The Billionaire's Runaway Crush

Chapter 2 - Break up

Chapter 2 - Break up

Lina entered the three-story building. Before she even rang the bell, the door opened and a dishevelled Sally showed up. She dragged Lina into her apartment and slammed the door behind her.

“For fu.ck’s sake, Lina, do you want me to have a heart attack? Where on earth have you been, girl? I thought something terrible had happened to you. You said something was wrong and then disappeared. What are you, eight?” Sally picked on her friend and Lina, holding her aching head, took the nearest seat in the living room.

“Coffee,” she moaned, feeling weak as tears rolled down her face again. Not only had Adam cheated, but a stranger had taken advantage of her as well.

“On the table,” Sally replied angrily and sat opposite her. As soon as she saw Lina crying, her anger evaporated.

“Lina, what’s wrong, baby? You are never that irresponsible. Talk to me, please, sweetheart,” she begged, changing places and sitting next to her friend.

“Adam cheated on me. I saw him fuc.king Emma, our secretary, at the Christmas party last night,” Lina whispered, leaning back on the sofa, lowering her head and wrapping her arms around her body.

“He did what?” Sally screamed, holding her swollen tummy realising she shouldn’t be careless.

“Oh, Lina, I am so sorry, sweetie.”

Sally removed Lina’s long hair from her face and stunned, she stared at the lovebites on Lina’s neck.

“What the… Lina, where were you last night? Or better, who were you with? Have you seen the state of your neck?” she squealed, surprising her friend. Lina jumped up from her seat and went to the mirror. She paled in horror at the dark marks that covered the skin on her neck and down to her collarbone.

She ran her fingers around the area, a lump forming in her throat and a loud cry escaped her mouth. She found herself on her knees sobbing, surprising Sally.

Her pregnant friend walked over to her and placed her palm on Lina’s shoulder waiting for her to calm down.

“What happened, Lina? Talk to me, honey.”

“I don’t know, Sally! I woke up this morning in a hotel room with a stranger by my side. And he was naked,” Lina cried, leaving Sally dumbfounded and with her mouth wide open.

“You did what?” Sally exclaimed but then the doorbell rang and a confused Sally went to see who was visiting.

“s**t! Adam is here! Go to my room and get changed into a polo-neck and leggings,” Sally urged her friend and waited until Lina disappeared into the bedroom before she opened the door.

“Where’s Lina?” Adam’s anxious voice echoed in the apartment as Lina rummaged through Sally’s clothes to find what she needed to wear. She then went to the bathroom, washed her face and combed her hair, leaving it down, afraid that any movement of her head would reveal the evidence of last night's craziness.

“Haven’t you done enough already? What do you want Lina for?” Sally attacked Adam and he remained silent.

“Why are you here?” Lina’s rough voice made Adam turn his head. His hair was a mess and his face revealed that he hadn’t slept the previous night.

“Baby, I…”

“Don’t you dare baby me, as.shole! And don’t come near me,” Lina warned her husband, flames of anger dancing in her dark green eyes.

“Lina, I made a mistake…”

“You mean calling me a stupid woman was a mistake or fuc.king our secretary in the conference room?” Lina mocked a pale Adam in a high-pitched voice.

“Let me explain…” Adam tried to touch her but Lina stopped him.

“I want a divorce, Adam, and I want it yesterday! As for the company, I want half of the shares and all the money my father put into it to help us get started,” Lina continued, turning the other away and wiping the tears from her eyes angrily. Just the thought of that stranger all over her naked body because she got drunk the previous night made her sick. And it was all Adam’s fault.

“Lina, listen to me, please. I know I was wrong but it was just this once. It will never happen again, I promise! I was drunk and Emma provoked me. I was stupid to fall for her tricks. I fired her already! Come on, baby, let’s talk things over. You can’t leave me. Not now! We have a meeting with our future client later this morning, Velissarios Holdings. Your grandmother sent him to us. He is a fuc.king billionaire, baby. If we succeed in getting him to sign a contract, our firm’s reputation will skyrocket, baby. That was our big dream, remember?” Adam insisted.

“Is work all you think about? You can’t even imagine the damage your fling did to me, ass.hole. I devoted myself to our family and for so many years I tried hard to become the best wife, mother and work associate for you. And this is the “thank you” I get for my efforts.” Lina accused him stepping forward and slapping his face hard, leaving Adam dumbfounded and speechless. The stranger’s face popped into her mind and she touched her covered neck feeling sick at her husband’s insensitive reaction. She moved to the window and looked outside. Her mind drifted to the past, ignoring everyone’s presence in the room.

How could her so-called beloved husband do this to her? She couldn’t believe how insensitive he was. His actions had destroyed everything they had worked hard to build for so many years, their love, trust and happiness and on top of that, he had the guts to ask her for forgiveness as if nothing serious had happened.

They had been married for twelve years and Lina never expected Adam, who seemed to be head over heels in love with her all that time, to cheat on her. Adam was the one who begged for a relationship with Lina from the day they met. Lina was hesitant since it was her first time dating. They had been together for three months and were totally in love with each other when Lina gave in to his charms and that one time led to a pregnancy.

