Chapter One
Gabriella
I breathe a sigh of relief when I step inside the apartment I share with my fiancé. We were young when we decided to move in with each other, both fresh out of high school. The natural thing was to get engaged and have a long engagement. I have a splitting migraine. All I was wanting is to get home to take my medicine, strip down, turn all the lights down, close the dark out curtains and hope it’ll become a dull throb, instead of a full-blown migraine that will keep me down for days. I don’t always get them, but when I do, they’re really bad.
I’m frowning because the front door was unlocked and I could have sworn I locked it when I left this morning. What I didn’t expect was to hear moaning coming from our bedroom. I slowly creep up the stairs, thinking this can’t be happening to me. We’ve been together for six years. Since I was sixteen years old, both of us are wanting to hold out for our wedding night. So, when I hear the noises, I can’t help but walk up the stairs to investigate. As I slowly make my way to our room, I can hear the slapping of skin and my heart drops to my feet; my stomach revolts. I know without a shadow of a doubt what I’m walking into.
When I get to our bedroom, I see the most horrific thing I think I have ever seen in my entire twenty years. He’s pounding my best friend from behind and she’s begging for more. The man I was pledging my virginity to, the one who told me he was saving himself for me on our wedding night is in our bed with Sara, my would-be best friend.
“Yes, Brady. Yes!” I hear her scream out. It takes everything in my power not to grab the lamp located right next to the door and throw it at the back of his head. The only reason that lamp is there is because Brady has always been scared of walking into a darkened room. I should have seen the signs. I hear him grunt and finally he’s done rutting away into what I will now always refer to as Skanky Sara.
When they are finally finished, they still haven’t noticed me. I’m in shock and I’m not sure what I’m feeling. Strangely, all I can do is applaud. Call me crazy, but maybe this was the eyeopener I needed before I walked down the aisle, pledging my love and devotion.
“Ella, it’s not what it seems.” Brady is stammering, have I mentioned how much I hate that he calls me Ella. I can take Gabs, Gabby, or Gab even, But Ella just pisses me off.
“Tell me Brady, how does your dick fall into her pussy? From where I’m standing it certainly seemed like you knew what you were doing,” I state calmly. It all comes together now, the sneaking around, the not being there when I had a flat tire, the missed work events… all of it. This has been going on for months and it’s been going on with what was my best friend. I can’t believe I didn’t see it coming.
I turn to walk away, to get out of our apartment. I’ve always had goals, goals that he never thought were good enough. Now, I know. He was the one not good enough for me.
“Let me know when you and your mistress are out of our house. I’ll be back to get my belongings,” I say as he starts to come after me, his pants flapping around his thighs and I can’t help but giggle to myself.
“Ella, damn it. Just wait one damn minute. This is all one big misunderstanding. I promise you, babe,” I hear him say, but I’m busy getting my keys out of my purse, headache be damned. I’ll stay at a hotel tonight. Getting away from him is the only thing on my mind at this point.
I hear Sara say, “That’s not what he said only minutes ago, he said you were the ice queen in bed, wouldn’t even give him a blow job!” She knew, she knew all along how he wanted both of us to take a vow of abstinence until our marriage, that’s supposed to take place six months from now. I guess that’s another thing I’ll be cancelling too. I ignore her, because if I don’t, I’d probably grab her by her fake red hair and drag her out of my bed. Instead, I leave. Neither one of them are worth my time.
Chapter Two
Justin
Making my way to the hotel’s concierge, I’m dead on my feet. Two red eye flights back to back to manage Steele Industries has me wanting a hot shower, a hot meal, and a bed. In that exact order.