He blinked at me confusedly, and as I started to pull the suitcase, he rushed forward and took it from me.
“I always knew this day would come,” he whispered, a sad expression on his face. “But it was not my place to speak.”
“You knew about the affair?” I asked.
“I didn’t,” he replied. “But it’s not so hard to realise that you and the master are not happy anymore. I suspected it would eventually come to this, and you would leave each other sooner or later. I guess it was sooner.”
“I wish things were different, Carlos,” I said. “But I cannot stand this sham of a marriage anymore. I’ve held on for too long. I have to leave. For my own sake.”
“I shall miss you, ma’am,” he said as he dragged the suitcase downstairs with me. “These past few years of having you with us has been wonderful. You were truly the best we could have asked for.”
I forced back my tears as I said, “Thank you, Carlos. You have been an amazing friend. Will you inform the rest of the staff for me? I don’t have the strength to say any goodbyes right now.”
“You can count on me, ma’am,” he said as we finally got downstairs and headed for the elevator. “I wish things could have worked out differently.”
He smiled at me, but his smile disappeared as we rounded the corner and found Marcus standing in front of the elevator. My heart dropped into my stomach as my eyes met his, and he smiled wickedly.
“Leaving so soon?” he drawled, swaying slightly. He had clearly been drinking, and I could see it in how unfocused his gaze was. His shirt wasn’t properly buttoned, his shoes were in his hands, and he had used his tie as a belt. He looked like he’d just been dragged through a junkyard, and I wondered how he had gotten this hammered. But it wasn’t my problem anymore.
“I have nothing else to say to you, Marcus,” I said. “Get the fuck out of my way.”
“Y-you bitch!” he hiccuped. “You think y-you’re so much better than me, don’t you? You think you’re a saint, don’t you?”
“Marcus, move,” I said. “Now.”
“Fuck you, Liv,” he spat. “You think I-I wanted to do this? You think I wanted any of this?”
“I don’t care what you want,” I spat. “I don’t give a fuck what you want, Marcus. You can go fuck yourself for all I care.”
For a moment, he looked shocked that I was talking back at him. I’d never actually spoken to him this way before, maybe because on some level, I always felt like he was my superior. But now, I’d thrown all caution to the wind. I wasn’t holding anything back.
Marcus blinked at me like he was just seeing me for the first time. His lips were slightly parted, as though he was about to say something. I was so close to him that I could see the tiny black flecks in his eyes. I could see the slight crookedness of his nose which he always dwelled on, and he always tried to hide in public. But he was a total stranger to me now, and he stared at me like he didn’t know me anymore.
And then he slapped me.
I didn’t even see it coming. One minute I was looking into his eyes, and the next I was on the floor. It was sharp and painful, and it stung as I looked up at him, my mouth open in shock. Marcus had never hit me before. And I couldn’t believe what had just happened.
“How dare you speak to me that way?” he roared, his anger dulling some of the effects of the alcohol. “You think you have the power to even stand next to me? You filthy peasant. I made you what you are today. If it wasn’t for me, you would still be in the gutter right now, searching for scraps and trying to make a name for yourself. I pulled you out of the gutter and made you what you are today. And now you think you have the audacity to stand there and lecture me?”
I was still too dazed by the slap to say anything, and my cheek was burning as he towered over me. I couldn’t look up at him, afraid of what I would see.
“Listen to me very carefully, Olivia,” he said. “This is just the beginning of your worst nightmare. I’m going to make your life a living hell. You think this is the end of it? I’m going to take everything from you. I’m going to make you beg for mercy, and I’ll make sure you’re kissing my feet by the time this is over. I’m going to take everything from you. I’m going to ruin your life so much that even the filthy gutter rats like you won’t recognise you. Believe you me, you’ll wish you’d never been born by the time I’m through with you.”
He stormed off without another word, leaving me right there on the floor. I couldn’t even move, and my ears were ringing from the slap or from his words. The entire lobby was deathly silent, until Carlos moved forward and offered me his hand.
“I’m so sorry, Ma’am,” he said. “I’m so sorry.”
I didn’t say anything as he helped me to my feet, and I didn’t say anything as he rode downstairs with me, and helped me outside. I didn’t even say anything as he helped me find a taxi, and he said a quick goodbye before heading back up to the penthouse.
I climbed into the back of the taxi as we drove off, and I stared out the window and watched the cars flying past. I couldn’t hear them, or anything else. I couldn’t focus on one thing in particular, as a hollow and scathing feeling settled in my chest.
And that was when I started to cry.
