Faking It With Damian Black novel Chapter 1

~Millie~

‘Baby, are you coming home?’

I fought a grin, reading Hunter’s message.

‘Sorry, I can’t make it. Still swamped with work.’ Phone clutched in my right hand, I looked outside the window as I toyed with my engagement ring.

Hunter and I had been engaged for six months. We dated for two years before he proposed to me at the same bar where we met in Boston three Christmas back. He saved me from a drunken college jock who wouldn’t take no for an answer. It became an inside joke between us that he paid that college guy so he could come to my rescue and sweep me off my feet.

‘[pensive face emoji] I miss you so much. It’s been three weeks since I last saw you,’ Hunter replied.

I can’t help but giggle. The cab driver’s curious eyes locked with mine in the rearview mirror.

‘I promise to make it up to you [pleading face emoji],’ I replied as the cab exited the highway and entered the familiar route of Roslin City.

Excitement made my insides giddy, anticipating how Hunter would react once he saw me on his doorstep. He hates surprises, but I bet he’d like this one.

After finishing college, I took permanent residence in New York, only coming home for holidays. But when I got engaged, I decided it was time to go back home and start building a future with the love of my life.

The cab pulled to a complete stop at Hunter’s apartment building. After paying the driver, I flung my messenger bag over my shoulder and dragged my luggage through the lobby. As the lift door closed, it felt like my heart would burst each floor we ascended. My steps were extra springy as I bound towards Hunter’s unit, toying with the keys in my hand.

Pushing the door open, I meant to sing out Hunter’s name. I knew he was home since it was Saturday, and it was his day off from the department. But no words came out of my mouth when I heard a woman’s voice. Frowning, I shut my mouth and listened closely, looking left to right in the hallway.

My frown deepened. The sound of a woman’s moan became more distinct, and it wasn’t coming from his neighbor’s unit but from inside my fiance’s place.

Dread annihilated all excitement in my system. As my heart drummed in my ears, beads of sweat formed on my spine. With my lower lip trapped between my teeth, I entered the apartment, my stilettos jabbing the floor. My steps weren’t silent by any means. They were just so caught up in fucking one another, lost in the thunder of their moans and groans.

Crossing the entry towards the living room, the fervent sound of lovemaking - no, scratch that, fucking, to be precise - intensified.

“Ah! Fuck me harder, Officer!” The woman’s zealous scream was accompanied by flesh slapping against flesh. Then a loud smack echoed, followed by a man’s chuckle. “Ah!”

“You like being punished like a dirty little slut?” Hearing Hunter’s voice was the final nail in the coffin.

Part of me hoped that Hunter’s friend might have stayed in his place and brought a woman with him. But Hunter was a clean freak. He was unlikely to allow a friend to use his bed.

“Y-yes, Officer!” the woman whimpered, squealing as a series of smacks echoed from the room.

They were even role-playing? Hunter was dominant in bed. I knew this all too well because he introduced me to all sorts of role-playing inside the bedroom. I was hesitant at first, but because I wanted to please him, I agreed to try his ways. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one he liked to play with.

I pinched my eyes shut. Warm liquid rolled down my cheeks.

I didn’t even realize I was crying. An iron hand suddenly materialized around my neck, clutching my throat so tight I couldn’t breathe. I lift my trembling left hand on my lips, suppressing my sobs. The ground I’m standing on turned into marshmallows. I staggered on my skyscraper shoes, feeling lightheaded. Instinctively, I reached out for something to keep me upright. The back of my knees bumped on the coffee table. I lost my balance and fell on my ass. Cups, plates, and utensils above the table crashed on the floor, then complete silence engulfed Hunter’s apartment.

Measly seconds later, the bedroom door swung open, and a half-naked Hunter, pointing his gun around the apartment, stepped out. His gaze dropped to the floor, widening like saucers.

“Millie?” he blurted out. Then, a woman wrapped in the cerulean sheets I gifted Hunter stepped out behind him.

I specifically ordered that color since it was the color of his eyes.

“Wha… what are you doing here?” Hunter stuttered, taking in my current state. He dragged an inked hand over his messy hair, wild and confused blue eyes locking with mine. As though he finally gathered himself together, he kneeled before me and offered to help me stand.

I slapped his hand and used the couch as leverage, standing on my wobbly legs.

I wiped my tears to take in the woman he was fucking seconds ago. Realization hit me like a freight train.

“Natalie?”

“Millie…” Natalie whispered, wild eyes meeting my wounded ones.

Eyes bouncing back and forth between my fiance and my friend, a hairline crack materialized in my heart. It spread so fast; with one poke, it would break into a million pieces.

Natalie was a friend from high school. She reached out to me about the same time Hunter and I got engaged. She was in tears and pretty shaken, told me she had made a few poor deals as a social media influencer. It was so bad that she faced plagiarism charges and lawsuits and lost her apartment in the process. I let her stay in my apartment here in Roslin City until she could get back on her feet and even offered a partnership on some of my contracts. She was supposed to be in California, making a vlog for the newly opened resto bar we recently signed a contract with.

The tangy taste of betrayal made me scowl.

“I... I can’t fucking believe this.” I clenched my trembling fist, molten anger coursed through my body. “How long have you two been fucking behind my back?!”

Natalie lowered her head. Her soft, chestnut curls stuck out in every direction, mascara circled her brown eyes like a raccoon. “We didn’t mean to-.”