“Ahh… Yes… Slower… Mhmm…” Moans carried from the room as Morgan stood by the door, her hand pausing on the doorknob.
"I love you so much, baby. There's nothing I could want more than this.” A male voice intoned. It took seconds for her to recognize the voice of her boyfriend, Jason.
Heart beating faster, she leaned in to listen, even as her hands, still wrapped on the doorknob, started to shake.
“I love you too, Jay. But what about your brother? He's still my fiancé, and he'll be here tomorrow. If he learns of us, he won't take this lightly,” a female voice said from the room.
"With his temper, it would be a stretch. But you're pregnant with our child. And considering how long my mom has been yearning for one, it shouldn't be impossible to get him to back down."
Pregnant? Her head was starting to swirl, her mind refusing to register on this seemingly new reality. No, this wasn't happening.
"And what about the secretary?" the female voice sneered from within the room. "You know, your girlfriend —"
"Don't call her that," he cut in sharply, his tone sounding like a warning.
"Okay, love. But she's always lagging around like some dog, it gets annoying."
"The idiot is not a problem. I can very easily rid myself of her. If not for her dad donating a part of his eye to me, she would have been kicked out of the company a long time ago. I love…" sucking sounds sounded from within the room again, "just you, babe."
Moans and kisses continued. Her lips parted as she shivered with disgust. An idiot. He'd called her an idiot. What better word to describe her stupidity and blind trust than that?
That being her final straw, she slumped to the ground, still holding the knob with a trembling fist. Her heart burned.
Betrayal. The word rang in her head like a song, even as she continued to shake her head. No, there was no way nine good years of loving the same person since middle school amounted to this.
She thought of all the time they've spent together, his assurances of how status can never draw them apart, and wanted to claw her heart out. It hurt too badly.
Their voices dimly carried from the room to where she sat disbelieving on the floor outside, with what seemed to be more moans and kisses. But she wasn't listening.
She vaguely perceived moisture trickling down her face, her mind growing into a haze as the pain threatened to consume her.
After all the sacrifices she'd made for their relationship, what he'd said about me and dad… She squeezed her eyes shut as her fists balled, the pain slowly turning into burning rage.
More moans. More goddamned kisses.
She shot to her feet, almost slamming the door open, but held back. The sight that would greet her… she shuddered.
"Jayson!" She shrieked from outside the room, barely containing her fury.
Sounds of gasps and scurries came from inside, and what seemed like minutes passed before a wide-eyed Jayson stepped out, regarding her eyes with the tears still trickling down her face. "Wh…what are you doing here?"
Sweeping a look at his ruffled hair, and the lady in his T-shirt behind him back in the room, she forced herself to speak over the lump in her throat. "Oh, nothing. Just being the idiot that would have been kicked out of the company had it not been for my dad's donation." Her voice broke on the last words. And she hated herself for it.
Like he hadn't just torn her world in two, he said evenly, "So you heard." Rubbing at his temples, he sighed. "At least now I don't have to go through all the sugarcoating. It's as you've heard it. I love Ashley, and she's carrying our child. We can't date anymore, so if it's compensation you want, I have more than enough —"
"Just shut up!" She shrieked. This was too much. Far too much. Struggling to keep her voice even, she asked, "I just want to know one thing. Have you ever even felt anything at all for me?"
He looked her over for precious seconds. "Look, Mor, you're like a sister to me, and I really…"
She stopped listening. Her eyes slid shut. Because if possible, the pain she was feeling doubled.
"I'm like a sister to you?" Morgan whispered, her mind still struggling to register what was happening. "So you never felt anything for me, and now I'm a sister to you?"
"Yes!" he snapped. "I never felt anything for you, I needed to pass time, and I needed someone who would always be there. And you were really great at it, but now —"
Like something snapped in her head, she raised her hand, giving him a resounding slap. A muscle in his jaw ticked, but she was beyond caring at this point. "I loved you for nine fucking years. We're dating. And this is what I get back in return?" She yelled.
"You couldn't have just told me you weren't into this relationship anymore? I know literally everything about you. From what you like, dislike, eat, what you're allergic to, but oh, what a great sister I am!" She shrieked, the tears now furiously running down her face.
"Mor, calm down," he rasped.
"Quit acting out, Morgan. He's said it clearly enough. He loves me, and you're his secretary. You should be rather glad you still get to work in the Davis group. This is pathetic," this Ashley said from within the room.
Morgan stormed in, grasping her wrist, "Fucking say that again."
"Jay, she's hurting me. I'm in so much pain," Ashley cried dramatically.
Jason shot in after her. "Get your damned hands off her, Mor," He snapped, shoving Morgan to the floor where her head met with the edge of a coffee table at the side.
She slumped to the ground, weakly grasping her head as sharp pain shot through it. Feeling something wet and sticky, she brought her hand before her face to see blood stained on it.
"M..Mor? are you alright?" Jayson stuttered, crouching to yank her upright.
"Leave her. Now." A deep voice commanded from the doorway.
Morgan turned, wincing at the pain through her head, to see a man clad in what looked to be a military uniform. He sat in a wheelchair, which another man pushed from behind further into the room.
He looked familiar. Where had she seen him? She didn't have time to ponder before another sting of pain shot through her bleeding head.
"Carl?" Jason's face turned pale.
"Y-you weren't supposed to be here till tomorrow," Ashley stuttered.
Carl's expression turned deadly as looked Jason and Ashley over, his eyes finally resting on Morgan, who lay with her back to the wall on the floor. "Help her. She needs to be taken to the hospital now," he said to the assistant behind him.
"Yes sir," the man replied, crouching to help Morgan up.
Standing, she took the man's hands off her. "I can walk," she said through gritted teeth.
Mor wanted nothing more than to be out of here. More than the pain in her head, her heart hurt much worse.
Staggering to the door, she didn't look back as she made her way out of the apartment to the elevator. But she could hear someone following after her. Couldn't care.
Before the elevator doors closed, Carl with his assistant, pushing the wheelchair behind him, joined in.
She didn't look at him as the elevator stopped, and she walked absently to the parking lot outside, walking further to look for a cab home.
"You're injured. Stop." She turned to see Carl, with that cold expression still marking his features.
"I just want to go home," she whispered, turning around to walk on.
"No, you're not. I'm not going to just watch you die here, so get in the car," Carl commanded, his tone like ice.
