Betty's POV

My breath hitched, a forced smile on my face. Kyle, the man I secretly loved for years, was on one knee proposing to another woman

His eyes sparkled like she was the only one in his world. I had no right to feel this way. My breath still hitched, and my fingers curled around the glass.

She was flustered, her hand over her mouth, "Yes, " she squealed eagerly, nodding her head.

A round of applause rang and he slid the ring on her finger.

I downed the entire glass of champagne, The cold drink sliding down my chest couldn't fill the hollow space.

I should be happy he was finally getting together with the woman he loved. Kyle was like a brother to me, his gentle support had been my strongest beacon in my darkest time but my heart couldn't

I have loved him longer than he knew her; he was my first and only love but I could never bring myself to confess.

Maybe he knew but ignored it, worse, I couldn't hate her. Which man wouldn't fall for an angel like Heaven? The applause continued with fireworks lighting the sky.

The engagement party was a grand event considering their status. While everyone was excited, congratulating them, everything faded around me. I grabbed another glass of champagne.

"Bertha, I am glad you came." Kyle's gentle voice chirped beside me. I froze my back against him then drew in a deep breath before I turned to him with a composed smile. "I would not miss it for the world."

Lies, I didn't want to be here but that would hurt him.

His eyes softened, then he glanced at his fiancée sprawled beside him. "Bertha this is Heaven. I have been wanting to introduce you for ages."

Heaven smiled sweetly, her harmless smile didn't have any malicious intent in it yet my heart bled. "I am glad I finally met you. Kyle had told me a lot about his sister." She chimed. I didn't know if she said that to establish territory or if it was harmless

Kyle and I weren't related in any way. Our mothers were friends, so we practically grew up together. He didn't have a biological sister and treated me as such. When my father died he was the one who hugged me when I cried myself to sleep.

The fool who fell in love was me. He was never mine to begin with.

I giggled, my eyes sparkling. "You are such an angel. Kyle is so lucky." I clinked my glass against hers, swallowing a lump.

I couldn't be selfish to ruin such a night. We chatted a bit out of courtesy. She was truly a nice person, if I didn't harbour feelings for Kyle, we could have been friends.

"How are the love birds doing?" A familiar voice chimed from behind me. My hands shook out of reflex. I quickly steadied myself before glancing backwards at the group approaching

They were Kyle's friends. My eyes met with a pair of emerald eyes, but I quickly averted, unable to hold his gaze. It's been 13 years now and still I haven't forgiven the boy who made my life hell.

Ivan Orlov, on the surface, looked like an angel, but deep down, he was worse than the devil.

Ivan deliberately brushed against me, forcing me to glance at me before he gave me a challenging look saying I told you so. He knew of my little crush on Kyle.

"Congrats man, I can't wait for the wedding." Ivan chimed in; he was the one who spoke earlier. They circled Heaven and started praising the couple, each praise was a bitter pill to swallow.

"You are such a gentleman, Ivan." Heaven praised him after all the buttering up. I choked on my drink finding it hard to hear Ivan and gentle in the same sentence.

"Sorry excuse me," I made a silly excuse, coughing awkwardly and fled. Kyle's gaze flickered out of concern but I always knew his soft gaze wasn't like how he looked at heaven.

The cold water from the faucet continued pouring on my skin. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. What was I thinking coming here? It felt like I was some type of melodramatic villain.

The image of how he smiled at Heaven flashed in my mind again. A lump formed in my throat. I have overstayed my welcome here

I switched off the faucet and left the restroom. As soon as I stepped out of the door.

My eyes met Ivan's gaze. He was leaning against the wall, the light cascading on his tall figure at the perfect angle.

He was your typical heartthrob. His ginger hair contrasted with his sharp figure perfectly. That gorgeous face wasn't a thing of admiration for me, more like dread. "What are you doing here Mr Orlov?" I gritted my teeth.

He cocked elegant brows at me, the look of amusement on his face. "I am a bit disappointed. I was looking forward to a bit of drama." He chimed then straightened up slowly stalking towards me.

"I didn't know I was dramatic." I foolishly stepped back, overwhelmed by his towering figure. It brought back unpleasant memories I wanted buried. My back pressed against the wall, and he finally stopped, barely a foot away.

The heat emanating from his skin grazed against mine. His hand reached out for my face, and I instinctively avoided his touch, but he was faster.

He grabbed my chin forcing my blue eyes to peer into his emerald orbs. "I guess you finally grew up or you are better at hiding your tears. Too bad I was looking forward to it "

"At least one person has to grow. You are still a jerk." I taunted him. He clicked his tongue dismissively, his face inching closer, and memories of that one mistake flashed in my mind. A kiss we shouldn't have shared.

My back pressed against the wall to create some distance, Ivan's lips brushed my cheeks then moved to my ears.

His breath was ticklish against my skin. My heart raced as his deep voice echoed."Still the scared little Betty boo." Ivan sneered.

"I might be a jerk but I wouldn't give up without trying. Being a saint doesn't pay." He added then backed away. I glared at him, my fingers dug into my skin.

He smiled sheepishly at me enjoying my glare. The bastard was only trying to rile me up. "Guess your eyes still have some fire. Later Bertha." He chimed and then left. His footsteps faded, and my knees buckled, and I slid to the floor.

My chest felt heavy. All the buried emotions were eating up. Why couldn't Kyle ever love me? The thought ate me up as I sank deeper into despair.

The sharp ringing sound of my phone snapped me out. My eyes narrowed on the strange number, a feeling of foreboding bubbling up.

As soon as the call connected, a crying voice from the other side of the phone answered. "Bertha!!!!!" I heard my cousin cry desperately. Why was she using a strange number?

"Esther, what's wrong?" I anxiously answered, my stomach churned as I quickly stood up.

" Casablanca club room 5, please come, I don't have much time. Something is wrong..." Her voice broke followed by a scream. "What do you think you are doing?!" A male voice snapped at her. My heart beat dropped. It was her boyfriend. What was happening?

"Esther!!" I screamed at the phone, but the line had gone dead.

My body acted quickly, and I rushed out of the venue, not sparing anyone a glance. I quickly found the location and texted mum to inform her about the situation to call the police in case things got really bad.

In a matter of minutes, my car arrived at the location. Esther's phone wasn't going, and I knew I should have waited for the police to arrive, but I went in immediately.

The police were already nearby, nothing too drastic would happen.

The blaring music of the club welcomed me. My eyes darted around to find the stairs. Esther had informed me of the private room number already, so I bolted straight then.

"Open the door," my voice barked, as I rapidly knocked on the door labelled 5. No one answered, there was clearly music playing from the door. "Open the damn door now!!!" I demanded knocking rapidly.

The door suddenly clicked open and I stumbled in.."Bertha, what are you doing here?" Esther's boyfriend calmly said, trying to put up an appearance, but his eyes gave him away.

"Where is Esther?" I demanded. His face was still calm. "She is fine. You are acting like a mother hen." He teased and then pointed at the corner of the room.

Esther was there curled up, her body trembling. "Esther," I called up and her head bobbed up. Relief was written in them.

"She is just drunk." Her boyfriend made excuses. Something flashed in Esther's eyes, a warning I missed. Before I could turn, a sharp pain struck my head and the room spun

"Bertha!!!" She screamed