140 140- She Is Mine!


    Marissa could sense lingering gazes from the men around her when she stepped into the nightclub. The grey shimmery dress she was wearing was catching the light with her every move. It was hardly covering her thighs, but Marissa wanted to take advantage of the chance when the kids were staying with their father.


    Though Sophie and Flint kept encouraging her to unwind, she never went with it.


    She scanned her surroundings and found Gerard sitting at the bar.


    “Hey,” she greeted, sidling up next to him.


    “Woah! Look at you!” His eyes lightened up, “You look beautiful. As always!”


    Marissaughed. Tonight, she felt different. Her ck hair was down and was just secured from the front, “I know. Now you can keep your ttery to yourself, G.” she then looked at his ss, “What are you drinking?”


    “A wh


    “A whiskey. Want one?”


    Marissa nodded and then checked her phone. She was sure that Rafael would try to contact her


    when wouldn’t find her at home.


    She switched it to silent mode and ced it back in her purse.


    With a grin, she epted the drink, Gerard handed her and took a sip. She observed her ss. A strong drink after ages!


    “More!” she mmed the ss on the counter and yelled at the bartender.


    The music was loud, and Marissa started tapping her foot with the beat. She didn’t know how many sses she had but why bother?


    She eyed the dance floor which was a sea of bodies.


    <i>So </i><i>much </i>crowd on a weekday. Are all of them having fumigation at their workce? She thought.


    with amusement.


    “G! Let’s dance!” she suggested and then started pulling him towards the dance <b>floor</b>. He didn’t resist and followed her eagerly.


    Once they were there, their bodies started moving in sync. Marissa felt like a free soul whose worries were melting away with each dance step.


    At least for the time being she stopped thinking about Rafael and kept dancing. She joked and flirted with the other guys around her.


    For one crazy moment, she wanted to call Delinda and tell her that she was dancing and flirting with men and a few of them might be married.


    With a shake of her head, she threw Delinda out of her head.


    She wanted to feel alive and for that, there wasn’t any need to remember the dead rtionship.


    While mowiner with the rhythm a man in his fortice caught her eve. He <b>was </b>standing at the <b>ador</b>


    140 <b>140</b>–She Is Mine!


    of the dance floor, his eyes were fixed on her.


    His gaze was too intense, and he was giving her an ufortable vibe.


    <i>Urgh</i>. <i>This </i>is unsettling. <i>Why </i>can’t <i>he </i>let me <i>enjoy</i><i>?</i>


    She held Gerard’s cor who was dancing with her and drew him closer to whisper in his <b>ear</b><b>, </b>“Who’s that creep?”


    Gerard saw her nod in the man’s direction and nced over with a frown, “Ignore him. Such weirdos are always found in the nightclubs. You just enjoy your time<b>.”</b>


    Yeah. He <i>is </i><i>right</i>. <i>I </i><i>already </i><i>have </i>enough <i>problems </i><i>in </i><i>life</i>. No <i>need </i>to <i>add </i><i>more </i>to <i>my </i><i>te</i>. She tried to brush it off but the odd feeling that she was being watched and was on someone’s radar. She couldn’t shake it off.


    She tried hard to throw herself into the music and resumed her dancing andughing.


    But every time she would nce around, the man was still there, his eyes following her like a


    hawk.


    At one point, her dancing became so intense that she stumbled slightly. Her vision started swimming and she had to lean on Gerard for support, “I think I drank too much,” she giggled.


    “Let’s get you back to the bar,” he led her back and made her sit.


    “G! I think I need water,” Gerard nodded and was talking to the bartender when a couple moved. closer to them. Their excitement and panting were the telltale signs that they wereing fromProperty belongs to N?vel(D)r/ama.Org.


    the dance floor.


    “Why are you here, Gerard?” the man asked him, “Come back. The party just started, then the couple saw how she was holding his sleeve.


    “Who is she?” the girl asked <b>him</b>.


    “She is a friend of mine. I invited her after getting dumped by my date, Gerard exined and gave the ss of water to Marissa.


    Marissa had gotten the idea that they were Gerard’s friends.


    The girl didn’t even smile at Marissa as if she wasn’t there at all, “She doesn’t look much used toing here. Nowe back. She isn’t a baby and can take care of herself, she then gave a fake smile to Marissa, “won’t you, honey?”


