Niki

Everything with Aiden is so intense. The foot rub was no different. Deciding to distract us with food, I call down to room service and order a sundae bar with extra whipped cream. I would be lying if I said I didn’t imagine what else we could do with it, but until he can free himself of whatever baggage he is carrying around, I’ll push those thoughts down.

Running to grab an extra sheet, I spread it out on the floor, getting ready for our ice cream picnic when I hear the door open.

“Hey! I thought you would take a little longer. I have a surprise—” I round the corner and am shocked to see who is standing in the middle of the room.

“Carmen?” I’m confused as to how the lady from the pool is here, standing in the middle of our suite. She’s wearing a blood-red wrap dress and oversized sunglasses.

This screams of a Lifetime movie situation. Those never end well.

“Hello, Niki. How’s your trip so far?” she asks, acting as if this is a normal, everyday occurrence, walking into a stranger’s hotel room and having tea time conversation.

“It’s good, and don’t get me wrong; it’s nice to see you, but how did you get into my hotel room?”

“Hahahaha! Your hotel room?” Her voice is equal parts evil and shrill.

“I’m sorry?”

“Miss Sanders, I believe you are confused…wait, let me remove these first.” She takes off her glasses and steps toward me. “I don’t want anything to disrupt my vision when I see your reaction to this. “This isn’t your hotel room. This is my husband’s.”

Liar!

This lady is crazy. Looking to see which phone is closer, I gauge the time it would take for me to run to one and call down to security.

“Carmen, I’m afraid you are mistaken. This room belongs to my boss, Aiden Alexander, the president of Xandros Pharmaceuticals.” I take a step to the right after deciding the bar phone is closer.

“Well, then. I’m afraid we haven’t been properly introduced.” She walks up to me, holding out her hand. “I’m Carmen Alexander, the wife of your boss, Aiden Alexander.”

This can’t be happening!

I can’t even begin to understand how I’m feeling. She’s lying. There is no way Aiden would omit the fact he is married.

Or would he? “I can’t be who you need me to be.” His words play over and over in my head.

“Oh! Shit!” I bend over, hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath.

“Oh dear! You’re going to be one of those.” She comes over to rub my back.

Jerking away from her touch, I snap, “Get away from me.”

“So, you are a feisty one. I thought you would be.” She walks in a circle, examining me from head to toe. Lifting up a piece of my hair, she says, “Hmmm. I’m surprised he chose a brunette. You’re different from the others.”

Others? There are others?

I try to tilt my head away, but she yanks me back. “Shit!” I exclaim.

“I’m not done with you!” Her smile is wicked, and when she lets go, I take a step back, putting some distance between us.

“You need to get out!” I scream. I’m starting to lose my shit with this bitch.

Where is Aiden?

“You have been traveling with my husband for almost a month. I think you owe me a few minutes of your time.”

“You’re crazy.”

She shrugs her shoulders. “My mental state is debatable.”

“Can you please leave until Aiden gets back, and then we can discuss this further?”

“You stupid cunt.” She slowly shakes her head back and forth. “What is there to discuss? Aiden is married, and I’m his wife. We even had a church wedding and cake. Gasp. Can you believe it?” She brings her hands to her cheeks, feigning shock.

“I just…”

The receipt. My bracelet and two watches. His and hers.

Looking down at her wrist, I see a diamond encrusted watch. “Your watch. When did you get it?”

“You really are wasting my time, but I’ll play along so you can work this all out in your pretty little head.” She rolls her eyes. “When he got back from New York. He bought mine the same time he purchased yours.”

“I don’t even know what to say.”

“Well, the others didn’t seem to care. They just accepted the gift and kept on fucking my husband, knowing it was two of a kind.” She counts on her hand, “Doing the math, it would have been cheaper, and less of a headache, if he just bought a prostitute.”

He would have told me. She’s crazy.

“Let me make this clear for you. Aiden is married – to me. You will never be enough to make him leave. I own him. If he leaves, he loses everything his family worked so hard to achieve.”

“You said there are others?” I’m trying to make sense of what she is saying.

“I was wondering when you would catch on.” Her laugh is like nails on a chalkboard, but I need to hear the answer. Am I just another notch in the bed post? “Well, let’s see if this sounds familiar.” She starts ticking them off one by one. “Your first encounter, hot and seductive, and it didn’t go any further because he had to leave, but not before he stored his number in your phone when you weren’t paying attention.”

I never found out how he programmed his number in.

“Then, you had a playful text war, back and forth, where you finally agreed to meet him because he had this one-of-a-kind proposition. This part always makes me laugh because if you think about it, he bought you. Which can either be considered prostitution or human trafficking…and since you went willingly…I’m going with prostitute.”

“I’m not a prostitute.”

“Honey, it’s okay. Julia Roberts made it appealing in ‘Pretty Woman,’ but let me tell you,” she holds her hand up to her mouth, whispering, “Aiden is no Richard Gere.” She winks.

