Chapter 3 003

Bella's feet moved on autopilot as she wandered down the busy city street, her mind a whirlwind of emotions. She'd thought her relationship with Liam was bad enough-he'd taken her love and twisted it into something unrecognizable. But Damian Blackwood? The way he looked at her, spoke to her, it was like he'd already cast judgment. She was nothing to him but a problem.

The memories of that cold hotel room, Damian's sharp words, and Liam's betrayal clashed inside her, overwhelming her. She needed to clear her head, to figure out what came next. The noise of the city seemed to echo her chaotic thoughts, and every passerby felt like a reminder of how everything had spiraled out of control.

Her phone buzzed again, but this time, it wasn't Liam's name on the screen-it was Lauren, her best friend. Bella stared at the phone for a second before answering, her voice shaky. "Hey."

"Bella! Finally. Where have you been? I've been calling you since last night. You just disappeared from the party, and I-wait, are you crying?"

Bella could hear the concern in Lauren's voice, and it almost undid her. "I... I don't even know where to start," she whispered, choking on the words.

"Okay, slow down. Where are you right now? I'm coming to get you."

"I'm... outside the Waldorf Hotel."

"The Waldorf? What were you doing there?" Lauren's voice was sharp with suspicion.

"I can't explain it right now. Can we just meet up? I don't... I can't be alone right now."

"Of course," Lauren said quickly. "Go to that little café down the street, the one we used to go to. I'll be there in ten minutes."

Bella hung up and made her way toward the café, trying to keep her emotions in check. She hadn't told Lauren about what happened with Liam yet-hadn't had the chance, really-but now she was going to have to lay everything out. The thought of reliving it, explaining the sheer magnitude of betrayal and humiliation, made her stomach churn.

The café was nearly empty when she arrived. She slid into a booth at the back, her mind still foggy with exhaustion and disbelief. She stared blankly out the window, watching people hurry past, their lives normal and uninterrupted. What would it be like to have that-to not have your world implode in a single night?

Minutes later, Lauren burst through the door, her eyes scanning the room before locking on Bella. She rushed over, sliding into the booth across from her, her face a mask of worry.

"Bella, what the hell happened?" Lauren asked, leaning forward, her hands gripping the table.

Bella took a deep breath, trying to keep herself from falling apart. "Liam... he... he drugged me. He set me up, Lauren."

"What?!" Lauren's eyes widened, shock and anger flaring in them. "He drugged you? What are you talking about?"

Bella wiped a tear from her cheek, her hands trembling as she recounted the events of the night. "We went to that party for my birthday, right? And everything seemed fine, but then he gave me this wine. I thought it tasted weird, but I didn't think much of it. And then... I don't know. Everything got hazy. I remember feeling sick, confused. And the next thing I know, I'm in a hotel room, but it's not with Liam. It's with some stranger."

"Oh my God," Lauren whispered, her hand covering her mouth. "That son of a bitch. He... he set you up to make it look like you cheated on him?"

Bella nodded, the humiliation still fresh in her chest. "He left me, Lauren. He and his new girlfriend, the billionaire's daughter. He used the hotel video to claim I cheated, and now everyone's going to think I'm the villain in all this."

Lauren's face turned a furious shade of red. "I swear, if I see him, I'm going to punch him right in his smug face. How could he do this to you? After everything? You gave him years of your life, and he just... did this?"

"I know," Bella whispered, her throat tight. "But that's not the worst part."

Lauren blinked, her confusion evident. "What do you mean? How could it get worse?"

Bella leaned forward, lowering her voice as if speaking the words out loud would make them more real. "The guy I ended up with... it was Damian Blackwood."

Lauren stared at her, her mouth dropping open. "The Damian Blackwood? As in... billionaire Damian Blackwood?"

Bella nodded miserably, running a hand through her hair. "Yeah. And when I woke up this morning, he was just... there. Cold, distant. He didn't even care that I'd been drugged. He just wanted me gone, like I was nothing to him."

Lauren sat back, her hands over her face in disbelief. "Holy shit, Bella. This is... I don't even know where to start."

"I don't either." Bella's voice broke again as she buried her face in her hands. "I don't know what I'm going to do, Lauren. Everything's falling apart."

Lauren reached across the table and took Bella's hands in hers, her expression fierce. "We're going to figure this out. We're going to ruin Liam for what he did to you. And Damian Blackwood? Forget about him. He's just a heartless bastard."

Bella tried to take comfort in Lauren's words, but the fear gnawed at her insides. Damian wasn't someone you just forgot about. He was powerful, and if what had happened last night became public, it would be a nightmare-for both of them.

"I need to get out of here," Bella whispered. "I need to think."

"Where are you going to go?" Lauren asked, her brow furrowed in concern.

Bella shook her head. "I don't know yet. But I can't stay here, with all of this... all of them."

"Stay with me, then," Lauren suggested. "At least for a few days. Until we figure out what's next."

Bella hesitated but then nodded slowly. "Yeah. Maybe I'll do that."

Lauren gave her a small, reassuring smile. "Good. We'll get through this, Bella. One way or another."

Bella wanted to believe her. But deep down, she knew that whatever came next, it was only going to get more complicated.

The next few days passed in a blur. Bella stayed at Lauren's place, trying to avoid social media and the inevitable storm of gossip that was bound to spread after Liam's stunt. She couldn't even think about her job at the marketing firm, much less show her face there, knowing the whispers that would follow her everywhere she went.

But it wasn't just the fallout with Liam that weighed on her-it was the gnawing sense that Damian Blackwood hadn't simply disappeared from her life. He might have been dismissive in the moment, but men like him didn't let things slide easily. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to happen that would drag her right back into the mess she desperately wanted to escape from.

And then, it happened.

Three days after that disastrous morning, a sleek black car pulled up outside Lauren's apartment building just as Bella was stepping out to get some fresh air. Her stomach sank as the window rolled down and she saw the face of the driver-stern, professional, and unmistakably connected to Damian Blackwood.

"Ms. Hart?" the driver asked in a polite but firm tone. "Mr. Blackwood would like to speak with you. Please, get in."

Bella's heart raced, every instinct screaming at her to run. But she knew she couldn't avoid this forever. She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and stepped into the car.

As the door closed behind her, she knew that whatever Damian wanted, it wouldn't be simple. And it definitely wouldn't be painless.