Once Loved, Forever broken

Martha’s POV

“What’s your name?” I crossed my arms over my chests and stepped in front of them, the frown on the corner of my lips evident. And though, the question was directed to the lady, my eyes were trained on Alexander, disappointment and disbelief bubbling through my expression as he stared silently at me.

Really? He was not even going to say anything to his defense? He has a wife and a freaking fiancée!

“It’s Tracy Hopkins to you. Memorize it because you’ll be hearing it more often.” Tracy said with a smirk and ran her hands through Alexander’s hair, twirling the strands as though they were hers to own, then she giggled and brought her pink lips to his neck, planting her lips there briefly.

My eyes squinted in disbelief at her bold actions and I opened my mouth to give her a piece of my mind but quickly stopped when I saw the reaction of Alexander’s face. My heart sank in realization. He looked…okay with it? Why wasn’t he flinching away from her?

If anything, he looked like he was having a good time.

A wave of pain and anger surged through me but I threw my face to the side and sucked on my bottom lips as I reminded myself that I shouldn’t cross the line. I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it and give him the wrong idea. After all, this was solely based on a contract. I wasn’t his real wife—neither was our marriage. None of it ever was real.

But why was I feeling more trapped than ever? Have I perhaps grown too attached to his comfort and presence?

“Tracy,” Alexander cleared his throat, drawing our attention as he massaged a palm into his forehead before speaking any further, “Meet Martha James.”

“And Martha…” I swallowed hard and refused to meet his gaze, my hands clenching and unclenching behind me. How could I face him when I couldn’t even figure out what was going on?

“I’m his fiancée.” Forcing a sweet smile, Tracy stood up from the couch and walked up to me, her eyes flashed a quick irritated look as she outstretched her hands for a handshake. I cocked an eyebrow and stared at the outstretched hands with a frown. The sweet smiles and quirky mood…I knew she was faking it, but why?

Either way, I wasn’t going to accept it.

“Aw, I see you’re not a fan of handshakes. That’s okay…” She mumbled, her tone filled with sadness and hurt—faked one, to be precise. I turned to the side and locked eyes with Alexander. He didn’t say anything but his expressions did. His jaws were clenched, so were the muscles across his arms. He looked like he wanted to say something but he was trying so hard to hold back.

That only infuriated me more as I prepared myself to let my hands do the talking when suddenly, Tracy blocked my view and pulled me into a hug. The action was very surprising…quick, and I just stood there, wide eyed and frozen to the ground, unsure of what to do. Meanwhile, Alexander had his phone to his ears and turned to the side to answer the caller on the line, giving Tracy the perfect opportunity to show her true colors.

“Listen here, Mariam…” She started.

Of course, she wasn’t going to be as friendly as she poised to be. She just had to make everything more insufferable as it already was.

I gritted through my teeth, “It’s Martha.”

“Don’t care,” She chuckled and lowered her voice into a softer tone, making it look like we were actually having a nice conversation. Furious, I tried to pull away but she only tightened the hug and dug a finger into my wrist, the smile on her lips only widening as she made it clear that it was a warning.

A stinging pin shot through my skin, urging me to recoil as I hissed in pain and glared back at her, hard. Who did she think she was? Threatening me and trying to assault me in my own house! Well…not my house per say, but as long as I was Alexander’s, I had almost the same rights as he did!

“Alexander and I are going to get married soon.” She dropped a bombshell that made me freeze in my tracks. What did she just say?

I narrowed my eyes at her, searching for a joke in them, but found none. She was…serious. “So, I suggest you go back to wherever you came from before things get ugly. He will never look at you the way he looks at me, so don’ t even bother about trying to seduce him…. he’s mine. Always will be.” Her words sliced through my heart; each statement felt like a stab to the chest as it only brought back an oddly familiar memory into my senses. I was suddenly reminded of Caleb and Simone, and how she kicked me out from my very own relationship with an unremorseful Caleb besides her.

Was Alexander going to do the same to me?

It shouldn’t hurt, but it did. My breath slowly picked up its pace as it became heavy and ragged with brewing emotions while I glared into her smiling eyes. Satisfied with my reaction, she pulled away and clasped her hands with another fake smile.

“Alright! Looks like we’ve officially met each other here!” She chuckled and tucked some strands of hair behind her ears.

Why did Alexander have a fiancée? Why didn’t he ever bring her up? Why didn’t he even tell me she was just crazy?

Does he really have feelings for her?

Something stirred within the corner of my vision, pulling me out of the train of overwhelming thoughts. My breath hitched a bit as I turned back and watched Alexander slowly peel his eyes from his watch and move away from Tracy’s reach. His brows rose up just a little as he searched my face for something—a reaction that meant he was concerned.

Don’t, Martha. Don’t let him think you’ve already fallen for him...

Oblivious to what just happened, he walked up to me with a small smile and held my hands, then he leaned over to my hearing and whispered. “I’ll explain everything when we get back…right now, let’s focus on the dinner tonight. Our dinner.”

I threw him a brief glare and cocked my head to the side to look at Tracy. She seemed distracted, hugging Alexander’s suit and inhaling the strong masculine cologne emanating from it.

With a scoff, I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head. That was a whole level of creepiness, but who was I to judge again? Looked like I was suddenly interrupting something I shouldn’t have in the first place.

“Is she coming?” I nodded towards her direction. “Your fiancée.” I emphasized on the title, making my anger known. I needed to talk to him privately, without any fiancées shoving their nails down my skin.

My eyes moved to the tension building up at his throat, almost like his words got caught there. He averted his eyes when he noticed I was watching him and looked towards Tracy’s briefly. Why was he finding it so hard to tell me the truth? To tell me what’s going on…?

Blowing his cheeks, he released a hand and ran his fingers through his hair. The same one she’d put her manicured fingers through moments ago.

“Martha…”

“It’s fine,” I feigned a sweet smile and shook my head while withdrawing my hands from his. “I won’t interfere…I’ll just wait for you two in the car.” I pressed my lips into a thin line and held my hand up at him when he opened his mouth to press further. Nothing he was going to say at the moment was going to make the situation any less embarrassing.

“Ugh, she’s coming? I thought this was our dinner, Alex! You were actually serious about her? We’re engaged! You’ve a lot of explaining to do!” Tracy whined, making sure that it was loud enough for me to hear.

The pain in my chest only throbbed more as I walked away from him, half-expecting him to stop me, pull me to the side and explain himself. At least that was the least he could do right now. But he didn’t. I was sure he didn’t even spare a look at my direction the moment I turned my back at them.

Tracy had her arms wrapped around him, engulfing him into a warm embrace. An embrace that shouldn’t be too intimate as she had her chest visibly pressing into his.

With a sharp intake of air, my hands reached out to touch something familiarly hot trickling down my cheeks. I let out a bitter laugh when I realized what it was and quickly wiped off the trail, hoping it didn’t leave any smudged evidence on my makeup.

If he could have a plus one, I was going to have one as well!