Chapter 5

Cora's mind went blank. All she could see was the rage in August's eyes as he strode past her.

He went straight to Harlow, who was now sobbing, her body trembling. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a protective embrace.

"August, I..." Harlow cried. "Cora... she brought him here... she..."

"I knew it," August hissed, his voice a low growl. He looked at Cora with utter disgust. "You're even more pathetic than I thought. Trying to set up my fiancée to be assaulted by this pig."

A wave of nausea and the coppery taste of blood rose in Cora's throat. "No," she whispered, shaking her head. "It wasn't me. I swear."

Patel, seeing the storm on August's face, began to back away. August shot him a look that could kill, and Patel scurried out of the room like the rat he was.

Then August turned his full fury back on Cora.

"Get out," he said, the words cold and final. "You're fired. I never want to see your face again."

The words struck her with the force of a physical blow. Her heart felt like it was cracking open. "Fired?"

"August, please," she begged, tears streaming down her face. "You have to believe me. It was Harlow, she..."

"Enough!" he roared. He turned his back on her, focusing all his attention on comforting his crying fiancée. He walked away, leaving Cora alone in the silent room.

As the sound of their footsteps faded, Patel, emboldened by August's departure, slithered back into the room.

"Now, where were we?" he smirked, advancing on her.

Cora's body was weak from the illness, the alcohol, the shock. She backed away until her back hit the cold wall. She was trapped.

As he reached for her, a primal instinct for survival took over. She lunged forward and bit his hand, hard.

He howled in pain and anger. "You bitch!"

He swung his arm back and slapped her across the face.

The force of the blow sent her reeling. Her ears rang, and her cheek stung with a fiery pain. Blood trickled from the corner of her lip.

Her eyes darted around the room, desperate. Her hand closed around the neck of an empty wine bottle on a nearby table.

Without thinking, she swung it.

There was a sickening thud as the bottle connected with the side of Patel's head. He grunted, his eyes rolling back, and he collapsed, his dead weight falling on top of her.

Cora screamed, shoving him off. The bottle, now a weapon, fell from her numb fingers. She scrambled to her feet, her body shaking uncontrollably, and fled.

She ran down the hallway, her only thought to escape. But she stopped dead in her tracks.

From a nearby room, she heard them.

The sound of August's low murmur, and Harlow's soft, pleased sighs.

Her body went rigid. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe.

The sound was a dagger twisting in her chest, a pain so profound it eclipsed everything else.

She doubled over, clutching her stomach as she coughed up more blood onto the pristine carpet.

One room held her personal hell. The other, their private heaven.

She was a ghost haunting the space between.

Tears and cold sweat streamed down her face. She stumbled away, past the shocked stares of hotel guests, and ran out into the night.

The next morning, the police were at her door.

"Cora Salazar? You're under arrest for the assault of Derrick Patel."

She stood there, numb, as they read her rights.

"Mr. August Ortega filed the complaint himself," the officer added.

Her heart, which she thought couldn't break any further, shattered into a million tiny pieces. He had sent the police for her.

She let them lead her away like a wooden doll, her spirit completely crushed.

At the station, a lawyer August had sent-not to help her, but to deliver a final blow-informed her of the details.

"Mr. Ortega is not pressing for jail time," the lawyer said coolly. "He simply wants this on your record. He has also officially terminated your employment. Your personal effects will be sent to you."

It was over. Everything was over.

She was placed in a holding cell. The other women there eyed her with contempt.

"Look at this one," a tough-looking woman sneered. "Trying to sleep her way to the top and got burned. Heard she tried to ruin the engagement of August Ortega."

"Slut," another one spat.

The insults rained down on her, but Cora barely heard them. She was lost in a fog of pain and despair.