“I didn’t—”

“Let me finish. Now, where did I leave off? Kissing, check. Text, check. Offer, check.” She holds up a finger like a light bulb went off. “Then, he gave you the Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde act.” She lowers her voice, “I’m Aiden Alexander, big bad businessman. I don’t love anything or anyone.” Her voice is now higher, “I’m Aiden Alexander, soft, loveable. I can’t give you what you need. Love me. Pick me. Choose me.” Her eyes roll again. “That Aiden…he’s a little pathetic, if you ask me.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“Niki, you’re no fun. I really thought you would play the role of ‘the other woman’ better. Where’s Niki the badass? The one who is feisty and fierce? Come out and play with me, Niki. You know you want to.” She curls her finger at me, calling to my inner demons.

“Carmen, I think you’d better go. Aiden, will be back—”

She cuts me off, looking at her watch. “In 3, 2, 1…”

The door opens on her cue. Aiden is on his phone and doesn’t see us in front of him. “The front desk had no idea—” The sight of both of us stops him in his tracks. Looking from Carmen to me and back again, he asks, “What are you doing here?”

Stalking over to Aiden, she reaches up to give him a kiss. He turns his cheek. “What, no kiss for the wifey?” She pats his chest, and Aiden stiffens. “Did your poor, pathetic whore take them all?”

“She’s not a whore.

He’s married.

“Aiden?” A lone tear escapes down my cheek.

“Niki, let me explain.” He throws her hand off him. “Please.”

“Oh, that’s so cute…I think he may like you Niki. Don’t you think?” Carmen grips her chest. “My Aiden does have a sweet side…for a liar.”

“Fuck off, Carmen. Niki, please, just give me a chance to explain.”

I can’t take this. This man made a bid for me, and I accepted. He bought me, claiming me as his, only to brand me forever as the other woman.

“Fuck you and the motherfucking white horse you rode in on, Aiden Alexander.” I yell, storming to the bedroom.

“I was going to tell you, but I had to figure out Carmen’s next move first.”

He is on my heels when I swing around, pushing him as hard as I can. “I’m not a pawn in your chess game.”

“Checkmate!” Carmen yells from the other room.

Flipping her the bird, I head to the closet to get my bag.

“Niki, please.” He’s behind me, grabbing me by the waist, pulling my back to his front. “Just give me ten minutes to explain. In private.”

Laying my head back, I close my eyes, loving the feeling of what could have been, but that’s not my reality. Aiden Alexander lives a life that I never even knew existed. A life I can no longer be a part of.

“Aiden, please let me go.” He drops his hands.

Throwing my suitcase on the bed, I start to grab my things but realize, I don’t have anything that is mine except for my makeup. Heading to the bathroom, I take my small bag and stuff it into my purse and head for the door.

“Really? That’s it? Niki, I would have bet money that you would have given a better show.” Carmen takes out her wallet, flipping through the hundreds. “I’ll give you five hundred to make your exit epic.”

No, she didn’t.

Walking up to Carmen, I grab the money and count it.

“See, Aiden? Just like the rest of them. At least, you know—”

I cut her off with a right hook to the jaw. “Checkmate, you fucking twat!” I throw the money at her face, grab my cell, slide on my flip flops and head for the door.

“You asked for it, Carmen,” Aiden laughs as he chases me.

“What?” I roar, turning around. “That is your fucking wife, you son of a bitch. YOUR WIFE!” I scream, throwing open the door and slamming it shut.

“Goddamn it, Niki!”

The door must have hit his hand, but I don’t stop to look. I keep walking, heading for anywhere but here.

“Niki…please.” He’s now in front of me, walking backward, begging. “I don’t love her.”

“You married her. Does that not count for anything?”

“I did love her, but you experienced her. She is not the person I thought she was,” he confesses.

“Well, you guys make the perfect pair, then, because you aren’t the person I thought you were, either.” I throw him a glare while trying to step around him, but he moves with me.

“Please, don’t leave. I’ll send her away, and we can talk. Just don’t leave me. I need you.” He stops me, holding my shoulders so I can’t move.

“What is there to talk about? Did you think you could make me fall for you, then tell me? Keep me on the sidelines for a week, maybe a year? How long were you going to string me along, huh?”

“I don’t know.”

I push him away. “You don’t know? What kind of answer is that, Aiden?”

“I never expected to find someone like you. You were different.”

There it is!

“Different from what? The others?”

“It’s not like that, and if you would give me ten minutes, I could explain,” he pleads.

“What about the others, Aiden? Because there were others, weren’t there?” I pause, giving him a second to admit it. “Did you do everything with them that you have done with me? Did you tell them how different they were? Show them the real you? Do you even know who the real you is? Do you, Aiden? Because I’m beginning to think you have no clue.”

“You’re right. I have no clue who Aiden Alexander is anymore, but I do know when I’m with you, I start to remember.”

His words break me. A hurricane of emotions storms through me, destroying any last hope I had of this all being a nightmare.

“Aiden, I can’t save you from your hell because thanks to you, I’m living in one, too.”