The sound of moans and sensual grunts echoed in Fil's ears. Each time sounded louder like a clap of thunder. Her grip on the doorknob tightened until her hand turned white, heart skipping beats, breaths going slow and jagged, eyes wide as she watched two moving figures through the inch gap in the door.
"Ahh…"
'Vincent.' Her call failed to escape her lips.
"Oh, Vincent…"
Her breath hitched and her neck turned taut upon hearing the woman's voice with the man. There was no mistaking it, she thought. The lights inside the bedroom were dim, but their voices alone were enough for her to recognize those voices making sensual sounds under the sheet.
"How could you…" she trailed off, kicking the door open to stop the sinful engagement in the bedroom. "... do this to me?!"
Vincent, Fil's childhood sweetheart turned fiance, and Marianne, her best friend, jumped from her abrupt intrusion. Their eyes slowly dilated upon realizing the person who caught them red-handed.
"Fil, it's not what you think it is!" Marianne gasped defensively while holding the sheet over her bare chest. Vincent, on the other hand, also told her the same.
Fil closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. When she reopened her eyes, she was still in front of the door while those two traitors were still doing their sinful acts.
Fil couldn't do that; she couldn't confront them just as she imagined.
'It's not worth it, is it?' she wondered, snapping her eyes back to the gap of the door. She pressed her lips into a thin line, almost on the verge of pushing this door open and creating a scene. However, she didn't. Instead, she slowly released the door and took a step back.
Gazing at the door, the moans from inside grew louder, as if they were racing to orgasm. Fil balled her hands into fists before she turned, swallowing the rising tension in her throat, walking away from the scene she thought only happened in fiction.
But it seemed she couldn't say that anymore as that cliche twist in fiction was now her reality.
Fil didn't stop from her steps with her mind filled with the deafening noises from the bedroom. She didn't even know who she met on the way out or how she got into the parking space. She only woke up from her daze when she caught Vincent's car.
Turning her head, she bit her bottom lips as hard as she could.
"Traitors…" she whispered, having this overwhelming anger swelling in her chest.
Fil never thought such anger could exist in her heart. And at the heat of the moment, she rushed to her car and opened the trunk. Vincent's golf clubs were still in it. Grabbing the biggest one, Fil marched to Vincent's car with it.
"How could you… do this to me?!" she spoke through her gritted teeth, swinging the golf club up to pour her anger on his beloved car. When she swung it down, she stopped even before the golf club could hit his side mirror.
Bitterness shone in her eyes, mentally screaming to herself to do it. Breaking his car might not mend her broken heart, but she had to do something. He hurt her, so she should do something to hurt him, even if it was the slightest. But alas, she couldn't do it.
"Hah…" Fil dropped her hands to her side, and a tear rolled down her cheek. "This will not hurt him just as much."
Vincent might have the hassle for a while, but he could easily ask someone to fix his car. She didn't want that. She didn't want to part with him with minimal damage. What he had done cut her heart deeper than she could put into words. For sure, this would leave a deep scar that would haunt her even with her eyes open.
"Vincent," she whispered, wiping the single tear on her cheek. "Marianne, I will make you pay a hundredfold for fooling me."
Fil swallowed the tension in her throat, staring at her faint reflection in the tinted car window. She stood there motionless for a minute before hitting the tires with the golf club and then walked back to her car. For the first time in her life, Fil felt a call for revenge.
Perhaps it was the inexplicable anger within her chest she couldn't find it in her heart to forgive them. What they had done was not only unspeakable, it was wicked in every way. She could never forgive the man who spoke words of undying love and devotion and a friend who promised loyalty, only to mock her behind her back.
Never again.
An eye for an eye.
She would make them pay heavily.
*******
Until now, Fil couldn't remember bearing such malicious intent in her heart. She was the epitome of a good girl, a woman who held the sanctity of marriage and everything in it in high regard. She never bore maliciousness in her heart, always forgiving those who wronged her, and repaying them with kindness.
It had been her way to retain her peace to stay in the graces of the good lord.
But how come she couldn't forgive now?
"The pastor said what I've seen was something He had always wanted to show me. And that I take it as a blessing in disguise." Fil smiled bitterly, still hearing herself despite the booming noises in the nightclub.
After finding out the wicked truth about her fiance and best friend, Fil found herself in the church. She confessed the building malice within her, in hopes it would help her ease the pain in her heart. Sadly, even if the pastor made a clear point, the pain and feelings of unrest caused by Vincent's and Marianne's betrayal had crystallized into something more concrete.
This explains her presence in the nightclub where Fil wouldn't be seen normally.
Sitting by the bar counter, she stared at the glass of tequila the bartender gave her after her vague request for something solid. All her life, she only had wine on rare occasions. This would be the first time.
"A first time," she murmured, picking up the glass with resolve in her eyes. "Two decades wasted… let's see if this will help erase at least a year of that."
With that thought in mind, Fil chugged down the drink in one go. She held her breathing so as not to taste it, swallowing it hard, hissing as the heat immediately lined down her throat.
"Hah…" she breathed out through her gaping mouth, almost in disbelief at what she had done.
