With My Head High

Destiny's POV

Red didn't come back right away, and I took my chance to eat faster after recovering from embarrassment. I was hungrier than I thought, and I devoured my food without care if I was eating like I wasn't a lady, and it seemed like I hadn't eaten for days.

My ex-boyfriend was a good cook; I gave him that. I loved Red's cooking and suddenly remembered the times I spent with him during my free time.

When he was in college, we always had our meals together whenever he came home from school during holidays and summer breaks.

It has always been Red and me, and there were times my heart got broken when he started bringing girls into our estate and made me jealous. He always acted the mature one, and I thought he wasn't into me.

I used to watch him at the kitchen counter as he sliced meat, vegetables, and herbs and prepared everything in a timely manner, and he looked so hot with an apron on his toned body. I would be ogling him the whole time he was facing the stove, and from time to time, I stole kisses from him.

Countless times, we ended up making out in his room, and our kisses turned deeper and hotter, but I always came to my senses and stopped before something happened since I made a vow I would only surrender myself entirely to Red after we got married. I wanted to give him the best gift I could offer him, but I was too naive to think that way.

My virginity meant nothing to him, and he hooked up with my sister right after my world crumbled before my eyes. It was ironic since my stepsister freely gave up everything to Red without reservations while I tried my best to conserve my purity for Red at the right time.

"Aren't you done yet?" I cringed when I heard Red's authoritarian voice behind me. I didn't realize I was lost in time, recollecting the past. I hastily stood up, cleaned the table, and washed the dishes.

I could feel him watching me as I put the utensils on the lower cupboard, and when I was done, I found him looking at me like he wanted to say something.

"You better hit the shower now; there is a guest room on the left side of the staircase. You can use the bathroom. Your clothes are on the paper bag, and you can use a clean towel on the rack inside the bathroom." He said.

"Thank you,"' I weakly replied, avoiding his gaze and trying to get as far away from him as possible since I felt so conscious about how I stunk.

The guest room was spacious enough, though it was smaller than the rooms of our mansion. But it was way better than the room I occupied in my rented house.

My eyes were fixed on the paper bag on top of the bed. I knew right away it contained the clothes Red was talking about. and as I sat on the edge of the mattress to pull out the clothing, I unexpectedly desired to lay on the king-sized bed and surround my body with the fluffy pillows and have a good rest since I suddenly felt the soreness in my body that I tried to disregard.

After my life turned upside down, I didn't have a good quality of sleep since I lay awake at night trying to shut off everything. But the things they had done to me kept repeating in my head, and I would fall asleep with my fists curling and tears in my eyes.

I promised never to cry again, but I couldn't stop my tears. I sighed heavily, stood up from bed, wiped my tears away with my fingers, and made a beeline to the bathroom

"Could this be Red's new house?" I asked myself, and I felt hurt he didn't tell me anything about buying a new place. If he owned this place, I knew he hadn't bought it recently.

With a heavy sigh, I undressed my clothes and hit the shower. My body calmed down as the warm water soaked my flesh, and I admit, I felt a little better, and a good shower lightened up my mood.

But it doesn't make me feel less gloomy knowing anytime soon, my enemy would show up again, and I wondered what they were cooking up this time to wreck me totally.

I walked out of the bathroom with a bath towel wrapped around my body. I rummaged through the paper bag, and my eyes widened as I found an expensive lingerie brand: a light yellow dress with spaghetti straps and a plunging neckline.

I didn't want to wear them, but I had no choice but to put them on quickly. After combing my hair, I put my dirty clothes into the paper bag and left the room.

Red's face flushed as he stared at me right after I walked out of the guest room. I didn't know he was leaning on the railings of the stairways, waiting for me.

His penetrating gaze lingered on my face, making me have knots in my belly, and my heart was hammering out of control inside my chest as I stopped walking and looked at him.

We stared at each other for a long time until he turned his heels and walked ahead of me as fast as he could, leaving me in a haze.

"Thank you, Red, for everything," I mumbled after I fastened my seatbelt, and he darted a glance at me without saying anything and drove away from the house.

"Is it your house?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter if it was mine; you have nothing to do with it," he responded, clenching his fists harder on the steering.

"You don't need to answer me that way, Red. I had done nothing to you," I replied.

"Oh, really? I was at the police station when Lucas called and informed me he was coming to the police station to get you and bring you to one of his vacation houses." His response made me shocked. I couldn't believe Lucas would call him.

"You knew we always compete with each other, and he hated me for making you my girlfriend," he added.

"I started to believe nothing is going on between you and him, but how can you explain why you called him to bail you out instead of calling me?" He asked, and my face fell.

"I called you first," I angrily responded.

"Come on, you could have called me repeatedly, or left a voice mail, but why Lucas?" He replied, and I fell silent.

How can I tell him about my plans of using Lucas to get back at them?

"See? I couldn't believe that you betrayed my trust, Destiny." Red added with fury as he drove his car, almost exceeding the speed limit.

"I never betrayed you, Red. I will never do that to you; you were the one who slept with my stepsister." I countered.

"You slept with Lucas first, and not only that, it was documented, and a lot of people knew about your betrayal, and worst, the press got involved. Alejandro had to pay a large amount to protect your family from that scandal." Red declared.

"No wonder it was easy for you to ask me to be Carmie's date that night so you could easily sneak out with Lucas." He added and whacked the steering wheel, which made me tremble in fear.

"Please, pull over! I can commute; you don't need to take me to my house." I yelled, and he slowed down but didn't stop the car. No one dared to talk until we reached my place.

I was about to open the car door when I felt Red's hand on my wrist, preventing me from getting out of his car. His accusation was baseless, and it hurt me the most that he didn't listen to me anymore.

My heart was pounding loudly against my chest, and I didn't know if it was because of my anger with my ex or due to his proximity.

"I hated you for what you have done, Destiny. But no matter what I do, I can't undo what happened. I didn't have the power to do that, but I didn't want you to live your life in misery." He said, and my heart was hammering as I waited for his following words.

I felt so excited since he was gently talking to me, and maybe he was willing to give me a chance to explain my side of the story about Lucas and me.

"You better leave, Destiny. There is nothing here for you. You better flee and find a place where you can build your life anew. I don't think your father is willing to give you another chance after what you have done to him." Red said, and his words were like bullets that ran through my heart.

I couldn't explain the pain I felt knowing Red had totally forgotten his feelings for me. I composed myself and gathered all my strength not to cry. I wear the best smile I could ever give him before I speak to him.

"You, Carmen, Carmie, and my father don't own this city, Red. My life is here, and you have no right to make me leave." I hissed, yanking my hand.

"For the record, I didn't want to breathe the same air with you as well, nor did I want to cross paths with you ever again. No matter how much your girlfriend wanted to destroy me, I will never give her the satisfaction of winning." I added, and his face dimmed.

"Even if they sabotage the DNA paternity result, and I have no money, I will prove to everyone that I am my father's legal heir." I declared before I climbed out of his car and slammed the door harder than necessary. Even if I felt so broken, I walked towards my house with my head high.