Chapter 48: Overkill
"Fuck!" He ruffled his hair and hurriedly moved to look for his underwear. Once he found it by the edge of the bed, he paused, staring blankly as memories from the previous night drifted through his mind in fragments, blurry and disjointed. then it was blank. His head pounded, throbbing with the remnants of something strange. Something felt... wrong. Why couldn’t he remember anything clearly?
He slipped on his underwear, his heart racing as guilt and confusion mingled. His mind flashed to Myra’s accusations, her angry eyes, and his chest tightened with dread.
He made his way to the bathroom and banged on the door. "Myra, please, open up! Let’s talk about this!" His voice was tinged with desperation, his fists thudding heavily against the wood.
Inside, Myra splashed cold water on her face, trying to steady her breathing. Her reflection in the mirror stared back, wild-eyed and filled with rage. How could she have let this happen? The anger, confusion, and betrayal mingled, twisting inside her.
"Go away, Alan!" she shouted, her voice echoing off the tiles. "I don’t want to see your face!"
Alan’s mind raced. He couldn’t remember anything after the first few drinks with her, and the more he tried, the more his head throbbed painfully, clouding his thoughts. He was utterly lost, but he knew he needed to get through to her, to at least understand what had happened.
"Myra, listen, please. I swear, I don’t remember any of this. Something feels off... like we were both... I don’t know." He pressed his forehead against the door, frustrated and panicked. "Just let me explain—"
"Explain?" Her laugh was harsh. "Explain how you managed to do exactly what you’ve always wanted to do? It all makes sense now, Alan. I trusted you!"
"Myra, listen to me. I don’t know what happened, but I need you to know... I would never do this to you. Never. Maybe we drank too much of the wine, and we lost our inhibitions a-and..."
"Just shut up, Alan! And leave me alone!" Myra yelled as she threw off the things she had grabbed from the counter, sending a few bottles clattering to the floor. Her breathing was uneven. She stared at herself in the mirror, her hands gripping the edge of the sink so tightly her knuckles turned white. How had she let this happen?! How?!
She shook her head. This wasn’t the plan! This wasn’t how it was supposed to be! She was supposed to make Alan break off his engagement with Ephyra and then get engaged to her by using the love and desire he had for her as a means to manipulate him.