Chapter One.

The bottom of her glass struck the edge of the table and Isabella sniffed in her hands. A hand soothed down her back in rhythm to the beats that thundered the walls.

And she looked to Joan, who had sympathy in her eyes. “You should put yourself out there!” She yelled and Isa rested her head back, drowning her sorrows in booze. “I’d rather not.”

There was a good looking man that leaned against the walls in the corner, peeking like an eagle until his lighted eyes fell on Isa and she gulped down the sour tequila before turning away. Joan caught a glimpse of the glare that they shared and sat forward.

“What are we doing here, Isa?“

“What are we doing in the biggest club in Norman if you’re not going to put yourself out there?“ She tugged here best friend’s hand which still had the diamond ring across her finger and she heaved a deep sigh.

“Screw Colton!” She yelled over the music.

“Tonight we’re going to have fun.” Isa met her gaze and could only shrug her shoulders. “I have to be up early tomorrow if i’m going to meet the train out of this shit hole” Isabella said into her ears and missed the crinkle form in Joan’s brows.

“You’re still serious about leaving town huh?”

“Of course” Isa whined.

“I have an aunt i could stay with for now. I’d hate to be in the one place that reminds me of the worst day of my life” She added and Joan blew raspberry.

“Like i said, screw Colton. He isn’t worth it” She replied whist standing and gliding her waist with a cocktail in her hands.

“If this is your last day in Norman, then i’m down to make it memorable. They always said, the best way to get over a man is to get under another.” Joan said and Isa rolled her eyes.

“I just want to use the bathroom.” She scanned the entire room whilst staggering to stand.

“When was the last time you were with another man?” Joan’s voice roped her back in and she scoffed.

“All your life you’ve been faithful to that bastard, look where it got you” Isa placed her hands on her friend’s shoulders before pulling away—

“I need to find the bathroom” She muttered and Joan sipped her drink, facing the bartender with a coquettish gaze and Isa found her way down the hall till she got to a certain door.

“Hey” A decadent voice called from behind and Isa turned around to lay her eyes on the sexiest man she’d ever seen. She choked, turning away from the strobing lights and he inched closer to her.

“What is wrong?” He had nothing but black leathery suspenders tied into his pants, revealing his muscled torso that glistened in the lights and she cleared her throat.

“You might find it hard to believe but i was supposed to get married today and i found out my husband was cheating so—“ She hefted her cup to his face and this stranger inched closer, raising his hands to clasp her chin and breaking all manner of personal boundaries.

Isabella was stunned but she didn’t budge, rather she let her arms fall, daring to gaze into his dark eyes. His fingers brushed against her pale lips and Isa felt butterflies raid the depths of her stomach.

She hadn’t felt this way in a while. “Such a shame” His deep voice reverberated her entire body and she let go of her cup.

“Screw this” Crashing her drunken lips into his, she muttered and this stranger lifted her in his hands whilst pushing her into the door. Joan caught a glimpse, and like a proud mother, she smiled.

Wrapping her arms around him, she fell to the bed without a thought behind her eyes. She couldn’t think, not after the mess that was that day.

And breathless between this stranger’s lips, she took off her ring, placing it against the table. Maybe Joan was right, maybe she needed to put herself out there, even if it was just for tonight.

Morning came fast and she was wrapped in velvet silk sheets and a stranger’s muscled arm across her chest.

She sighed, the sun spearing into her temples before Isabella suddenly got up. She couldn’t bear the awkwardness that would suffice if the man beside her opened his eyes.

“Shit” She cussed, inhaling his cologne that had mixed into the atmosphere. He had his face buried into the sheets, so she could only see a half of it.

But he was beyond amazing in bed, better than Colton.

Shit, she thought of that bastard again.

After wearing her underwear, she grabbed her clothes and threw it on before making her way silently through the door. And like fate had it, Joan was there, still flirting with the bartender.

“Look who it is” Her voice was shrill and Isa trailed her rumpled dress before realizing—

“We both scored tonight” Joan said and Isa hit her lightly in the arm, urging her to be quiet. “We need to go” She was embarrassed, throwing her head over her shoulders and Isa pulled her arms out the swinging bar doors.

“He was hot” Joan added with a teasing wink and Isa opened the car doors. “We shall not speak of this ever again” She whispered.

“Now, drive me to the station.”

It wasn’t long until they got the Norman train depot and Isabella had her bags she’d managed to pack the previous night. She was about to board the train, but somehow looked back at Joan who tried her best to hold in her tears.

“How long?” Her best friend asked.

“How long will you be gone for?”

“I don’t know” Isabella let out a whisper, forming a heart with her fingers.

“I love you” Joan said and she nodded.

“I love you too.” Isa made her way into the train and took a seat by the windows, from where she gazed at Joan till she was out of sight. Heaving a deep breath, she opened her mind to the million possibilities that moving to a new city would bring.

Especially one like Riverdale—where she was headed. A more rural side of Chicago than Norman.

She could use the serenity, she could use the break.

And then suddenly as she held her phone in her hands, her sight fell on her finger—it wasn’t there. “Shit” She cussed.

She had left her wedding ring at the club and in the possession of that stranger. She read something that it was bad-luck, forgetting your ring but then again, she couldn’t turn around.

And then again, Colton had cheated so.

She needed a fresh start, but life had other plans.

Three weeks in Riverdale, she hadn’t stopped thinking of her ring and her past, and each passing day, Isabella grew more and more sick, throwing up food with barely any appetite.

Her aunt, Majorie had suggested she should go to hospital and somehow, they found themselves at Saint Clarice, behind the large wooden desk of the doctor. And he stood above her, with the result board in his hands and a pair of stethoscope around his neck.

“Well, Ms Isabella—“ He took a pause, glaring into her oblivious eyes, before dropping the bomb that sank her heart deep into her chest.

“You’re pregnant”

His words choked her throat, and she muttered. “What—“