She held up her left hand, showing off the fat sparkly diamond on her ring finger.

Thea blinked. Once. Twice.

That wasn't real... was it? The diamond reflected the light, appearing so lustrous and shiny, she could only stare in shock. She almost missed the broad platinum band that held the expensive shiny rock together. The fact that anyone could afford a diamond so large was beyond her comprehension.

She opened her mouth but it was dry, unable to form words. She could feel Elio's eyes burning holes into her skull as she stared at the woman, dumbfounded.

"You guys are... married?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes, we are." The woman replied, a warm expression on her face. Her "husband" didn't even bother to look up, even when the dark-haired beauty reached over the table to squeeze his hand.

Well, shit, Thea thought to herself. Not only did he cheat on his wife, but he also cheated on his wife the day before their 5th anniversary. That was a type of cruelty she never wanted to experience.

Remembering that he didn't have a ring when she had checked last night, she glanced over to his left hand which, unfortunately, happened to be under the table. He didn't even have the balls to look up at any of them and instead, he only stared out the window off to the side.

Thea swallowed the nervous lump in her throat. She had willingly slept with a married man without even knowing, going against all her morals, (which were never anything too extreme in the first place).

She saw two options before her. Do the morally right thing by telling his wife that she had slept with her husband and ruin their relationship on their fifth anniversary or...

Lie and pretend that nothing happened.

"Is there something wrong?" His wife asked, raising a concerned brow. Even though Thea knew how iniquitous it was, she still went with the latter.

"Congratulations!" She finally managed to say, offering her a warm smile. She wanted to tell the woman everything that had happened last night but she couldn't bring herself to. She seemed so happy and Thea had no intentions of standing in the way of happiness.

"Is there anything else you would like or do you just want the cake?"

"Just the c-" She began to say before Elio quickly cut in.

"Can I get a caramel milkshake with cheeseburger and fries?"

Slowly turning her focus to him, Thea nodded and smiled, using every bit of her willpower not to reveal the anger inside her eyes. She began to write his order on the notepad she had in hand before looking up again to meet his gaze.

"Of course, I'll be back with your food in a few moments."

And with that, she turned a heel and walked away, trying to keep herself together as long as possible.

...

"Hello." An all too familiar voice said from behind her. She froze, immediately recognizing who it was. She slowly turned around to see the tall brooding man hovering over her.

"You're not allowed to be back here," Thea noted, although that was the last thing on her mind. Her eyes glanced over at the booth he had been sitting at with his so-called "wife" to find no one there. And while Elio was right in front of her; his wife was nowhere to be found.

"I'm sure you can make an exception." He said, almost cockily. "We need to talk."

For a second, she had lost the ability to think correctly once she had caught a whiff of the familiar light scent of cologne coming off of him. The one she remembered all too well from last night.

He's married, her conscious mind reminded her. She quickly gained a hold of herself, hoping he didn't notice before shooting him a dirty look.

"Save the talking for your wife, I need to go."

She began to walk past him but suddenly, a hand snaked around his waist, pulling her back. Yelping in surprise, she struggled as his strong arm pulled her back, setting her right back to where she was.

Quickly prying his arm off her body, she took a step back. God, he was tall, she couldn't help but notice again.

Last night she had slept with a married man and now here he was, wanting to talk. To her.

"What the hell do you want?" She hissed, taking a step back, distancing herself away from the man. Sleeping with him might've been a mind-blowing experience but she was starting to think it was one of the worst decisions she could've made.

"Are we going to acknowledge what went down last night or are we going to continue pretending it never happened?"

His expression was unreadable.

Stacey walked by, and the two both turned their heads to look at her. The petite blonde girl raised a questioning eyebrow in which Thea responded with a short nod, conveying that she was fine. Giving her one last look, Stacey walked off, leaving the two alone once again.

"How about this?" Thea began, crossing her arms. "You tell your wife that you cheated on her and then we can talk."

He narrowed his eyes, almost as if slightly pissed off.

"She's not my wife." He sighed, rubbing his temple.

"What?"

"We divorced a year ago." He explained, only feeding to the confusion. She furrowed her brows, still not understanding anything.

"But she said you guys were celebrating your 5th anniversary... " She trailed off, trying to replay everything that had happened in her head but it was no use. Noticing the still puzzled expression on her face, he continued.

"I'm assuming she was joking when she said that but we're not married anymore. We're just close friends."

For a second, she only stared at him in bewilderment and shock. Who even jokes about that kind of stuff?

But yet, his words lifted a weight off her shoulders as she felt relief wash through her.

"Oh." She breathed out in realization. At first, she was still in shock by the news but her shock was quickly replaced with irritation.

