"What the fuck, Florian? How could you fucking do this?"
"What did I do?" Florian asked, his voice deep, dark, and smooth. "Drive her insane with pleasure when you were planning to drive her insane with pain?" "What?" Damien countered, his eyes wide. "What the hell are you talking about?" I swallowed hard, pulling myself away from Florian. "You were at..." I trailed off, blinking the tears away. In as much as Florian was right about his ability to make me forget everything, at least for last night, seeing Damien, those pretty eyes I had loved so much, that face I saw in my happiest dreams... It hurt. All over again. "Fucking speak up, Roxanne! What is yoir excuse for being this bastard's little slut?" "Don't you dare call me names. You are the one who went around and broke the vows we didn't even get to make. You are the one who..." "Shut up, Roxanne. Shut up." It was my brother this time, and I could see the nervousness in his eyes as he looked towards Damien. My eyes filled even faster because, unlike every other cheating scandal, my brother was in on this one, too. Instead of having him on my side, he was going to try his best to cover for Damien so he doesn't get caught, too. "Roxanne!" I looked up, just as mum stalked down to us. The tears were still running down her cheeks, but her eyes were dark and angry. I steeled myself for what she would say or do, knowing that explaining would be a waste. My brother was always the golden child. Always. He would never do any wrong, even if I said he did. Besides, I had no pictures or anything. I have no evidence. Just Florian. And even if he says something, no one would believe him. "Come here!" She screamed, grabbing my arm, her carefully done nails piercing into my flesh. I gave a yelp as I followed her, my hair bouncing off my back. "Easy," Floran suddenly said, gently wrapping his hand around my mum's hand. I gasped and turned to him, but his eyes were fixed on hers, and they were determined. The pain in my arm immediately eased up as he loosened her grip on my hand, then slowly got between us again. "I don't care what you people have to say, but no one is hurting Roxanne while I am here." "Florian," I said in a small whisper, my chest heaving. "That is my mum." "I don't care," he said simply, his voice low. "No one is hurting my lady." My lips parted, and I turned. My dad had come down too, and his eyes were filled with anger as he wrapped his hands around my still surprised mother. Damien and my brother had grown quiet now, and it was nice to know they had the decency to at least feel guilty. "This.... you were so happy, Roxanne. You wanted to get married so bad, and a day before you do this? What came over you? What could it possibly be?" "Mum, I..." "Move away from him," Dad suddenly said, his eyes focused on my arm, which Florian was holding and carefully massaging the points where mum had dug her fingers in. I turned to Florian and bit down on my lips. "Dad, I...." "Don't call me that until you get away from him. You saw him hurt your fiance and..." "He did nothing to Damien, dad." "Roxanne! Damien is the man you are going to marry!" "No," I said, my heart thumping in my chesg. "No, dad. I am not marrying Damien." "Have you lost your mind, Roxanne? Why? I treat you well. I do everything for you, and now, because of one night? You wanted to wait till marriage! You should have told me all it would take to have you was to fuck your brains out!" "I was waiting till marriage, Damien. But you weren't! You lied about the bachelor's party. You were at a strip club! You were mindlessly sleeping with other women a night before our wedding!" I saw colour drain from his face, and he turned to my parents. My mum now had a look of confusion while my dad looked even angrier. "What?" Dad said, his voice low. "Damien?" "She is lying, dad." I turned to my brother, and my teeth gritted hard, my fingers clenching my dress. "Tell us what happened last night, Ronan. Immediately." "Dad, he..." "We played games all night at the club house. If you don't believe me, I will call my friends." "You guys were together!" I screamed, feeling voiceless. Again. This wasn't the first time I was feeling this way. Unseen. Unheard. This wasn't the first time I was feeling like I had to swallow everything I felt in the face of Ronan's never-ending attention seeking. "Does that make sense, mum? Does it? Why would I ever let Damien cheat on my own sister and still cover for him? Think up a better lie, Roxanne." I shook my head, tears streaming down my cheeks. "Damien, at least, have the decency to say the truth. At least, after cheating on me, after breaking my heart like this, at least..." "Are you asking me to back up your lie because you know how much I love you?" I closed my eyes as tears ran down my face, my chest heaving. My knees felt weak, and my heart broke over and over again. "Damien. You are..." "Roxanne," my dad said, cutting me off. I turned to him, my heart dreading what he would say next. His eyes had grown absolutely cold, his hands gripping my mother tighter. "So you choose him?" He asked, gesturing towards Florian. Florian was still holding me, and I turned to him, my chesg heaving. No. Of course, I wouldn't choose Florian. But what difference would it make? They were all against me anyway. Even if I let go of Florian's hand now, I knew I would regret it. I would be forced to marry a liar and a cheater, and my brother would win. My