Page 69 of His to Own

The first thing I see is people. A sea of people. Dancing. Drinking. Talking. Singing along to the song playing. It’s a cacophony of sound and I’m instantly overwhelmed.

My legs feel unsteady but I power through. Alisa said her husband told her that Maxim has flirted with other women since we’ve been married. She wouldn’t lie about that. What reason would she have?

I can tell right away that I’m not dressed right for this occasion. All the women around me are in skimpy clothes. Short skirts that show their underwear and low tops that show their bras. My dress feels frumpy all of a sudden. The pearls my mother always insisted I wear feels like a vise around my throat. I don’t belong to a place like this and yet, I am here, determined to get answers.

Maybe I should have invited Lana to join me. She’s always been good about giving me strength. But I was worried she’d stop me from coming and I need the resolve right now to be here.

I move further into the club. A man bumps into me and mutters an apology. A woman accidently gets some of her drink on my skirt. I ignore all of it though. I need to find Maxim. Only Maxim matters.

But the further I get into the club, the more overwhelmed I become. I can’t do this. I need to leave. I spin around but find that I don’t know where I am. The sea of people is too thick for me to see. I can’t find the exit. As my head whips back and forth, that’s when I finally see Maxim.

He’s in a private area on the second floor of the club, seated in a black booth. The railings on the second floor are glass so I can see right through them. That’s how I see Maxim talking with a man. Alisa’s husband, I’m assuming.

And then a woman slides right onto Maxim’s lap and wraps her arms around his neck. I gasp. Maxim gives her his charming smile. The smile he’s used on me. The same smile on his lips when he touched me between my legs.

Tears prick at my eyes and I turn away, unable to stand what I’m seeing. But a man is blocking my way, preventing me from going further.

“Are you lost?” he asks me. “Let’s dance.” He grabs my hand and pulls me onto the dance floor before I can even react. The man has large, sweaty hands and his body odor could be better.

I try pulling away from him but he tugs me in closer. “Let’s have fun,” he says into my ear.

I try pushing the man away. I need to get away. I need to get home. I need…

I feel the darkness coming in at the edge of my vision and I know I’m on the verge of passing out.

Maxim

“Hi,” the woman who slid onto my lap says, batting her eyelashes at me.

“Hello,” I respond to be nice. This woman is a knockout. The kind of woman I’d take home and fuck before I married Elena. Now, it’s only Elena I want to go home and fuck. Whenever she’ll let me.

Gleb huffs. “You always were a pussy magnet. Women are just drawn to you.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” I say to the woman as I offer her my best smile, “but I’m married.” I slide her off my lap.

She pouts. “That’s too bad. Do you have to be married tonight? You can easily take your ring off.”

I swirl my ring around my finger absentmindedly. It’s become a comfort to me there. “I could but I’ll let you in on a little secret.” I lean in closer to her. “I like my wife and I don’t want to cheat on her.”

“That only makes me want you more.”

I chuckle and lean back. “You should run along.”

“Or you could come to me,” Gleb says, patting his large thigh. His even larger belly practically hangs on top of his legs.

The woman grimaces and walks away.

I can’t help but laugh as Gleb frowns. “That’s what you get for putting yourself out there like that, Gleb. You should be happy. You have Alisa at home. She’s a knockout.”

“She only married me for my money. I know she’s fucked other men since we’ve been married.”

I don’t respond. It’s better to stay quiet in situations like this.

My eyes flick down to the club. The large crowd of people and yet, my eyes instantly find Elena. My wife. At this club. What the fuck?

I narrow my eyes, trying to see if that’s really her. But there’s no mistaking it. Elena is here.

And some man has his hands all over her.