Chapter 3 – THE CURE WITH BODY PARTS

Mackenzie dunked down another glass wishing that the alcohol would dissolve the weight on her heart.

How could her husband whom she worshiped for years in their marriage cheat on her with…?

A tear rolled down her cheek.

Three years ago, she was a bustling young refreshing woman at the peak of life. Although she lived in the fields with her father, she was happy because she could help him out and give him a foot massage when he needed it after his tedious day at the farm. They lived a very limited life but since she was with her father and the neighboring sisters, she did not hate it.

Then Jeffrey came along, sweeping her off her feet the instant they laid their eyes on each other— Or was it her who fell in love first?

Jeffrey was a newbie in North Dakota and he'd somehow wandered off and got missing in the Noose Hage village due to the night's heavy rain. Like the lovely lady that she was, she helped him through the rain with her umbrella.

Sex happened and it created a passionate romance. She got pregnant, and Jeffrey married her straight away. Blinded by love, she did not give herself the benefit of the doubt. Neither did she turn around and look back at her old man. She had made herself believe she could bring to him what seemed to be a better life.

Mackenzie dunked down another drink and cried.

She'd thought of Jeffrey too much as a god and looked at him with a distorted eye view.

He dressed nicely. Along with his fine attires, he was a man of a charming disposition and sophisticated personality. That was how she saw him but then…

One day, he requested that she straighten her hair. Her natural chunk of black curls was too uncouth for her to wear in the presence of his family.

Without understanding the underlying meaning, she'd straighten her hair and slowly watch the shine in her eyes disappear along with the passion to be herself.

She started to live for her husband and the baby they were expecting.

And when she finally put to bed, the baby was delivered dead. She hadn't managed to breathe life into her offspring.

That was when the twist began.

Her husband changed. Not a 180-degree change but since she'd dedicated herself to him, she perceived the subtle shift from within him. However, that shift soon became something she feared when her mother-in-law started acting mean to her like she didn't just lose a child.

She didn't even have time to mourn her dead baby. Instead, she spent that moment of hardship trying to pacify her husband and mother-in-law so they wouldn't neglect her. Her husband was still important to her even when it seemed as though he didn't hold the same weight for her in his heart after the loss of their child.

How could a woman whose new life was dependent on her husband live?

She wanted his attention back. And most importantly, his affection. She'd seen a glimpse of how important having a child was to him so she decided to sacrifice her inner wounds to give him another.

A living child.

She lived through her mother-in-law's insults and husband's neglect. Recently, their behavior toward her began to be more positive when they suspected that she was pregnant with all the sleepiness, lethargy, and lightheadedness- symptoms women who have once been pregnant could attest to as the early stages of pregnancy.

Was it that the universe was shining kindness on her once again?

Would she be accepted and loved once again after telling them what they wanted to hear? That she was pregnant?

Mackenzie grabbed the liquor and chugged it down, feeling nothing but an indescribable feeling of emptiness as she drank away her sorrow.

But when she got to the hospital…

Instead of being diagnosed with pregnancy, she was diagnosed with a fucking tumor!

Why?!

Mackenzie was screaming in her head. Her drowsy system and unresponsive body wouldn't let her let out the screams. Tears rolled further down her cheeks which she didn't bother to wipe.

The bar lights were dimmed. The music was pretty loud. She was alone in a crowded room, completely and utterly drunk.

As if cupid interfered, on the seat next to her was a man whose whole disposition screamed wealth and power.

"If you can't handle your drink, then don't have any," he advised her, his attention shifting to the waiter as he placed his order.

The lights seemed to dim further as Mackenzie looked up with equal disregard at the man who had spoken to her with contempt. From her side view of him, she could easily tell that he was a huge man. Even sitting, his toned and strong looking shoulders were a mile long in his shirt.

Did that stop her righteous indignation? No.

How dare he?

Did he know what she was dealing with? No. Did he have any idea that there was no hope for her? No. So he definitely did not have the right to sit next to her on the table only to pick on her!

"If…" Her voice trembled as she spoke, the heat of her anger radiating off of her. "If you don't know… what someone is going through, then you have no right to be mean to them!"

There seemed to be a pause as the bar lights went even dimmer to flash swift spotlights to fit the soft but frenzy music blasting in the background.

The man looked at her, awed by the rawness in her voice and the fierceness in her eyes. He noticed the parted sweep of silky hair covering her face and the dullness of the lights. She glared back at him, getting a glimpse of intense blue eyes through her swimmy vision, but she was too pissed off to care right now.

