like a sick reminder of what I had just done.

I had said it. I had actually said it.

And it felt like hell.

It shouldn't hurt this much. It shouldn’t feel like I had just ripped out a piece of myself and handed it back to him.

But it did.

God, it did.

I lifted my head, meeting my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were red, my cheeks flushed, my lips trembling from the force of my own misery.