Chapter 1

• San Francisco was beautiful.
• I'd never knew I would fall in love with a city such as this. The people, the ease of living, the sights. The fact that you could do whatever, say and be whomever, and no one not cared. I knew a lot of people that fell in love with New York the moment they crossed the bridge. I couldn't relate. Though I wasn't born here, I would always love this city with the fog, and cool air. That was why it was so hard for me to leave.
• But I'm getting ahead of myself.
• ….
• "Ana. Ana, I need you over here!"
• Pasting on my fake smile, I turned to my husband of four years and strode over to him. City hall had been crowded on this evening of the black and white ball. It was the a-list event of the season, and everyone was trying to find their seats quickly before anything started. Thankfully, I had reserved our seating, so it was no surprise that there was a rush in the crowd. It seemed no matter the occasion, people always wanted to be the first to witness anything out of the ordinary. I myself was becoming tired of the event, and it hadn't even started yet.
• I did not sign up for this crap.
• "Yes dear," I said as I wrapped a proprietary arm around Jose's thick one. Pushing my hair away from his face, he studied me intently. I felt myself embarassed at his close scrutiny, and hoped he wouldn't say anything in front of his co-workers.
• Please Jose, do not do this to me again.
• I thought I was home free until-
• "You wore the color pink. I asked if you could wear the red. It compliments my suit." Flushing in shame, I avoided eye contact with the three men standing around us, and lowered my voice.
• "I didn't hear that. I'm so sorry. It's still a pretty dress, right?" I asked instead, pretending to not be bothered by it. Jose frowned before running his eyes over me. Like I was some piece of meat.
• "I guess."
• One of the men had cleared their throat, and I couldn't help but see pity in all their gazes as they changed the subject. I felt myself tearing up, and hating for being affected by Jose and his fickle demeanor so early in the evening. Once the man-I didn't know his name because Jose never gave me a chance to actually speak with them-finished speaking, his grip on my arm tightened before he whispered in my ear, with his smile in place.
• "Since you can't follow simple instructions, can you at least head to our seats? Make sure that we are front and center and stay put until I come. Do you understand?"
• Afraid to say anything for fear of breaking down I nodded. Once he released my arm, he caressed my face as if he whispered something lovely to me, and to keep the peace I pretended to enjoy it. Nodding to the men, I turned on my heel, and was intent on heading to the dining hall, else face Jose's wrath.
• …..
• An hour later, the event had begun. The speaker of the night was very easy-going, yet smart. I enjoyed his candor immensely. It was my opinion that people of a certain wealth took themselves too seriously. It was honestly ridiculous, and I felt the more feathers he ruffled, the better. I was about to laugh at his next joke when I felt Jose's fingers digging into my thigh. He leaned over and hissed at me.
• "You're making me look terrible. Stop laughing like a hyena at everything the man is saying." I bit my lip to prevent myself from crying out at the monster my husband was. When he removed his fingers from my thigh I nodded quickly.
• "I'm sorry."
• Once he was satisfied that I wasn't laughing, he turned his attention to the very busty blonde sitting to his right.
• Hmm. The mistress and wife sitting together.
• I almost vomited when I saw her run her hand over his thigh lovingly. My eyes widened however at her audacity to kiss his cheek while I was sitting right beside him. I know my eyes must've showed my disbelief, because she froze a bit before pulling away. I heard Jose whisper to her words that shook me to my core.
• "Don't worry about her. She's just my wife."
• Slumping back into my chair, I glanced for a microsecond at Jose before blinking back tears. I don't know what happened, but I felt as if I'd been beaten to this small person. That I didn't matter. And how could Jose treat me this way? I gave all of myself to him, and what does he do? Treat me like I'm trash.
• People were laughing around me, and I felt completely lost and alone. I glanced about the room, my eyes looking for an exit, when they froze on a man that was looking directly at me.
• Holy cow.
• In my life I had never seen a man so beautiful.
• Wild, dark brown hair mixed in with tinges of red. A sculpted face, with full lips. An aristocratic nose. Broad shouldered, and tall. I couldn't quite place his eye color, but my guess was that they had to be a dark color. He never once broke eye contact with me, but I could see the concern in his gaze. I suddenly felt embarrassed. More so than before.
• He must've seen my interaction with Jose.
• Unable to take anymore of this humiliation, I stood. Because our table was in the center of the room, I knew Jose wouldn't cause a scene. He only turned to me, asking where I was going. I did not answer him. Instead I left. I know I would face consequences later, but I didn't care. So focused on leaving, I failed to notice the man by the exit quietly following behind me.