Without another word, Mackenzie got off the seat with the liquor tightly in her grip, placed a wad of cash on the table, and found her way outside.

As she got away from the club's vicinity, she felt droplets of cold liquid fall on her face. She dunked down the liquor she was holding to contain herself but as the heaviness in the sky thickened and sent down an overwhelming amount of rain, she exploded into tears and the bottle fell next to her feet, breaking into a thousand pieces.

"WHY?!" She roared into the rain.

A crowd passed her frantically to search for shelter away from the rain, only she didn't move from where she was standing despite the consistent but unintended shove on her side and shoulders.

It continued to rain thunderously and she just stood there, drenched and soaked. She felt a mess just like she was on the inside.

"Hey! You, over here!" a voice called out.

She glanced up, a strand of her once-straightened hair falling across her face.

It felt eerily familiar,

Just like the first time she had met Jeffrey, her hair had been wet and naturally curly. Mackenzie's fingers instinctively reached to touch her hair as another shout pierced the air.

"Miss! Are you getting in or not?!"

Following the sound, Mackenzie's gaze landed on a waiting taxi a few meters away, its door opens and a hand beckoning to her. As if on autopilot, she moved toward the cab, her movements disconnected from her thoughts. Sliding into the back seat, she shut the door and only then fully realized how drenched she was.

"Sorry, I'm completely soaked," she muttered in a monotone voice.

"Don't worry about it. Where can I take you?" the driver inquired.

Mackenzie told him to drive her to the nearest hotel. Unlike many fortunate people, she no longer had a home. At least for tonight, she would feel more comfortable anywhere in Greensville hills. As long as she wasn't in her husband's house.

When they arrived at the hotel, it had stopped pouring. Mackenzie paid her fare and got into the hotel.

She got checked in and got a key for room number 223.

By now, she was completely tired and wasted. She could no longer hold control over her body. Although it was her spirit that was broken, it affected every piece of her being.

Ding!

Mackenzie got off the elevator and started to unbutton her shirt when she saw what seemed to be her room number in sight. She opened the door freely, forgetting that she must have needed a key.

"Wrong room—" A voice said

"No…" She whispered.

It was the man from earlier. That deep, masculine voice was the same. His heated blue gaze washed over her skin, taking in her disheveled and wet appearance. His lips twitched when he heard her.

Mackenzie unbuttoned the last of her shirt and tossed it aside, revealing her wet but sturdy bra that tugged so close against her chest, enunciating her ample breasts.

Before the man could say anything else, she slid off her skirt and the man only reached her as her skirt hit the floor.

"Miss,"

She stumbled and he caught her before she could fall, enveloping her in his strong arms.

He would've loved to keep an oh-so-dear distance between them but it seemed almost impossible because this woman clearly could not even stand.

He shivered, aware of the meshing of her skin with his. Despite its coldness, he found his body induce another layer of warmth into his skin. He could not ignore the rapid throbbing between his legs underneath his towel.

This naturally intelligent man looked at Mackenzie's face and was astonished.

He'd seen many women but none felt as real and innocent as her.

Mackenzie threw her arms over his neck, all her uptightness and conformity to her own rules, broken.

It hadn't gotten her far in her marriage anyway.

If she would have to end up doing something this obscene, she didn't mind it. Not that her rigidity towards her husband's standards mattered anyway. He still cheated.

So she kissed the dear stranger, a tear trickling down her face as she did.

The stranger froze, taken aback by the woman's boldness. But he was much more surprised by how much he found his body reacting to her touch. Her lips…

However, he broke away and gently pushed her away but she seemed to find her way back to him. He was about to push her away once again but when he stared down at her pleading eyes, he hesitated.

Mackenzie grabbed the stranger's hands and said with shaky lips, "Please… touch me."

Intimacy.

What was it exactly?

The stranger took her to his bed and went to close the door before tossing aside his towel. Then he got on top of her, muttering one more time. "Are you sure?"

She touched his lower body and muttered a yes.

Her eyes were teary but firm, showing her resolve. The stranger didn't know what it was but he felt as though this woman needed something and somehow, he had the cure.

So he made love to her. Taking her with a passion she thought she knew, but was missing in her life all along.

Intimacy…

Was it just the connection of two bodies? Or was it much more?

Like, the connection of two souls, one of them healing the other's hurt?

The night had slowly passed, along with the cupid's arrow of passion that seemed to have been fired previously.

Beep

Beep

The sound of the message notification seemed barely enough to wake a ponderous man like Chase but it did.

Chase woke up and when he did, his woman was not in his arms.

His woman?! Where is She?