The Beautiful Monster

"Cosmopolitan," she told the bartender as she leaned her upper body against the sleek wood of the bar.

The bartender nodded before turning away to make her drink.

"I pegged you for a vodka cranberry girl," a voice said from behind her.

Alyssa felt her heart stop when that voice reached her ears. She knew that voice.

But it couldn't be. She only heard that voice in her dreams, which she should've considered to be nightmares.

She slowly turned around to face none other than Elias, who looked like he hardly aged during the past eight years.

Now, he was slightly taller and more built in his upper body..

She could tell through his black suit jacket and the dark grey button down that he had on underneath.

Silver rings adorned his fingers, and his black hair was pushed back and slightly shaved down on the sides.

Dark stubble outlined his jaw. Those blue eyes of his were just as vibrant as before, and she swore it felt like they were staring right into her soul.

Alyssa completely forgot the words that he just told her. She just couldn't believe that he was suddenly here in front of her.

The shock only lasted so long, though. All of the rage, pain, and sadness that she had felt over the years because of his sudden disappearance came flooding back to her.

She didn't even care about her drink that was still being made. She turned away from Elias abruptly and hurried toward the exit of the ballroom.

She had nothing to say to him. Actually, she had plenty to say to him, but he didn't deserve to hear a single word from her after what he did to her. She just needed to get away from him.

"Alyssa, wait!" Elias called out as he chased after her, slipping through the crowd of rich people to try to reach her.

Alyssa made it right outside of the ballroom when she felt Elias' hand grab her wrist. She whirled around with a glare.

"What are you doing here? Are you stalking me or something?" she snapped at him. She didn't bring up the attack the other night, but he found her somehow. He had to be tracking her or something, which was weird.

Elias sighed, his shoulders loosening slightly.

"I was invited. Albritten is a sponsor of my company," he replied.

Alyssa felt her words get caught in her throat for a second. She remembered how he wanted to start his own tech company and forge his own path.

It seemed like his plans came true too. Deep down, a part of her was glad for that, but all of her other more volatile emotions were far louder.

"You have no right to be talking to me right now," she gritted out, wondering what made him think that any of this was okay.

He couldn't just pop up out of nowhere and act like they could be friends again.

Elias frowned, his eyes searching hers. He tried to step closer to her, but she matched him by stepping back.

"I'm really sorry about leaving, Alyssa. I just… had to," he told her.

Alyssa laughed dryly, shaking her head at him. She felt her eyes start to burn, and she internally cursed herself, not wanting to shed even more tears over him.

She shouldn't have even cried once over him. He obviously wasn't worth it.

"Wow. What a great excuse," she huffed. She was tired of his whole mysterious act. She deserved answers. Actual answers!

Elias looked lost as he gazed at her.

"It was the best thing for you. I've always had your best interest in mind," he said.

Alyssa didn't believe his serious tone or his puppy dog look. How could she believe any of it when he betrayed her?

It made her nauseous just being around him right now. The least that he could do was answer her questions, but he couldn't even do that.

Maybe them breaking up was for the best. She couldn't always live her life in shadows.

"No, you didn't. You abandoned me without warning. You let me build a life for us in my head and almost cost me my entire future because I thought you were going to be in it! You said you were!"

Alyssa snapped, unable to hold back her anger. She wasn't as emotional nowadays as she used to be, but something about Elias dug so deep under her skin.

Elias put his hands up in an innocent manner, trying to get her to calm down.

"I know I hurt you. I hate myself for hurting you and leaving you, but I only did it because staying with you would've just hurt you more," he said.

Alyssa shook her head at him. She was tired of all these riddles. They explained nothing to her. He was just making excuses for his idiotic actions, and she wasn't going to accept a single one of them.

"Take your excuses and shove them up your ass," she spat at him, her words seething with venom.

Elias' eyes widened at her tone and words. He then seemed to wilt on the spot.

"I really did hurt you," he whispered. "Alyssa, I never stopped loving you."

Alyssa felt like he was just shoving the knife deeper and deeper into her heart. Pain echoed through her, nearly bringing her to the point of tears.

Why would he say something like that to her? It didn't make her feel any better. It actually made her feel worse.

"What you did to me… that wasn't love. That was cowardice. I suggest you learn the difference before you hurt someone else," Alyssa said coldly before turning away from him.

She started to walk away, but a question in the back of her mind kept bugging her.

She stopped, but she didn't look at him. "You were there at the hospital the other night. In the parking lot."

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