parents will hate me, and I don't know how am I supposed to bear that when their clear favouritism of my brother was already suffocating. I turned to Florian again, my tears freezing in my face. I had to be rational. There was no use. If I couldn't even be trusted when I had done something so out of character, why would I choose them? "Come home," Dad said again. "Come home and get married like you are supposed to." I let out a small breath. "Why would I choose you, dad?" "What?" "You just chose Ronan. Again. You always choose him. You went for his stupid audition instead of my high school graduation. You stayed at home because he didn't feel like going for my graduation. You only let me date Damien because he approved!" "Roxanne!" Ronan yelled, his eyes wide. "Are you jealous of me? Is that why you are acting out like this?" "Twenty-six years!" I yelled, ignoring Ronan. "Twenty-six years of my life, dad. I couldn't even move out because Ronan didn't want me to. Why would I choose you now, dad? You have always chosen him. My birthdays catered for him. You bought me his dream car instead of mine. You were absent for me just to be there for him. Why should I choose you?" My mother pushed out of my father's grip, her chest rising and falling in a rapid rhythm. "You... you are a disgrace! I did everything for you!" "And you did twice as much for him! Even now! No one is listening to me! Because he is on Damien's side! I got cheated on, and instead of coming home to warnth, I am the one who is being criticized. Again!" "Roxanne!" Mum yelled, then suddenly fell back, a gasp leaving her lips. "Naomi!" Dad said, immediately wrapping his hands around her, breaking her fall. Tears streamed down my cheeks as they ran around her, with Ronan screaming curses at me. "Call the ambulance," Dad said, and Damien immediately straightened and pulled his phone. Florian held my hand throughout, so even when I tried to go to her, I couldn't. "Get out," Dad said suddenly, straightening. "Leave my sight, right this instant! You are dead to me, Roxanne! You chose some man over your own family! You ruined everything!" I took a step back, my eyes falling to my mother. She was crying in Ronan's arms now, her body shaking hard. I bit down on my lips, then slowly turned to Florian. He was unfazed by the entire thing, his eyes dark as he watched my family turn against me. "Let's go," he said suddenly, turning to me. "I will take you home, Rox." I swallowed hard, my chest heaving. Home. I had always thought this was home. Apparently, it wasn't. "You're a bastard, Florian! Don't ever show up around me! Don't ever bring that ungrateful bitch around us, ever again!" Florian gave a small nod. "I won't have to." Without another word, he leaned, carrying me into his arms bridal style. I saw Damien's eyes harden at the gesture, but I buried my face in Florian's chest, hoping I would be able to heal because I wasn't hoping not to be broken anymore. I was already broken.I let out a small whimper as my eyes closed, my chest heaving hard. My face buried in my palm, and I let out a shaky breath. I was trying as hard as I could to not let Florian hear me, but I knew I had gotten loud at some point, and I was grateful that he hadn't bothered to say anything to me.I sighed, closing my eyes. Today would have been my wedding. Yet here I am. I have nowhere to go.I straightened slowly, sniffing hard as I tried to best to compose myself. I turned to Florian. His eyes were cold as he drove silently, his fingers resting between us, the other navigating the steering wheel."I... I will sleep at the office till I can...""You are coming home with me."I bit down on my lips. "That is hardly home, Florian."He turned to me, his brow lifting. "Okay? You have called the Roseville mansion home for twenty-six years. Surely it wouldn't hurt your soul to call my place home for now."I turned away, my eyes brimming with tears. He was right. I had never felt at home in the
I stood in front of the mansion where Florian apparently lived. It was at least twice that of my parent's, and was situated in a quaint, quiet place in the richest part of CA. I looked around. Nature was thriving here, and the mansion itself was victorian style and extremely beautiful."Let's go," Florian said finally as he came beside me. He had handed the keys to a man who had greeted me and said man was currently taking the car away."I..." I started to say, my eyes falling to my feet. I still couldn't shake off the heavy awareness of him that I felt. And the awareness of what we had done last night. "Are you sure this is okay? I could sleep in my office before I find a way to retrieve...""Stay here, Roxanne. Don't be stubborn."I nodded slowly, then swallowed as I felt his hand rest gently on the curve of my waist. Without another word, he pulled me into the massive entrance, his body heating mine up due to how close together we were.The interior was even more magnificent, and I
