Sweet Downfall (36 page)

Wendy kissed him. She was good. He stayed passive, letting her do the work.

Gwenna cupped his face and turned him towards her. “My turn and I can definitely do better than that.” The sexpot proceeded to show Wendy that she was an even better kisser.

He grinned when Gwenna let go of his lips. “Why don’t you show Wendy how good that was, sweetheart?”

Gwenna smiled and leaned over. Wendy met her halfway. He watched their red lips get acquainted with each other, feeling the stirring of desire in his groin. Shit. Not bad. The night was getting better.

Then they were on him again, Gwenna on his face, Wendy on his body.

Ah, but he missed his usual bad girls. They all knew the right moves. Unlike good girls who needed a lot of tutoring and coaxing. All his good girl fantasies were headlined by only one woman. Shit, no more good girl fantasies. He concentrated on his bad girls at hand. The faint sound of rock music in the background helped get him in the mood.

“Jaq?”

He froze at the sound of that voice. His tongue which was inside Gwenna’s mouth retreated like it was stung by a bee.

She cannot be here. Not in his fuck fest.

“Can I talk to you, please?”

She was here, alright. He slowly turned to face her.

A perfect vision in white. His ultimate good girl fantasy.

No. His ultimate nightmare.

Angie nearly lost her nerve.

Jaq was gorgeously sprawled between two beautiful women, practically having sex in public and she was interrupting his fun. She knew both women. One was Gwenna James, Jaq’s rumored girlfriend and the other was Wendy Lopez, a known man-eater in town, a very successful fashion designer she actually admired despite not having the guts to wear her super-sexy, highly coveted gowns.

“Can we talk?” she repeated as he continued to stare at her, his eyes so intense even in the dim light. He was clad in an outfit so strategically revealing any woman would have to be dead not to want him in a sexual way.

Jaq slowly ran his hand along Gwenna’s exposed leg. “I’m busy,” he said curtly and proceeded to nuzzle the actress’ neck.

Angie didn’t know how long she could stand the scene before her.

“Hey, isn’t this the bitch who slapped you, sweetie?” Gwenna asked Jaq.

“Yes. She’s the one with Jaq in that video, too,” Wendy confirmed.

“Oh, THAT boring old video?” Gwenna snickered. “You call that scandal? She didn’t even know how to kiss you properly, big boy. If I were to make a sex video with you, Jaq, it will be smokin’ hot. Hotter than Paris’ and Kim’s. You’re welcome to join, Wendy.”

The two women laughed.

Angie’s nervousness was replaced by humiliation and shortly after, wrath.

“Ladies…” Jaq interrupted but Angie cut him.

“I was only eighteen in that video. Imagine what I can do now. Why don’t you ask him?”

Angie had the satisfaction of seeing their jaws drop. Smiling at Jaq seductively, she cooed, goaded beyond restraint. “Darling, why don’t you tell them how we are in bed now?”

Jaq jumped to his feet and dragged her by the arm away from the cubicle to a far corner.

“What do you want?” he demanded in an impatient tone.

There, in the shadowy corner, her nervousness returned. She had rehearsed every word that she wanted to say to him but her mind went blank.

“Go marry your fiancé. You deserve each other. I don’t care.”

“Jaq…”

He sighed and combed his fingers through his tousled hair. How she longed to do that right this minute, to touch him, hug him so tight.

“Look, Angie, I didn’t know what I was thinking. I shouldn’t have…we shouldn’t have. We were finished eight years ago. You were right. Let us move on. For real. We are definitely over now, I can guarantee that.”

This was not what she wanted to hear. But can she blame him? Never.

“Go home, Angie. You don’t belong in this place,” he said quietly and turned his back on her.

She grabbed his arm, her tears falling down her cheeks. “Jaq…”

He looked at her again, his eyes swathed in abject sadness that made her want to weep loudly in regret. She had caused that sadness and it was breaking her heart all over again. God, how can she ever make it up to him?

“Why are you here, Angie?”

“I already know...I found out...that you didn’t leak the video,” she stammered, struggling to speak straight when all she wanted to do was drop to her knees and grovel.

He gave her a hollow smile. “Well, now you know it wasn’t me. Good. Anything else I don’t already know?”

Her hands gripped his arm tighter. “Oh Jaq, I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry! Please, forgive me…Please–”

“Hey, it’s okay. Really, it’s okay,” he interrupted her. “Go home now.”

“No, I want to say sorry…for eight years ago.”

His eyes suddenly went chilly. She felt the muscles in his arm tense. “Yeah? What about eight years ago?”

“I’m sorry about about what my father and brothers did to you…”

“You couldn’t have done anything about it, so don’t be.”

“We didn’t even talk...we didn’t have a chance to see each other again after...” her voice trailed off. It was too painful to reopen old wounds. Fresh blood was drawn and the pain was the same, if not worse, because now she was seeing clearly what they both lost. The beauty of their innocent love. The chance to be happy together.

“After I was thrown into prison, you mean?”

The frigidity in his voice made the hairs on her spine stand up in trepidation. “I know…I know it had been bad for you.”

He expelled a short, mirthless laugh. “You have no idea.”

“But I did everything to help you, Jaq. Believe me, I didn’t want you to go to prison.”

He yanked his arm from her grasp. His cold eyes were now scorching hot in fury. No. Hatred. Unfathomable hatred. It almost made her turn around and run.

“You didn’t want me...to go to prison?” he repeated slowly, menacingly.

“You have to believe me. I never meant to hurt you, Jaq. I never meant not to see or talk to you again after you were released but things just got so complicated and I—”

“You never meant to hurt me?!” he snarled.

She recoiled. “Jaq…”

“You better stop now, you bitch!”

The naked hostility in his eyes really frightened her but it did not deter her. She would brave anything for his forgiveness.