Was this supposed to be some kind of sick joke? Was all of this just to mess with her.

"That's great and all but you're still not supposed to be back here." She finally said, beginning to walk past the man but he stopped her once again, reaching his arm out to block her way.

"What do you want now?" She snapped, vexed now. Flipping her eyes up to meet his before she froze at the mischievous look inside of them.

"There's no need to be shy, I'm sure everyone— and when I say everyone I mean everyone— knows about the mind-blowing sex you had last night. You're practically glowing with after sex, sweetheart."

Was it really... that obvious?

She was completely stunned, unable to form words or even fathom what he had just said. But once she could, she merely rolled her eyes before slapping his arm away.

For a moment, she found herself admiring his confidence.

Reluctantly, he finally decided to move his arm, letting her pass. She gave him one last look and then walked off. Then she suddenly froze, realizing something.

"Do you still want the cake?" She turned her head around to glance over at him, over her shoulder. She heard him chuckle before shaking his head.

"No, just take the cake off our order."

...

Thea let out an exasperated sigh as she leaned back onto the brick wall, taking some weight off her feet.

It was her break and she was usually allowed 10 minutes to smoke, use the restroom, call someone, etc. but she did none of the above. Instead, she just went out back behind the restaurant to get some fresh air.

Amidst all the chaos in her life, she found the fresh air refreshing and calming, despite how the man down the alleyway was shouting into his phone.

It was late afternoon and since it was still winter, the sun was already beginning to set. Her uniform she had to wear wasn't providing much warmth but after spending all of her life here, she had gotten used to the cold weather.

She glanced down at the ground, noticing the used condom. An amused expression crossed her face and she snorted, shaking her head. She couldn't help but wonder if they actually had sex right here in this sketchy alleyway or...

Noticing that the shouting from the man was gone, she glanced back down the street, to see him walk off, out of view.

"Hello there,"

She spun around, her eyes widening to see Elio slowly walk towards her and lean on the wall next to her. The shock on her face was quickly replaced with annoyance.

"Are you stalking me or something?" were the first words out of her mouth. Sensing her irritation, the man glanced down at her before rolling his eyes.

"I admit, you were a good lay but not good enough for me to go as far as stalking." He began to reach in his pocket, fumbling for something.

She frowned at what he had just said.

"Prick." She muttered beneath her breath. If he heard, he didn't respond or even react. What was he doing here? Had he known that she was going to be back here?

From the corner of her eye, she noticed he had pulled out a pack of cigarettes, proceeding to open the box and pluck one out. He held the cigarette towards her, raising an eyebrow in question and she shook her head.

"Suit yourself." He said, shrugging as he placed the cigarette between his lips.

"I quit years ago." She revealed, staring up at the sky. The sun was beginning to fall and nighttime was approaching. She only had an hour of her shift left before she could go home.

"Really?" He mumbled as he lit the cigarette. Based solely on his tone, she could tell he didn't believe her. "Aren't chicks like you grossed out by smoking?"

She frowned, giving him a ridiculing look as he blew out a puff of smoke.

"You seem to have a lot of stereotypes for 'chicks like me'." She noted as the smoke from the cig reached her nose. It smelled all too familiar, reminding her of her past addiction which she was thankful she got over.

"My ex-wife was disgusted by my smoking."

"So you're comparing me to your ex-wife?"

"I'm not." He quickly denied, blowing out another puff of smoke. "But she fits into that stereotype I'm referring to."

"We don't even look alike."

"Looks have nothing to do with what I'm talking about. You guys have the same thought process."

Her head was beginning to remind her of all the consequences of secondhand smoking. She hated how irritating her nagging brain was. Although she couldn't care less if she lost 10 years of her lifespan by just standing here, her head was continuously reciting the repercussions and lung damage a cig could cause.

But when she smoked, none of that mattered. The nicotine rush she had longed for, even now. But she wasn't going to relapse now. Not after she had quit for so long.

"You don't know anything about me." She crossed her arms.

"I know enough to know how your judgement works."

"And what is that?"

"I'm sure the evidence can speak for itself." He declared.

"What? What evidence?" Thea exclaimed, confused as ever. She snapped her head around to see him in his own little world, a pleased look on his face as he stared at the sky. He slowly turned his head around to look down at her.

"Look, cookie. I just smoked a joint earlier. Don't expect me to explain anything."

She scoffed at the nickname. Of course he was high. Almost as if on instinct she inhaled a sharp breath to smell the faint smell of weed coming off his body.

In response, she glared at him. She had the choice to leave and go back inside but for some reason, she chose to stay.

"Cookie?" She echoed in question. The pet names that he was giving her were only getting worse and worse after each time.

