70. Aching Souls.

[Luke]
"Get out Jean, nothing you could ever say would change what you've done, we're done and I could never trust you ever again."
It felt like a stab to my chest and I stumbled backward, the ringing sound intensified in my ear and my vision darkened.
I managed to drag myself out of her apartment and my bodyguard caught me outside before I fell to the ground.
"Take me to the nearest bar," I told him and he nodded.
"Do you want me to call Liam, Sir?" He asked and I shook my head.
"No." I discarded my jacket as I struggled not to release the tears that were welling up in my eyes.
I rolled down the window and stuck my head out as the car drove away, I inhaled the rushing air as I tried to calm myself down.
I couldn't function without Claire and I was beyond depressed, I'd been neglecting my duties for a while now and the King would soon find out about it but I didn't care, my assistant and Sir Thomas had been covering for me but there wasn't much they could do if I was still unwilling to do anything.
"Accompany me," I told my bodyguard when he stopped in front of a bar.
He whispered something in the bouncer's ear and the man let us in immediately and we were led to a private room.
"Drink with me," I told my bodyguard but he shook his head.
"Sorry, Sir but I'm still working." He said.
"I don't care about that," I yelled at him. "Bring us two bottles of vodka," I ordered the waiter.
"Right away, Sir."
"Sir, I really can't drink, I have to drive us home." My bodyguard shook his head when I passed him one bottle.
"Fine then, I guess you can just listen to me then."
"Let me help you with that, Sir." The waiter tried to collect the bottle from me.
"No, I've got it, you can leave, I'll call for you if I need something else," I said and poured a generous amount into my glass cup.
"You know that I love her very much don't you?" I asked, gulping my first glass.
"Hmmm."
"It's true, I love her but what was I supposed to have done, they will never let us be together, I knew from the first time I met her but I just couldn't help myself, I couldn't stay away," I said gulping the second glass.
"Do you think it's fair that she doesn't even want to hear me out or do I deserve it?" I asked sadly.
"Is it so wrong for me to want to live a little, every day before I met her, I was just going through the day like a living corpse, I was just existing. You know I envy you, you have the freedom to go out when you want, you can get another job if you're fed up with this one but can I, can I?" I raised my voice frustratedly.
"I'm really sorry, Sir." My bodyguard sighed. "I don't think you should be by yourself now, you should consider calling Liam."
"No, I want to be by myself, I don't know what to do, he wants me to marry someone I don't love and take a throne I don't want and I can't object, I have no say in it, the only time I ever felt truly alive was with her and now she's gone." My words became slurry as the effect of the alcohol began to kick in.
"I have never felt this much pain before, I can't live without her."
"Sir, you've had enough, we need to return to the palace." My bodyguard said, snatching the remaining bottle from my trembling hands.
"No, give me back the bottle, I need to forget, I need it to stop hurting, even for a short while," I said and a lone tear poured down my face.
I kept struggling with my bodyguard but he soon overpowered me and swung me on his shoulders. He carried me out of the bar and into the car before he dropped me down.
"Let me wallow in my self-pity, let me suffer in my guilt, let me anguish in my pain, I brought it upon myself." I slurred as my head hit the car seat and I closed my eyes.
.
.
[Claire]
"Why didn't you come out?" I demanded harshly when Michele came out of the kitchen.
"You need to talk to him." He sighed.
"No, we have nothing to talk about," I argued.
"So what are you going to do now?" He asked.
"I'm going to move on with my life," I said and he smiled.
"I guess you got the closure you needed, that's great, you need to pick yourself up and move on." He said.
"Yes, I'm done crying over him, it's time to get over him now."
"Okay, I'm glad you're ready for that, the first step to getting over him will be eating and getting back your strength, then we can talk about this." He said and pointed to my rough hair.
"Fine, give me the food," I told him.
Sophie came back before I was done with the meal and I took the pill immediately.
"He was here," I told her and she frowned.
"Did you two talk?" She asked.
"She barely let him get a word in," Michele complained.
"I didn't want to hear his excuses," I said.
"So that's it, it's just over between you two, irreconcilable?" Sophie asked sadly.
"I thought you disliked him." I frowned.
"You love him Claire and though I'm not a fan of his methods but I know that he loves you too."
"Not anymore, I won't love him anymore," I said confidently.
"I wished it was that easy." Michele sighed and Sophie shook her head.
"I can't believe he's the Prince of Denmark."
"Yeah, I was looking forward to being friends with the future queen of Denmark," Michele added.
"Don't forget that he's engaged and had been engaged all this while, he made me the other woman." I glared at the two of them.
"Let me tell you something, Claire." Michele started. "It's tough in the world of the rich, I heard that he doesn't even want to be with the woman but the King had set his engagement to her in stone since they met when they were young teenagers."
"I really don't care about that now, if he had just told me the truth from the beginning, maybe we would have had a fighting chance but now all that is gone," I said and stood up from the sofa. "I'm done talking about this, I'm going to take a shower," I said and rushed into my room.
I did not stop till I was in the bathroom, I turned on the shower and stepped under it, I began to cry as the water flowed down my body, I cried so hard that I couldn't keep my body standing anymore and I fell to the floor underneath the shower.
I'd just tried to put on a brave face but I was dying inside, I love Jean more than anything and his betrayal had broken me, I did not think that it would be easy to get over him.
I remembered all the good times we had together and I sobbed harder.
"I want to get drunk tonight," I said coming out of the bathroom, I was not surprised to see Sophie and Michele waiting for me in my room.
"You do?" They asked me.
"Yes, just one last time before I officially move on," I said and they nodded.
I looked outside in a daze as Sophie drove us to a club, I didn't even pay attention to anything around me, all I just desired was to get drunk.
Sophie and Michele took a table but I sat at the bar because I wanted to be closer to the drinks.
"Just keep them coming," I said and gulped the contents of the glass as soon as it was placed in front of me.
"Hey dear, won't you like to slow down?" A woman smiled beside me but I just ignored her.
"I know how you're feeling." She said and touched my arm.
"You know nothing," I yelled at her and jerked her hand off my arm.
"Oh but I do." She smiled at me and I looked at her in confusion. "You don't know me but I know you, I'm Crystal." She said and smiled like I was supposed to know her or her name was supposed to ring a metaphoric bell.
"Lady, I don't know who you are and I don't give a shit about that either." I hissed and stood up with my drink in my hand.
"Wait." She tried to stop me but I brushed her away as I walked past her to Sophie's table.
"You're going really hard, aren't you?" Sophie asked me when I took a seat beside her.
"It's the last time I'll mop around for him," I said.
"And why are you talking like that?" She asked me.
"It's because I've decided that I'm leaving."
"What?"
"For good this time, I'm going back to America."