“No, Jaq, we need to talk about this. Let me explain, please–”

“What is there to explain?!” he roared. “It was pretty black and white to me! You intended to send me to prison!”

She stared at him blankly.

He walked away. “Go home!”

She stood there, momentarily transfixed. Then she went after him. He was going back to his two companions. She grabbed his arm again in desperation. “Jaq, please, listen to me!”

He shrugged her off. “I said go home! I’m warning you, Angie!”

“No! I won’t go unless you’ve listened to everything I came here to say!”

“Hey, you’re disrupting our party,” Gwenna said from a few meters away.

“Shut up!” Angie snapped at the actress. She had been up with very little sleep for almost three days now and her patience was at its limit. “Mind you own business!”

“The last time I checked, that guy is our business tonight, not yours. Why don’t you join us here? We can do a four-way.” Wendy invited with seductive insolence.

Jaq grabbed her arm and dragged her from his two bitchy dates. They headed for the door.

She dug in her heels but he kept on dragging her. “Jaq, please, you’re hurting me!”

“Then walk, damn you!”

They passed by a cubicle.

“Jaq! Angie!”

Angie saw Darry sitting beside Alexis, who invited Darry to this party.

Jaq let go of her arm and addressed Darry. “Take her home, Darry. I don’t want her here.”

“Come on, Jaq, this is a party. Relax,” Alexis said.

“This is MY party! I can kick out anybody I want!” Jaq shot back.

He was walking away again.

“Jaq, I didn’t put you in prison! I saved you from prison!” she shouted at his back, forgetting their audience.

He stopped walking, but didn’t look back.

“I know I was wrong that I didn’t even come see you after everything that happened! But it didn’t mean I did not want to! It was very painful for me, too Jaq, but I didn’t have any choice. My father nearly died and I had to take care of him! If you thought that you were the only one who got hurt, you were wrong! I was hurting, too! I’ve been hurting all these years!”

He turned around again and reached her in a few strides, his eyes, twin orbs of black hate. “What lies are you trying to fool me with again, Angie? I was there in that stinky prison cell for more than two weeks! You filed that complaint against me! I saw your signature on it! I even filed a counter affidavit!”

She blinked rapidly, couldn’t understand what he was saying. “But…” she shook her head, confused. “No, that’s not true, Jaq. That’s not true! I don’t understand–”

“No? Okay, I will refresh your memory, you two-faced bitch!” He stepped closer towards her. “You charged me with abduction and rape. A heinous crime, Angie. A crime that used to be punishable by death. Good thing for rapists, it was reduced to life, though I would have preferred death. You made an affidavit of complaint saying I abducted you at gun point and guess what, raped you!” he said the last words with such devastating contempt. “Wow, that really blew me away, you know?”

“R-rape?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had a clear recollection of what transpired that day. She’d never accused him of any crime, least of all rape!

“No, Jaq, I didn’t… I didn’t… I would never do that. I loved you! Please believe me! I loved you!”

He spread his arms wide. “Bullshit!!”

She pressed her knuckles hard on her lips, her entire body shaking like a leaf.

“Bullshit!! You’re so full of shit, you hear me?!”

“Jaq, I swear–”

“Shut the fuck up! Just stop it, Angie! I’m so damn tired of your lies! Just be fucking honest for once! Just once! You never loved me! Okay, you did what you had to do and that was fine! You wanted to get rid of me by filing that damn rape case, fine! It was just a reckless, juvenile adventure on your part, fine! I can take all of that, but don’t come here and act like you really cared and knew nothing about it, because I cannot take that, you lying, selfish bitch! You make me sick!”

She was rendered speechless. His burning hatred overpowered her courage, or what was left of it.

When he spoke again, his voice was low and emotionless. But she knew, it was the end of the line. He had shut the door on her. Completely. “Get lost. I’ve had enough of your lies and games. I’ve had it with your fucked up family. I used to think the world of you, but you were right, it was just a reckless adventure. When I think about it now, it’s not even worth shitting on. Do me a favor, will you? Don’t ever bother me again.”

When he turned his back and walked away this time, she let him go. She didn’t have the strength to run after him. His verbal lashing had left her raw and bleeding. Bile rose to her throat.
Oh God, I don’t understand…I don’t understand!

“Ange?” She felt Darry’s hand on her back.

She could feel people staring at her but she couldn’t see anything. Her vision blurred. The voices around her turned into a harsh cacophony of sounds, making her ears ring painfully.

Her legs gave way.

Jaq heard Darry scream. He ran back to them.

People were huddled together, looking down on something...or someone. Fear slammed hard in his gut and he shouldered his way into the crowd.

He saw Angie lying on the floor, unmoving.

“What happened to her?!” he shouted.

“You tell me, you asshole!” Darry shouted back at him. She was shaking Angie’s shoulders, trying to wake her up, but Angie was lying there...pale and lifeless.

He crouched beside her prone body. “Angie! Angie!”

“Let’s bring her to the hospital! Jaq, lift her up!” Darry commanded.

She didn’t need to tell him twice. He lifted Angie in his arms. She weighed like a sack of feather.

“Use the private elevator. My SUV is waiting at the back exit,” Alexis said.

Minutes later, they were aboard Alexis’ Escalade on their way to the nearest hospital. He sat with Angie in his arms at the backseat while Darry occupied the front passenger seat.

“Is she awake yet?” Darry inquired anxiously.

“No. Jim, can we go faster?” he said to Alexis’ chauffeur.

“I’m going as fast as I can without us getting into an accident, Jaq,” Jim replied calmly at the wheel.

Jaq was trying hard not to be overridden by panic. What the hell was wrong with her? Did she faint because they fought? Or was she ill? If something happened to her…

No. Angie was healthy. She would be fine.