"Ma'am, please come with me to the bedroom. Sir has asked us to help you settle down before lunch."I tore my gaze away from the path where Florian had taken away from me and turned to the woman. She was young, probably around my age, and dressed in a very neat maid's uniform.I forced a small smile, then nodded. "Thank you."She smiled, then gestured with her hand towards the stairs. I took the path she directed me to, while she fell into step next to me, her fingers elegantly clasped in front of her.I looked around the house, as last night was a complete haze, and I could barely even remember that wr had climbed a stair case. There were dark pieces of art around the house and one on the wall at the very top of the stairs.It was a close-up of a hand. My brows furrowed. Those rings looked like Florian's, and the longer I looked at the painting, the more I saw.I could see the rest from what could have been there, and his fingers seemed to be wrapped around a... chin?I could see the
The bath took longer than I thought, and when I finally pulled myself out of it, the water had gone cold. I wrapped a robe around me and walked. The walk-in closet was just across from the bath, and I thought it was absolutely convenient.I braced myself for yet another discovery as I opened the door. This place had been a whole adventure all through. It made me wonder what else waited. What else could be in there.I opened up the doors, and my lips fell open. Rows after rows of comfortable clothes ranging from hoodies that looked at least two sizes too big, then shorts just like I loved to wear before the whole glow up thing.Now my wardrobe was filled with silk, and I wore them even when it got too hot or felt weird against my skin.I broke into a smile as I walked inside, running my hands on the clothes. This was an absolute dream. There was, for sure, an entire closet for formal dresses and shoes, but the comfortable clothes filled the entire space.I settled on a large Hoodie and
ROXANNE'S P.O.V I sat alone at the dining, my feet rapping slowly on the floor. My eyes roamed around the entire house, my chest heaving as I took in the space. Florian did have stellar taste. He always has. His clothes always stood out from my brother's and any other friends they had. He always stood out from all of them.Maybe that is why I still don't understand why he kissed me in that closet years ago.I shook off the thought as Florian appeared, carrying a white glass bowl in his hands. He was wearing an apron now, and I wondered if he had done the cooking himself.I bit down on my lips as he set it on the table and started to turn away without looking at me. My brows furrowed a little. He had brought me down here himself after complimenting this hoodie and all, but now he seemed distant. Aloof."Florian."He stopped, then turned to me. "Yes?""Maybe I should come help out?"He raised a brow. "The maids are here for that.""So why are you cooking?""Because I want to," he said
My lips parted, but no words could come out of it. I just sat there, my eyes fixed on Florian's smile, the TV in the background acting like some sort of reminder of what I had gotten myself into.I stood up slowly, then walked past Florian and towards the TV. It showed herds of reporters, and Damien tried his best to push through them. He was still wearing the suit I had seen him in earlier, and I wondered what my parents thought right now. What they would be feeling.Would they finally take me back? Would they believe everything I had said?I turned, and Florian was behind me, his hand tucked into his pockets, his eyes cold as he looked down at me."Did... did you do this?"He looked up to the TV, then to me. "I wish I had.""Florian.""Let's face it, Rox. He slept with prostitutes and then let them take explicit photos of him like that. What exactly was he expecting? Of course, one of them would end up blackmailing him or even leaking it. This was bound to happen."I swallowed hard.
I woke up to the warmth of soft moist skin against my face. It felt like bliss, and I moved even further in, inhaling the pretty scent of masculine aroma and cooking. It felt nice, and I smiled, wrapping my hand even tighter around this pretty smelling thing, like if I woke up, it would be gone."You lied about hating being touched."I stopped chuckling to myself, then opened my eyes and looked up. As it turns out, my hand was firmly wrapped around Florian's back, my nails digging into his flesh, my face buried in his chest.My lips parted, and I started to move, but he pulled me back, a gasp escaping my lips."Florian, I...""You can stay here," he said, and I could hear him chuckle a little. "You are such a bad liar."I sighed, slowly adjusting closer to him again. He did smell incredibly beautiful, and there was perfection in the way my hands were around him, his skin soft yet firm."I didn't lie," I said slowly, my lashes fluttering against his skin. I felt him jerk a little to th
I ran to the closet, my eyes roaming around the section for formal to semi formal dresses that I could wear. The Continental is an elite restaurant frequented by some of the wealthiest people around. Even though I had no use for any of the glitz and glamour of the place, I have always dreamed of having their special lamb roast, after one particular day when Ronan had come home, bragging about the VIP card dad had given him to the restaurant, and how his date had been completely stunned, enough to let herself be bend over even in the bathroom floors. Of course, she never heard from him again, but she sure is satisfied. I shook my head, then reached for a black dress. It was floor length and would hug my figure down to the very edges. I took it in, nodding slowly. It was sparkly and had a slit up to the thigh that was covered in transparent black material. The sleeves were slim, almost nonexistent, and the neckline was a little loose and had an arrangement of pearls around it. It was p