Book Trk
Chapter 73
Chapter 73
Leanne wasn’t much of a drinker. The only times she’d indulge were during inescapable office dinners or when she was out painting the town red with her best friend, Joy.
But today, her heart was a pressure cooker of pent-up emotions. It felt like nothing but the burn of alcohol could soothe the ache.
She had thought about calling Joy, but Joy was swamped, deep in the trenches of a project deadline, burning the candle at both ends until she’d crash at three or four in the morning.
Leanne had typed out a message, but then she second-guessed it, not wanting to burden. Joy with her troubles.
Leanne felt like a ghost of herself, so consumed by a heartache that threatened to drown her.
She had never known that Suzan, the other woman, had Anne as a nickname.
So those nights when Curtis held her close, whispering sweet nothings, had he been calling out for Leanne or Suzan?
Were those intimate moments just a façade, a means for him to express his feelings for Suzan while using her as a replacement?
When he kissed her, his eyes might have been on her, but was it Suzan’s name that danced in his mind?
The thought choked her, making it hard to breathe.
She had thought, at least once, Curtis had loved her, even if it was just for a fleeting
moment.
Being loved so passionately and then discarded so coldly left her unable to let
go
and
move on.
Leanne questioned herself over and over. Was it something about her that made him tire of her so quickly? Was she not good enough, not worthy of love?
She had struggled alone in a cold and loveless marriage for over two years before she could even begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And now, she was told that the meager affection she had clung to was never meant for her. NôvelDrama.Org exclusive content.
Curtis had never loved her at all.
Her anguish, her plight, her desperate struggles were nothing but a cruel joke!
From the start to the finish, she had been nothing but an insignificant stand-in, even her name borrowed from another.
She had never been loved.
And she knew, in this world, no one would love her.
The ones who did were long gone, perished in that dilapidated factory on a snowy winter’s night. She should have died alongside them.
Her parents had fought against fate to snatch her life back from the jaws of death.
So there would be no more love for her, for she was never meant to be part of this world.
She was supposed to die that day.
Upstairs in the VIP lounge, Phillip was interrupted by a whisper from a server.
Checking his watch with a frown, he excused himself from his friends and made his way downstairs.
The ground floor was a cacophony of noise, the blaring music pounding against everyone’s eardrums. Leanne was slumped over her arms at a table littered with empty
bottles.
A man from a nearby booth, egged on by his buddies, sauntered over, reaching out to pull her up, “Hey, gorgeous, you okay?”
Before his hand could brush Leanne’s shoulder, whit
was intercepted.
for Michw
The bar owner, dressed in a black shirt with a floral pattern and smiling genially, gripped the man’s hand with surprising strength.
“I’d advise you not to touch her.”
man, more of a coward than he let on, retorted with false bravado, “Just making sure
esn’t pass out here, man. Who are you, her keeper?”
ar owner maintained his smile but spoke with an icy tone, “She’s not mine but initely not yours to touch. I’d suggest you back off unless you fancy a trip to the emergency room. The lady’s actual man is about to show up. Trust me, if he doesn’t like. your face, even gifting him my bar won’t save you.”
With a curse, the man retreated.
The bar owner stood by, observing Leanne lying motionless, tears quietly streaming down. her face.
At that moment, Phillip approached, and the owner’s demeanor shifted to one of unexpected deference, “Mr. Richardson, here to unwind today?”
Phillip nodded curtly, not one for small talk, “I’m here for Anne.”