Chapter 2

Sophia's POV

Security guards stood outside the club entrance. They all froze when they saw me.

I ignored them and pulled out my phone to text that unknown number.

The reply came quickly: [We're in VIP Room 3. Come on up]

I pocketed my phone and took the elevator to the third floor.

End of the hallway, the door to VIP3 was half-open. Music and laughter spilled out.

I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.

Then I saw a scene I'd never forget for the rest of my life.

Alexander had Elaine pinned against the couch, the two of them kissing like they were trying to devour each other. His hand was already under her clothes, covering her chest, rough and urgent.

Elaine moaned softly. Her eyes flicked toward me, flashing with triumph.

"Come home." I said.

No one paid attention.

Four or five other men were in the room. They all looked up from their drinks, turned to stare at me. Their eyes said they were loving this show.

I stood in the doorway. My stomach churned.

"Come home!" I raised my voice.

Alexander finally lifted his head.

His lips were swollen and red, eyes hazy. When he saw me, he froze for a split second, then his brow furrowed hard, obviously annoyed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Taking you home."

Elaine pulled away from him, slowly straightening her messy clothes, looking at Alexander all pitiful. "I'm so sorry, I was the one who called her earlier. I'm making this difficult for you. You should go back..."

Her voice was soft and whimpery, with a crying edge to it.

"Difficult? For who?" Alexander pulled her tighter, kissed her forehead, then looked up at me with ice-cold eyes. "What the hell is she?"

Someone in the room laughed out loud.

Alexander, in front of everyone, leaned down and kissed Elaine hard on the lips. Slow and deliberate.

Then he lifted his head and looked straight at me, as if eagerly waiting to see if there would be any cracks in my expression.

I just looked at him expressionlessly like that, as if he were a child who could never grow up.

After a long moment, he spoke each word clearly and deliberately with anger, "Sophia, you're just a mistress I keep. And you dare to raise your voice at me?"

Mistress.

The laughter in the room got louder.

Someone hooted, "Damn, Alex, your mistress sure likes to overstep!"

Someone whistled, "Mrs. Blackwood, coming to check up on him this late? That's not really appropriate, is it?"

"Right," I said. "So can we go home now?"

My voice was calm. So calm it felt foreign even to me.

Alexander stared at my expressionless face. Suddenly he lost it.

He pulled Elaine even closer, pointed at a row of bottles on the table, and said with a cold laugh, "Drink all of these. Then I'll go with you."

On the table—at least ten bottles of vodka, plus a few whiskeys.

Elaine "gasped" and covered her mouth, but her eyes were shining with excitement. "Alexander, that's so much, won't that be too hard on her..."

"Nah," Alexander laughed, arm around her waist, voice dripping with mockery. "She's got no backbone. She definitely loves to drink."

Everyone in the room was watching me.

Someone egged on. "Drink up! Finish those and Alex'll go home with you!"

Someone laughed. "Guess Mrs. Blackwood isn't so precious after all—gotta drink to earn the right to take her husband home."

Someone whistled, "If you can't finish, Alex is Elaine's tonight!"

I looked at that row of bottles.

Then I walked over, grabbed the first one, and tilted my head back. The truth was, there was some pain in my heart, but it wasn't because of Alexander—it was because he used that face to say such hurtful words to me, making me feel like I could barely breathe.

The burning liquid sliced down my throat. My stomach immediately revolted.

But I didn't stop.

One bottle.

Two bottles.

Three bottles.

The laughter in the room gradually died down.

Alexander's arm around Elaine went stiff. His smile froze on his face.

When I was halfway through the fourth bottle, I suddenly threw up.

Clear liquid mixed with stomach acid splattered across the floor.

The room fell silent.

Everyone was staring at me.

I wiped my mouth. Then I reached for the fifth bottle.

"Enough!" Alexander rushed over, snatched the bottle from my hand and smashed it on the floor. "Sophia, are you insane?!" His face was flushed with rage, veins bulging on his forehead, and his eyes blazed with fury as he glared at me.

I looked up at him.

His face was white. For the first time, there was panic in his eyes.

I smiled.

"But you said," my voice was soft, "I love to drink."

I pushed him away, bent down and grabbed another bottle.

My fingers were shaking. But I still twisted off the cap.

"Sophia!" Alexander grabbed my wrist. "You fucking—"

"I finish these," I cut him off, "and you come home with me. Right?"

I tilted my head back, downed another half bottle.

My stomach felt like it was on fire.

The room was dead silent.

Elaine was hiding behind the couch, face pale, panic finally showing in her eyes for the first time.

I put down the bottle. Looked at Alexander.

"Can we go home now?"

He stared at me in a daze, like he was seeing me for the first time.