"Woohoo!"
Fil flinched when she heard a joyous scream on the dance floor. Turning her head, she caught people dancing to their heart's content, letting themselves loose to forget or maybe to remember.
"I'm not drunk enough to join them," she told herself, smiling as the heat of the alcohol brought a bubble of warmth to her body. When her eyes fell on the empty glass in her hand, a deep sigh escaped her.
'I don't understand why people like it when it tastes so nasty,' she thought and then looked back at the dance floor once again. 'I guess that's the reason.'
Her lips curled up as she cast the bartender a look. "Can I have another one, please?" she raised a finger to earn the bartender's attention. "Give me something that will give me the courage to dance over there without shame."
The bartender offered her a smile, making her another drink without conditions. Fil received the glass with a wide smile, biting her plump lips as she took another deep breath, excited with the thought this might help relieve the pain in her heart. If not, it would help her forget, even for a night.
With that thought in mind, Fil chugged down the second drink. This time, she swallowed it with a satisfied hiss.
"One more!" Her voice was laced with a tinge of excitement. Her eyes twinkled, making the bartender assess her as if wondering what type of drink he would give her. He still served her another drink, which she consumed just as she held the glass.
One, two, three… and then Fil started losing count.
She knew it was foolish to suddenly turn away from everything she believed in. It was as if something within her switched in a snap of a finger. The mere thought of locking herself in her room and crying herself to sleep while those cheaters sleep peacefully in each other's embrace would drive her to insanity.
Fil was already miserable, but she might as well not give those two the satisfaction of hurting her more than they already did.
"Shot! Shot! Shot! Shot!"
"Woah!!"
"Hah!!" Fil raised her glass as she wiped her lips with the back of her hand, hearing the applause and cheers from the crowd. Looking around, she couldn't help but wonder, since when did these people flock around her?
Earlier, the people in the nightclub were either on the dancefloor or at their respective tables. But now, some of them were around the bar counter, cheering for her to take the shot.
"Another one! Another one!" The crowd started cheering once more, their united voices almost equal to the sound of the music.
"Does it matter?" Fil asked herself quietly, laughing as she glanced at the last filled shot glass among the nine empty glasses on the table. Her body swayed a little and her fingertips were equally cold, or maybe a little numb.
It didn't matter to her how these people gathered around her. What mattered was they were having fun, including her. Fil never had any memories of having fun in this sort of way. This was another first.
"Another one!!" she screamed, evidently borrowing confidence and shamelessness from the poisons she had been digesting in her system. The crowds roared wildly right after her cheer, watching her pick up the last glass and drink it in one go.
"Woah!!!"
"Hah!" Fil slammed the glass down, not caring if she broke it or not. Fortunately, it didn't
Her lips stretched from ear to ear as she turned to the crowds, giggling at their wild reaction. As she did so, her vision suddenly shook and she felt something bubbling from her stomach straight to her throat. She held her head to keep herself still. The crowd was still going wild, only for her to realize a guy was wasting away on the stool beside her. Seeing there were still filled glasses near him, she realized the reason these people had crowded the bar counter.
'Right,' she chuckled to herself, having this strange sense of accomplishment. 'I challenged this guy when he tried hitting on me, and I won.'
This was the first time she truly won a challenge. Even though it was an unofficial contest, she won!
"Hehe." She giggled, but then she covered her mouth as she felt something rising to her throat. 'I think I'm about to throw up.'
Without regard for the moment of glory, Fil hastily jumped from her stool and squeezed her way out of the crowd. They were still cheering for her, some even shouting in her ear as she made her way out. But fortunately, no one stopped her from heading to do her business.
"Gosh…" she breathed out, searching for the bathroom to relieve herself. "That last drink has something in it."
After that last drink, Fil had to admit she was now drunk. She was no longer just tipsy or confident to be the center of attention.
"Where is it again?" she wondered, looking around the nightclub she knew she would never be familiar with. The flashing lights and the loud music weren't helping. It was only making her current problem worse.
Catching a quiet path on the side of the nightclub, Fil rushed in its direction, hoping it would lead her to the bathroom. A few people came out on her way, and as she walked further into the hallway, the music sounded even more distant.
This must be the way, she thought, glancing up at the end of the corridor to see a sign. Her vision was a little blurry, but she assumed it was a sign of the bathroom. In a hurry, Fil picked up her pace and reached the end of the corridor in no time.
But alas…
Just as she turned, a figure came up from the end of the hallway. Fil abruptly bumped her forehead against something sturdy.
"Ouch…" she rubbed her forehead, but somehow, the collision forced her to sober up a bit. "That…"
Her brows rose a little upon noticing she collided with someone and not with a wall. Lifting her pair of amethyst eyes, her lips parted as soon as she locked eyes with the pair of topaz like a fox mirroring her.
How beautiful.
Fil had never met such a beautiful person in her life. Even the charming Vincent would pale in comparison if he stood beside this man. She had done many 'firsts' tonight, and meeting such a pretty person was also a first for her. What she didn't know was the words that escaped her mouth would make it to the top of this list;
"Will I go to hell if I lose my virginity before marriage?"