Forbidden: His Father's Desire

SANDRA'S POV

The door slams behind me harder than I expect, the sound echoing down the hallway like a gunshot.

I keep walking fast anyway. If I stop, even for a second, I know I'll lose it completely.

My legs feel weird beneath me, stiff and heavy at the same time, like my body is moving without waiting for my brain to catch up. My ears are still ringing from everything that happened upstairs.

Pamela. Austin. The bed. I press the elevator button harder than necessary, breathing unevenly as silence closes around me. The hallway suddenly feels too small, too quiet, like the walls are moving closer every second I stand there.

The elevator doors slide open. I step inside quickly and the second they close, I'm alone with my reflection.

I look awful. My mascara's smudged beneath my eyes, my lips trembling slightly no matter how hard I press them together. I stare at myself in the mirror and barely recognize the girl staring back at me.

A few hours ago, I was happy. That memory hits hard enough to make my chest ache.

Dad had smiled at me over breakfast this morning, coffee mug still in his hand. "You're glowing," he said casually. I remember laughing softly and shaking my head. "I'm not glowing."

"You are," he insisted, pointing at me like he'd figured something out. "Let me guess. Austin finally proposed?" My smile faded instantly after that. "Dad, we're twenty. Nobody even gets engaged that young anymore."

"Your mother and I did."

"That was like a hundred years ago," I muttered, making him laugh. But then he looked at me again, softer this time. "Still...... you're happy. That's what matters."

The elevator jolts slightly as it reaches the lobby, dragging me back to the present so hard it almost hurts.

The doors open and I walk out quickly before I start crying again. The lobby is polished and quiet, expensive in that cold, perfect way rich places usually are. Soft music plays somewhere in the background while people walk past like nothing happened upstairs.

I push through the glass doors and the night air hits my face immediately. Cars pass. Streetlights glow. People laugh somewhere across the street. The world keeps moving like nothing changed.

Meanwhile I can barely breathe. My phone vibrates violently in my hand and I already know who it is before I even look down.

Austin. I stare at his name flashing across the screen and something bitter twists inside me.

The nerve of him. The call ends. Then another starts almost immediately. I decline it again.

A message appears seconds later. *Babe, where are you? Pick up the phone.* Another one. *Sandra, don't do this.* Then another. *Babe, listen to me. You're taking this too far. We need to talk properly.*

I actually laugh. Not because anything's funny. Because what the hell else am I supposed to do?

My fingers tighten around the phone before I lock the screen without replying. Then it vibrates again.

Pamela.

For a second I just stare at her name. I open the message anyway. *Sandra please, I'm so sorry.* Another one appears immediately after. *I never wanted you to find out like that.*

Something hot flashes through me instantly. So there was a better way to find out my boyfriend was screwing my best friend behind my back?

I block her number before I can think twice about it. Gone. Just like that. My throat tightens painfully and I tilt my head back for a second, blinking hard against the pressure building behind my eyes.

Don't cry again. I step closer to the curb and raise my hand for an Uber.

I can't go home yet. I can't sit across from Dad pretending I'm okay when I feel like somebody reached inside my chest and ripped everything apart with their bare hands.

The Uber pulls up a minute later and I slide into the backseat quietly. "Where to?" the driver asks.

"The Sterling Hotel." The words leave my mouth automatically. Dad uses that hotel for business meetings sometimes. Expensive. Private. Nobody asks questions there.

he car pulls away from the curb and merges into traffic while city lights flash across the windows beside me.

My phone vibrates again.

Lena. Calling. Again. And again. I stare at her name for a long second before finally answering. "Hello?" My voice sounds hollow even to me.

There's immediate silence on the other end before Lena speaks. "Sandra?" Her voice sharpens instantly with concern. "What the hell happened?"

"I'm fine." The lie comes too fast. Lena exhales slowly. "No, you're not." I close my eyes briefly and lean my head against the window, exhaustion crashing into me all over again. "I said I'm fine," I whisper softer this time, but even I can hear how broken it sounds. "Talk to me." Her voice gentles immediately. "Please. You're scaring me."

My throat burns. I stare out at the passing lights outside the car because focusing on something else feels easier than answering her.

"What happened?" Lena asks quietly. I shake my head before realizing she can't even see me. "I can't talk about it right now."

A pause. Then carefully, "Is it Austin?" My grip tightens around my phone. That silence tells her enough. "Oh my God," she breathes softly. "Sandra......."

The sympathy in her voice almost destroys me right there. "I'm coming to you," she says quickly. "Just send me your location, okay? I'll be there in ten minutes."

"No." The word comes out sharper than I mean it to. The driver glances at me briefly through the mirror before looking away again. I swallow hard and lower my voice. "I don't want to see anyone right now."

"You shouldn't be alone."

"I need to be."

"No, you don't," Lena says immediately, and damn, the way she says it almost makes me cry again.

Because she sounds scared for me. Everything inside me feels wrong right now. Heavy. Hollow. Numb all at once. "I'll call you later," I whisper quickly before she can argue more.

"Sandra, wait-" I hang up. Silence fills the car immediately after.

No Austin. No Pamela. No Lena trying to save me from falling apart. Just me and my thoughts. I lean my head back against the seat and stare at the ceiling while the city moves outside the windows in blurred streaks of light.

Everything keeps replaying in my head no matter how hard I try to stop it.

The sheets. Pamela's face. Austin pulling his shirt on like none of it mattered. "It didn't mean anything."

My chest aches quietly. Like somebody hollowed me out from the inside and left nothing behind. I close my eyes for a second and let out a shaky breath. Then whisper softly into the darkness of the car, "I just need to not feel anything tonight."