Broken Pieces

chapter 17

Bella came home, late at night, totally drunk. The staff was in bed when she banged the door loudly. Mark was awake. He tucked his gun in the waistband of his pants and headed towards the door.

When he opened the door, Bella fell onto him. He reluctantly held her and closed the door before signaling a guard to put the car in the garage.

Mark rolled his eyes as her smell wafted up to his nose. He cringed at the smell. It was a disgusting mix of alcohol and cheap male perfume. A possibility flashed through his mind but he blocked his thoughts out and dropped her on a sofa in the living room.

He knocked on Mrs. Clarke's door. Mrs. Clarke opened the door to find Mark standing there. Mark noticed that her eyes were a bit puffy as if she'd been crying  but chose to ignore. 

"What happened?" Mrs. Clarke asked him with a questioning look on her face.

"Mrs. Taylor is home and she is mighty drunk, I must say. You please take her to her room." He said to her.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour of the night but I didn't have any other choice." He said to her as they walked to the living room where Bella was lying unceremoniously on the sofa giggling on her own and twirling a strand of her hair on her finger. Mrs. Clarke went near her and scrunched her face in disgust.

"This woman reeks of alcohol as if she downed the whole tavern." Mrs. Clarke said as she rolled her eyes. Mark laughed.

"Don't just stand there and laugh, lad. Come here and taker her bag and shoes. Bring them to me." She said as she took off Bella's heels and handed them over to Mark. Mrs. Clarke took Bella to a guest room and tucked her in. She put her things beside the bed and left the room.

"It was quite an eventful day, I must say," Mark said as he turned to go to his room.

"Yes. I agree. We need to rest. Goodnight Mark." Mrs. Clarke said as she turned to go to her room.

"Good night." He said softly as he closed the door to his room.

The next morning, Bella and Jeremy woke up to a massive hangover. They were still in their clothes from the previous day and Bella still had all her makeup on. She looked in the mirror and was disgusted with herself.

She gathered her things and stepped out of the room hoping not to run in any of the staff. Just as Bella stepped out of her room, she saw Jeremy still dressed in his clothes from the other day. He had a massive headache and he was pinching the bridge of his nose to tune it in. The moment he laid his eyes on a messed up Bella, he forgot all his pain and anger clouded his mind.

"Oh look, who decided to show up?"He said in a mocking tone.

"Save the mocking, please. I am not in the mood to deal with your nonsense this early in the morning." Bella said as she ascended the stairs to her room.

To be honest, she was ashamed of herself. She had shamelessly gotten drunk and then let another man take advantage of her. But it was not her fault. Jeremy made her feel worthless. She held him responsible for provoking her.

She hurriedly took a much-needed shower to wash away the remnants of her rendezvous and dressed up for her office. As she stepped out of the bathroom while fixing her shirt, she saw Jeremy propped the bed. He was combing his long fingers through his hair due to frustration.

The moment his eyes laid on Bella, he noticed red marks on her neck as her hair was gathered on one side. He stood up and went closer to her with the pace of a panther stalking its prey.

His eyes turned a shade or two darker. Anger radiated off of him. To say Bella was afraid was an understatement. She could actually feel his eyes on her neck.