"Yes." He slowly replied as a lazy smirk tugged at his lips. "Tough on the outside... but yummy on the inside."

She was staring at the man in disbelief once again. He didn't bother to return her astounded stare as he stared into the distance, continuing puffing on his cigarette.

"Yummy on the inside...?" She repeated, raising an eyebrow. He gave her a short glance, a look of amusement filling his eyes, almost as if he was waiting for that question to be asked.

"You came in my mouth last night. Or have you forgotten?"

Her eyes widened as a blush crept up her neck. He cocked his head to the side, relishing her embarrassed expression.

"You never told me your name. So I'll stick to calling you cookie until then." He declared, dropping the finished cigarette on the floor. She watched him in a silent glare, realizing that she had never given him her name.

"Thea," She replied. "Thea Mckay."

He smiled, a genuine one this time and she couldn't help but admire how good he looked smiling. Maybe just enough for her panties to drop.

"Well," He began, lifting his weight off the wall they were both leaning on. "I have to get going."

He began to walk off, wherever he came from. She watched as the tall man stalked down the alleyway.

She had almost let out a sigh of relief but just before he went out of sight, he turned around; a smirk on his face that was hard to miss.

"Do me a favour, cookie," He called out, earning a scowl from her at the nickname. "Loosen up for once!"

And with that, he walked off in a fit of laughter.

...

After she was done with her shift, she left to go home.

Standing on her front porch, she briskly glanced around, hoping that no one was looking. Once she was sure that no one was of viewing distance to see what she was about to do, she reached down, lifting her mat and grabbed the key to her house she kept hidden underneath there.

It wasn't that she didn't know how every break-in or home invasion occurred, but rather something else. She had left it there for a good reason and the reason was that recently, one of her closest friends was now living with her.

Her friend, Sabrina was having financial problems and being the good friend that she was, Thea offered to let her stay at her place.

The only problem was that Thea didn't have a spare key for her to use so keeping the key under the front door mat was their best option (and also the most dangerous one) until she was able to get a spare key.

She opened the front door before quickly placing the key back under the mat, hoping that no one saw.

She walked inside the house, shutting the front door behind her and locking it. She flipped open the lights, immediately noticing a hot pink article of clothing in the hallway.

Slowly walking towards it, she didn't bother picking it up, only eyeing it. It didn't take her long to realize that it was a lace thong that belonged to no one other than Sabrina, the friend that was staying at her house.

Thea raised her gaze, seeing a matching hot pink bra a couple of feet ahead of her. She raised an eyebrow as she walked further in, her ears picking up the loud moans coming from her guest room.

"Blake! Yes! Right there!"

Her eyes widened as she pieced the two puzzle pieces together.

"Jesus Christ," She muttered beneath her breath as she quickly walked into her room, trying to block out the loud moans. She had never officially set any ground rules but she was going to discuss them with Sabrina later. First starting with not being so loud when she has guys over.

Her walls weren't exactly soundproof and it took every bit of willpower to not storm in and tell them to keep it down. She could hear almost everything that was going on, despite being on the other side of the house and she was sure the whole neighbourhood could too.

Shutting her bedroom door behind her, she set her things down, hoping that the sound would go down but unfortunately, she could still hear everything.

"Oh yes, Blake! Harder!" Thea heard her cry out through her moans.

Why was she so... chatty during sex?

Shaking her head, she looked out the window to the sun almost completely disappearing on the horizon. It was getting late and she needed to shower and get ready for bed but she needed to do something else first.

Opening her desk drawer, she reached in and pulled out the file. She placed it on top of the desk and sat down. She opened the file and let out an unhappy sigh.

Everything in this file was all the information she had gathered from one of her clients before her supervisor 'fired' her.

This was what she had been the most worried about when she had to leave her job. Cleo.

She was a 16-year old girl who had been seeing Thea for almost a year now. A gorgeous young girl who had lost her spark because some bastard decided to take advantage of a young girl and rape her.

At first, she was closed off, refusing to share anything until she slowly began to open up. Thea had made so much progress with her and she could see the young girl slowly began to recover and gradually come back to normality.

But now, she wasn't sure what was going to happen to Cleo now that she was no longer able to help her.

Thea began to read through the notes she had taken for what seemed like to be the hundredth time this week.

She had been frustrated when she first started working with her since nothing seemed to work with Cleo but eventually with time, things improved.

"Oh my god, you feel so good!"

Thea groaned out loud, unable to focus on her work. Although it was her house, she didn't want to be a killjoy and cut their sexy-time short.

She sighed looking out the window hopelessly. This was undoubtedly going to be a long night.