The young couple were lucky that Lina’s old-fashioned Greek father always listened to his English wife, Lina’s mother. She was the love of his life and for her sake, he had abandoned everything back in Rhodes and emigrated to England. He never once thought of the hotel business that his late father left him and his adopted sister, choosing to become a chef in a hotel restaurant in London.

Lina’s Greek grandmother never forgave her daughter-in-law for taking her son away from her and the family business and stopped talking to her son. After Lina was born, she softened, especially when her son named the baby after her, Angelina. When Lina grew up, her grandmother demanded that she visit every summer. Her parents joined their daughter in Rhodes and the old lady slowly accepted them. Her grandmother’s older brother once admitted to Lina that she was the reason for her father’s reunion with his strong-willed mother.

With that in mind and with the gentle reminder from his wife, Lina’s father finally granted his approval for his daughter’s wedding to Adam.

Lina struggled to finish her studies as a lawyer while pregnant. After marrying Adam, she remained home and raised their baby daughter until Sia was old enough to attend kindergarten.

She then joined Adam in their small law firm and being efficient enough, they turned their small office into one of the most well-known law firms. Then money entered their lives, making things much easier and more convenient for the young couple.

Returning to the present, Lina swallowed her tears and turned to face her husband. He stood in the middle of the living room, his hands in his pockets, looking at her pleadingly. The i***t knew how much she loved him and was sure she was going to forgive him.

“I couldn’t care less about the meeting tomorrow. The firm can go to hell‌, Adam. I am divorcing you,” she replied coldly, leaving the room and heading to Sally’s bedroom.

“Lina, wait… what about our baby? What about Sia?” Adam asked and she turned to look at him one last time.

“You should have thought that before you f****d that b***h. My daughter stays with me,” she said coldly and disappeared with her head high, feeling broken, betrayed and abused. Adam had led her to do God knows what with that stranger; she would never forgive him for that.

Feeling dirty, she undressed and entered Sally’s bathroom again. She stood under the hot water and scrubbed her skin forcefully, trying to erase that man’s scent from her.

“You are a strong woman, Lina. You can go through this for Sia’s sake. You and your daughter’s feelings are the most important right now. You must calm down and forget about the scumbag who abused you last night,” a small voice whispered inside her mind, and she pressed her lips into a thin line.

“Lina, are you okay?” Sally called, interrupting her thoughts.

“Yes, I’ll be out in a second,” she replied, drying her skin roughly with a bath towel.

She entered the room, looking around for Adam.

“I kicked him out,” Sally assured her and Lina nodded, heading to the bed, not bothering to take off the towel.

She lay there motionless, facing the white ceiling.

“Lina, can I ask you what happened?” Sally asked cautiously, realising the emotional state of her friend.

“I don’t know, Sally, I guess so,” Lina replied, whispering and turning her back to Sally.

“We must find the douchebag who did this to you and report him to the police,” Sally fumed with anger but Lina shook her head in denial.

“Do you remember anything?”

“I was drinking at this bar and someone hit on me. I tried to avoid him but he was persistent. Then this guy came along and hugged me, calling me his baby,” Lina replied, closing her eyes. The stranger’s face appeared before her and she suddenly sat up straight.

She relived the scene where the stranger hugged her and her foggy thoughts cleared for a while.

She had flashes of her kissing the stranger, demanding more. And then, flashes of them making love, her taking the lead, provoking the stranger into making love to her.

“Fu.ck!” Lina moaned, burying her head in her hands and then looked at Sally.

“What?”

“I think I was the one who forced myself on him,” she exhaled, despair in her eyes.

The revelation hit Sally like a ton of bricks. She sat there, stunned, trying to process what Lina had just disclosed.

"Lina... that's... that's assault," Sally finally managed to say, her voice barely above a whisper.

Lina nodded slowly, her eyes filling with tears once again. "I know... I don't know what came over me, Sally. I would never do something like that willingly."

Sally reached out and took Lina's hand in hers, squeezing it gently. "It's not your fault, Lina. You were intoxicated and vulnerable. He took advantage of you."

Lina shook her head, feeling sick to her stomach. "But I hurt him, Sally. I hurt him..."

Sally sighed, trying to find the right words to comfort her friend. "It's... it's a complicated situation, Lina. What matters now is that we figure out what to do next. We can report this to the authorities, get you the help you need..."

Lina shook her head again, pulling her hand away from Sally's grasp. "No, Sally. I can't... I can't handle that right now. I just... I just want to forget about it, pretend like it never happened."

Sally bit her lip, feeling torn. She wanted to respect Lina's wishes, but she also knew that ignoring what had happened wouldn't make it go away. "Lina, please... you can't keep this bottled up inside. It will eat away at you. You need to talk to someone, get support."

Lina wiped away her tears, her expression filled with anguish. "I know, Sally... I know. But right now, I just need some time to process everything. Can you... can you please just be here for me?"

Sally nodded, her heart aching for her friend. "Of course, Lina. I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

They sat there in silence for a while, the weight of the situation hanging heavy in the air. But in that moment, Sally made a silent vow to herself–she would do whatever it took to help her friend heal from this trauma, even if it meant facing some hard truths along the way.