Beginning of the end
The Beginning of the end
My name is Michelle—and I’m in love with a man I never planned to meet, let alone love. His name is Chris and he has turned my entire world upside down.
We’ve been together for a year. But lately… something’s off. My heart is chained to him, but my instincts, they’re screaming at me to run.
One year ago...
“Shots, ladies! Let’s go!” Jackie hollered over the music, holding up three neon-colored drinks. It was supposed to be just a fun night out. Me, Jackie, and Tracey have been best friends since we were in diapers. We were thick as thieves, the kind of friends that don’t ask questions, they just show up when needed. That night, we decided to take a detour and check out a party across town with a new crowd and new vibe. We dressed to kill and walked in like we owned the place. The air was thick with bass and sweat. The room pulsed with energy. Everywhere we turned, there were fine-ass men, and we were ready for it.
Then he walked in.
Chris.
He moved like he owned the damn world, followed by his boys—Rob, Anthony, and Sean. The crowd parted for them like they were royalty. People dapped him up, women reached for him like he was some forbidden fantasy. I’d never seen anything like it.
“Who the hell is that?” Tracey whispered.
Jackie smirked. “That man got the entire place in uproar.”
I couldn’t stop staring. He was tall, body chiseled like he was sculpted from stone, and those dark eyes… hypnotic. My throat went dry. He turned in my direction and our eyes locked. And just like that, he started walking toward me.
“Oh my God, he’s coming this way,” Jackie muttered, elbowing me.
I froze. Hands sweaty. Drink slipping. Chris stopped inches away from me. He looked down and focused on me like I was the only woman in the room.
“Hey, sexy. You good?”
“I blinked. My mouth moved before my brain caught up. Yeah... I’m good.”
Jackie, never one to be subtle, leaned in. “Are y’all famous or something?”
Chris laughed, deep and rich. “Why you ask that?”
“Because everybody in here knows y’all.”
Chris turned back to me. “Do you know me?”
“Nope.”
“Guess not everybody does,” he said with a grin. “Wanna go somewhere quieter?”
Every alarm in my head blared. But my body? It said yes.
“Sure,” I replied.
Tracey and Jackie gave me death stares. “Girl! Are you crazy?” Tracey hissed.
“I’m good,” I said, trying to convince them and myself.
Chris took my hand and led me through the crowd like he’d done it a hundred times. We slipped into a private office in the back.
“Is this yours?” I asked.
He didn’t answer. He sat on the couch and motioned for me to join him and I did.
“Are you nervous?” he asked, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.
“Nope,” I lied.
He leaned in, his lips inches from mine. “You should be, but I don’t bite… unless you ask me to.”
I laughed, but my heart was thundering in my chest. “Why me?” I asked. “Why walk past all those other women?”
He ran a finger down my neck. “Because I know what I want. And I want you.” I slowly let out a gentle breath and dropped my head. He tilted my chin, forcing me to look at him.
“Sexy… keep your head up.”
From that moment on, I was gone. We talked for hours. We kissed. And by the time I left that room, I was hooked. Chris became my everything. Our lives blended fast—his crew, my girls, one big chaotic family.
But the fantasy had cracks.
Chris had a side of his life I wasn’t supposed to see. Shady dealings. Late-night disappearances. And rumors—always rumors—about other women. I tried to ignore it. I loved him. I told myself I could handle it. But his love started to feel like a trap.
He wanted me to be available 24/7. But when I needed him, he was “handling business.” And now, here we are one year later and I’m suffocating.
Tonight, I’m breaking free. At least for one night, I will put my needs first. My girls and I are getting dressed in my apartment, music blasting, laughter echoing through the walls. We are preparing for a long overdue girls night out. Chris has been blowing up my phone all day and I’ve ignored every call and text message. If I pick up, he’ll guilt me into staying home. I have no intentions of staying in tonight, not tonight.
We pull up to Club X, the hottest spot in the city. The line is wrapped around the block, but security lets us right in. These are the perks of knowing people. Inside, the music is thumping, and the lights mimics the sounds of the bass. Bodies move like waves across the dance floor.
Hey, isn’t that Jay and Mike?” Jackie points across the room. Jay and Mike are old friends we used to hang with before I met Chris.
Jay sees us, grins, and walks over. “Damn, long time no see.”
We hug, and I feel a familiar comfort. Jay leans in. “It’s good to see you. Are you seeing someone these days?”
“Yeah,” I admit. “Been with someone for a while now.”
He smirks. “So… where he at?”
I laugh. “Not here. And tonight, It’s just me and my girls.”
Jackie and Tracey jumped up from the table the moment the beat dropped, dragging Mike with them to the dance floor. Laughter trailed behind them as they disappeared into the crowd, leaving me and Jay alone at the table.
Jay shifted in his seat, inching a little closer. I could feel his eyes on me before I even looked up. “You know I’ve missed you,” he said, with a low voice and deliberate. “I wanted to call you… but I wasn’t sure how you’d react.”
I tilted my head and looked directly at him. “Jay, we left on good terms. You could’ve called. There’s no bad blood between us.”
Jay leaned in just enough to close the space between us, and I could feel the shift in his energy. That look… I knew it too well. He wasn’t just reminiscing; he was testing the waters.
Before I could respond, Jackie and Tracey came running back to the table like bats out of hell, nearly knocking over the chairs.
“What’s wrong with y’all?!” I shouted, heart instantly on the edge.
Jackie grabbed my wrist, eyes wide with panic.
“Bitch...” she said, breathless. “Chris just walked into this damn club!”
