Chapter Two

Brooke was confused. Why would someone moan while they were in restroom? She was about to knock on the door when she heard someone yelling from inside. Afraid that something might have happened, she hastily opened the door and was shocked to her core.  One of Greg’s assistants, Ariana Hawkins, was naked and was kissing her fiance, while the said fiance was buried deep inside the woman. Greg had Ariana perched atop the counter in between the basin and the wall. Brooke couldn’t believe her eyes. She stood frozen on the spot. She blinked and shook her head trying to deny whatever was happening in front of her. But no matter how much she tried, the scene remained the same. She wasn’t dreaming then, it dawned on her, no matter how much she wanted. Her heart stuttered and her breathing was erratic. This was reality. Her boyfriend of three years, Greg Wilson, to whom she was about to get married, was having sex with his assistant, Ariana Hawkins! 

“HOW DARE YOU, YOU FUCKING BASTARD?” Brooke shouted, knowing people in the hall could very well hear her. 

Greg and Ariana looked at her like deer caught in the headlights. 

“Brooke…” Greg scrambled to get away from Ariana, pulling his pants back up. 

“I trusted you. HOW COULD YOU?” Brooke stepped inside, yelling at the top of her voice, unable to take in the betrayal. 

“Brooke...hush. Not so loud. My folks are sitting out there. Not to mention the entire town. I’ve got a reputation to maintain.” Greg gritted his teeth as she talked to her in a hushed tone.

Brooke couldn’t believe the nerve of this man. “Your reputation? YOUR REPUTATION? You asshole, you cheated on me and you’re giving me lessons on reputation?”

“Brooke…” 

“Don’t Brooke me you liar. You’re just another scum who can’t keep his dick in his pants, instead of parading it all over  town.” 

This time Ariana interrupted, “Brooke, come on. It was just a fun goodbye. One last time before you get married, you know.” She smirked, not giving a second thought to the fact that she was standing naked in the restroom with her boss and his soon to be wife.

Brooke’s eyebrows hit her hairline, she couldn’t believe this. Her mouth went dry.  “ONE LAST TIME? How many times was it, huh? Tell me how long this has been going on!”

“Umm...let me think…” Ariana answered smugly. She never liked Brooke and she always wondered what Greg found in this woman. 

Brooke moved so fast, she herself didn’t know when she charged at Ariana, punching her in the face. “Shut the hell up. You...you are the culprit.” Ariana was knocked down on the floor, moaning in pain, hands covering her nose. Brooke was about to punch the woman again when Greg held her by her arm. 

“That’s enough Brooke,” Greg yelled, trying to keep Brooke from attacking again.

“Don’t you touch me, you piece of shit.” Brooke pulled her arm back. “You prick, how could you?” She demanded. She had trusted this man with her great. To see him betrayed that trust was like a punch to the gut.

“It’s all your fault, Brooke. A man can only wait for so long. I had enough patience all these years. But…”

“Oh, so you’re saying you went behind my back and cheated on me just because I didn’t put out for you?” Brooke questioned, unable to fathom the faulty logic.

“Brooke…” Greg spoke, quite exasperated, but wasn’t able to complete his sentence as Brooke interrupted him. 

“Shut the hell up. I can’t believe I was going to marry you,” Brooke said, her voice breaking a bit. She couldn’t even look at the man. Just the thought of standing near the man made her nauseous. She was disgusted with him. She walked out of the bathroom and straight into the hall when she heard Greg yelling after her.

“That’s just it, isn’t it? Throw a fit like the bitch that you are and walk out. That’s exactly your style.” Greg rushed after her.

“How dare you?” Brooke yelled back. She could feel everyone looking at them. 

“How dare me? How dare you? How dare you deny me? Me? I’m Greg Wilson and I always get what I want.” Greg shouted and for the first time in their relationship, Brooke saw the arrogance and sense of entitlement oozing out of the man. She questioned herself as to how she never saw this.

“You know what, pretty boy? You are right. You always get what you want. Just like you got to sleep with that secretary of yours because you could no longer keep it in your pants. Which means you got a booty at your beck and call and you once again are going to be the talk of the town.  You got what you wanted. And guess what else? The wedding is off. Don’t you dare show me your face ever again, you lying, cheating bastard.” Saying this, Brooke walked out of the hall. There were people around whispering.She could see her family and friends gathering around her. Her brother Neil was angry, she could tell. There was sadness in her mother’s eyes and her sister looked furious. She wanted to run to them and cry her heart out in the safety of their arms. But at the moment, she couldn’t. She felt humiliated in front of everyone. She couldn’t stop here for another second and listen to anyone trying to give her false assurances. She rushed to her car and drove away towards her apartment, trying to keep the tears at bay. She couldn’t believe this was her fate. She had loved the man with everything she had and lost him just because Greg would rather sleep with his slut of a secretary than getting married to Brooke. 

All Greg had to do was ask him, explain his needs, and Brooke would have given him what he desired. Instead, her fiance, well ex-fiance, thought it appropriate to have sex with someone else. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Until today Brooke was at her happiest. She had her own firm, she earned well and had a great family. She was in love. She had a loving fiance and she was about to get married to the love of her life. She was going to finally settle down, have a great married life, have kids, maybe adopt a dog and live happily ever after. It was everything she ever wanted for herself. 

And now she had lost everything. Brooke angrily wiped at her eyes and decided that right now she didn’t want to think about anything. She didn’t want to meet anyone, didn’t want to hear the pity in her friend’s or her family’s voice when they consoled her. Her only plans for the moment were getting hammered, eating junk food, and passing out. 

That was exactly what she did once she reached her apartment, in that exact order.