Claire was a remarkable child. Her parents absolutely adored her, which was hardly surprising given her natural charm and pretty features.
She wasn't always a straight-A student or a perfect angel, but everyone who knew Claire noticed that she possessed a maturity far beyond her years. After graduating high school, she moved to a nearby city to enroll in law school. Many of her acquaintances tried to talk her out of it, arguing that the market was flooded with lawyers and she'd never find a job in her field. However, Claire didn't harbor any grand illusions of becoming a world-famous attorney—though, in the back of her mind, she certainly hoped she might.
During her sophomore year, Claire met Justin. He was a senior, nearing graduation. A kind, attentive, and handsome young man, he courted her for over a month before Claire finally found him irresistible. When Claire started her junior year, Justin began his master's degree. To pay for the apartment he asked Claire to move into, he took a part-time job as a bouncer at a local nightclub. After some hesitation, Claire agreed to the move. Because of his shifts, Justin was often away at night. At first, this made Claire sad, but soon, suspicion began to take root. She suspected Justin was being unfaithful. She tried to bring it up, but every time, he offered arguments that managed to soothe her—at least for a while.
One night, fueled by another wave of suspicion, Claire decided to drop by the club during his shift to see exactly what her boyfriend was up to. As she approached the entrance, she saw Justin engaged in a very friendly conversation with one of the club's staff. Claire knew the girl, Chloe, was a dancer there, and she couldn't stand it. Claire was naturally jealous and possessive; she felt Justin belonged to her and her alone. She marched up to him and began unloading everything she thought of him right then and there. Naturally, Justin didn't take it well. From his perspective, nothing out of the ordinary had happened—he was simply talking to a coworker. To be fair, Claire hadn't actually seen them doing anything wrong, but the argument escalated quickly. Both dug in their heels, convinced they were right and the other was being unreasonable. Claire eventually left for home in tears.
***
Early the next morning, she headed to campus specifically to avoid seeing Justin. She made plans with her friends to go to the very club where Justin worked that evening. She knew their mutual acquaintances would tell him she was there, and that was exactly what she wanted.
"Let him see how it feels from the other side," she thought all day.
Throughout her classes, Claire sat in anticipation of the night out. It had been so long since she'd been to a club that she couldn't think of anything else.
That evening, she waited until Justin had left for work before putting on a provocative dress and heading out to meet her friends. When she stepped inside, she found her bridesmaids-to-be waiting for her. The girls had a clear plan for the night: drink enough that they'd have headaches the next morning. Claire had an additional goal: flirt with the first guy she saw so word would get back to Justin and make him jealous. Almost on cue, three young men appeared. It's worth noting that Claire was the standout of the group; she was incredibly attractive, with a figure that looked as if it had been sculpted by an artist.
The men made it clear immediately that they were only interested in Claire. Feeling snubbed, her friends huffed and went off to the dance floor. The guys—Austin, Ryan, and Mark—showed off the fact that they weren't on a budget, plyng Claire with cocktails. Already quite tipsy, Claire basked in the attention.
Living together had naturally made Justin's displays of affection less frequent, so the flattery felt good. After a few more drinks, Claire realized she wasn't entirely in control of her actions, though she could still stand firmly enough that it was impossible to tell how drunk she actually was. When the guys suggested going outside for a smoke, Claire—who didn't usually smoke but occasionally felt the urge for a hit of nicotine—readily agreed. She was the one who suggested the back alley, reasoning that it would be quieter and they could enjoy some peace.
As she lit a cigarette, Claire noticed the way the men were looking at her; there was an unmistakable, raw desire in their eyes. She felt validated by the attention, and satisfied with how the evening had gone, she turned to head back inside. Suddenly, Ryan stepped into her path. Claire asked him to move, but Ryan told her there was no rush and suggested they move further into the shadows, away from the streetlights.
Claire tried to object, but she immediately felt Mark and Austin grab her arms from behind. Caught completely off guard, she threatened to scream. Only moments before at the bar, the trio had been perfectly polite, but now they roughly pinned her against the wall. They told her that nothing in life is free and that it was time to pay up. They mockingly asked if she preferred it here in the alley or if they should take her back to their place, and then "gentlemanly" inquired if she wanted them all at once or one by one. Claire was in shock; she had never experienced such paralyzing fear in her life. As she tried to scream, Austin clamped a hand over her mouth. Despite her condition, Claire began to fight with everything she had, but she heard one of them whisper: "Either you stop fighting and we do this the easy way, or you're going to leave here looking so bad your own mother won't recognize you."
Helpless, Claire burst into tears and closed her eyes. Suddenly, she heard shouting and the dull thuds of physical blows. She realized no one was holding her anymore. She slid down the wall and sat on the ground, sobbing, unable to find the strength to stand. After a moment, she felt someone gently wrap an arm around her shoulders as they sat down beside her. Then, she caught a scent—a familiar, beloved scent. Opening her eyes, she was overcome with relief to see Justin. Claire threw her arms around him and sobbed even harder. Justin picked her up, put her in a taxi, and they went home.
***
Back at the apartment, he helped her change and lay down beside her. Claire fell into a deep, peaceful sleep in his arms. When she woke up the next morning, there was a bottle of sparkling water on the nightstand, which she knew Justin had thoughtfully placed there. As the memories of the previous night flooded back, she felt a mixture of terror and intense shame. When Justin walked into the room, he gave her a small smile. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he told her he hoped that was the last time she'd ever do something like that. Claire didn't even know how to look at him. She realized she had been incredibly foolish and that if Justin hadn't miraculously appeared at the club, she might not have made it home at all.
After apologizing profusely, she asked how he had known she was in danger. He explained that around midnight, her friends had called him. Whether out of jealousy or because they were annoyed the guys had chosen Claire over them, they decided to tell Justin his girlfriend was having a great time at the club with three different men. Furious, Justin had jumped in a cab and rushed to the club. Once there, Chloe told him she'd seen Claire go to the back alley with the guys. At first, Justin's heart sank; he thought Claire was going there to cheat on him out of revenge.
He had run out to the back just in time to see the three men accosting her. Without a second thought, Justin took them all down. Luckily, back in high school, Justin had been a serious competitive MMA fighter. Claire knew the rest of the story.
Sobbing again at the realization of how close she had come to losing such an incredible person, Claire apologized one more time. They made up and their bond became even stronger. After that night, Claire never acted so recklessly again. Truthfully, they almost stopped fighting altogether; whenever a disagreement arose, they made a point to resolve it immediately and find a compromise, doing everything they could to avoid a real conflict.
A year later, Claire and Justin were married, and two years after that, they welcomed a beautiful baby girl into the world.
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