    Marissa gave a subtle push to Gerard, “You go ahead. She is right. I’m not a baby”


    “Are you sure?” she nodded with a smile and saw him going to the floor with his friends. She had reachedte so there weren’t any introductions made.


    She took a few sips from her ss but now the taste of water felt nd. She should have taken it <b>easy </b>and not get so drunk.


    She would ask Gerard to drop her back home–must be nning to stay here all night but still, as a friend, she could push him to do it for her.


    Just then she felt a hand <b>on </b>her <b>shoulder </b>She turned and found herself face to <b>face </b>with the


    140 140- She Is Minel


    man who had been staring at her from a distance.


    “Hey beautiful,” he said <b>in </b>a drunk voice, “Are you having a good time?”


    For some reason, Marissa’s skin crawled at his touch, “Uh, yeah,” she tried to keep her tone light,


    “I am…”


    here


    She tried to remind herself that she wasn’t alone and this man would never dare to harm her among so many people.


    “Maybe we both should dance together on that dance floor and set that stage on fire?” he suggested stepping closer and Marissa felt her heart racing in her chest.


    “I’m… I’m sorry… but… I don’t think … we…<b>” </b>She looked around and then watched the dance floor where she got a glimpse of Gerard.


    She grabbed her purse and tried to stand to get to him when the man held her upper arm in <b>a </b>tight grip.


    “Do you know who I am?” he whispered and even in this perfectly air–conditioned room, Marissa felt sweat tickling down her forehead..


    His hand moved down and rested on her thigh, “I’m a rich guy who is here for a two–day trip. Stay with me and I’ll make sure to shower my love on you.”


    Marissa gave him a quivering smile and nodded at him, “Really?”


    He nodded looking into her eyes.


    “Th…that’s great. Where do you want to do it? Here or bathroom?” the man seemed to get excited at the offer. He licked his lower lip and nced around.


    “A piece like you deserves privacy. Let’s go to the bathroom,” during all this his grip had loosened. It was a golden chance, so she used it and pushed him with all her might.


    Maybe she was drunk. Or maybe her mind was cked out.


    In sheer panic, instead of making a run for the dance floor, she dashed for the exit.


    The room was spinning before her eyes, but she wanted to get out of here.


    The moment she was out, she took deep breaths in the cool air and held her reeling head. Her first impulse wa ke her phone out and call Rafael.


    Yes. He’ll pick me up without dy.


    Everything was swaying before her eyes. How would she make the call if she won’t be able to make sense of the screen<b>?</b>


    With shaking hands, she took out her phone and wanted to switch it on when someone pushed her back a little brutally making her drop the phone.


    “Where were you running, beautiful? You meaty treat! Now stop resisting me ande to <b>that</b>


    140 140–She Is Mine!


    Gulping hard, Marissa took a step back, but he moved closer quite abruptly, his breath was hot, “Come on, darling. Don’t be shy. Don’t you want a good time with me?” he kissed her ear lobe and Marissa felt nauseated by the unwanted touch.


    “L–Leave me a–alone… p–please,” what on earth was she thinking when she decided to leave home without informing anyone? Nobody knew where she was except… except Gerard.


    <i>Oh</i>, God<i>! </i><i>Why </i><i>didn’t </i><i>I </i><i>go </i>to <i>him</i>? <i>Has </i>he <i>even </i><i>realized </i>that I’m <i>not </i><i>there </i>anymore?


    Even if she had called him, he would never hear the phone ring due to loud music.


    She felt the man’s hand touching her arm, “There is nothing to think about. I promise, I’ll make it memorable,” he was whispering meaningless words. His speech wasn’t slurred which meant he wasn’t as drunk as her.


    He grabbed her from behind and kissed her neck.


    Marissa started struggling to free herself, looking around in the deserted street. Her skin was crawling at his touch.


    “Help!” she let out a trembling scream that had fear in it because the man was now holding her long locks tightly in his fist. His other hand, held her jaw to kiss it when a punchnded on his face. The creep let Marissa go and held his nose with a scream.


    Gerard? She thought.


    “How dare you touch her?” Marissa froze when heard the familiar iciness in Rafael Sinir’s voice. Her abuser had also gone still when the samemanding voice cut through the air with a snarl, “How dare youy your hand on her? She is mine!”