C2 Chapter 2

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The new Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Bryans! I heard the host announce excitedly. I held on to my new husband’s arm happily.

Bryan smiled at me gently, his eyes were teary. He leaned forward to give me a kiss on the lips.

The place was magical. The garden just outside the church was covered in moss green and brown fabrics. I was warm in my pristine white gown. I wanted a long train, but Bryan had been afraid that he would somehow trip on it. I figured that was just his one request so I settled for a waist-length one. The long lacy sleeves of my bolero jacket covered my arms. It barely showed flesh. My gown reflected the prudent, virginal bride that I was.

The cake was a perfect two-tier with little green flowers on its base. The cake topper was the traditional bride and groom locked in a sweet embrace.

My bridesmaids, who were dressed in elegant moss green and brown swirled gowns, danced around us. With the two-inch heels that I wore, my violet eyes were at almost the same level as Bryan’s brown ones. He wasn’t tall, but it really didn’t matter to me. He was my groom, my husband. He made this dream wedding come true. He agreed to make it my way, exactly the way I dreamed it would be.

I danced happily in Bryan’s arms. Then the host announced a change of partners and I was whirled out of Bryan’s arms. I looked around to find where he had gone. And then I saw him… in the middle of the dance floor, dancing happily with a bridesmaid wearing a revealing moss green gown, a flower tucked on her right ear. She looked at me and a mischievous grin flashed across her beautiful Barbie-like features and then she laughed the most malicious laugh I have heard in my entire life.

“This is my wedding!” I shouted at her. And then I fell to my knees, crying.

I felt someone reach out for me and force me to stand up. It was my least favorite person in the world, Adam. He shook me and said, “Pull yourself together!”

“I can’t…” I said.

“Will you wake up, Astrid?” he shouted at me.

I felt him shake me more intensely.

“Wake up!” he shouted.

The world whirled around me. I forced myself to open my eyes. I found myself staring into a pair of intense blue eyes, outlined by a handsome tanned face. I stood up from my bed and stared back at Adam.

He raised a brow at me.

“Are you okay?” he asked me.

I took a deep breath and tried to steady myself. Then I slowly nodded.

“Your phone has been ringing non-stop,” he told me. “I can’t concentrate and I’ve got a pleading to submit tomorrow.”

Adam is sort of my cousin, but we’re not really related by blood, although we grew up together. He was my cousin’s half-brother. Ever since we were kids, we never got along too well. He’s too frank, too tactless. He says what’s on his mind, regardless of who will get hurt or who will look like a fool.

I don’t really know why I ended up in his apartment after my whole world fell apart. I shared an apartment with Geena, the beautiful Barbie doll in my dreams. She is my first cousin, and has been my closest friend ever since I was a kid. I’ve slept over at her house more than I’ve slept in my own bed. That was why it was just natural that we live together after college. Only, it wasn’t really my apartment, but hers. Uncle Jack, Adam and Geena’s rich father, made sure they were well provided for.

Between the two of us, Geena was the wild one. She wasn’t always smart, but with her charm and looks, she survived all the challenges that came her way. Well, if she got away with humping my fiancé behind my back, she can get away with almost anything. Or maybe I was just too trusting… too naïve!

My ex-fiancé is an orthodontist. He is goal-oriented and ambitious, much like me. When Geena needed a job that didn’t really have a lot of pressure, Bryan took her in. I was not worried. They both loved me. They would never betray me… or so I thought.

Back when I was still clueless, Adam had been dropping hints to me; sometimes in the form of a very sarcastic remark, but since I was so used to him being rude, I just tuned him out.

So one evening, I planned to surprise Bryan at work. I was about to open the door when I heard him and Geena arguing.

“You have to get rid of it!” Bryan said angrily.

“I’m not going to get rid of it! I may have done shameful things in my life, but I will not kill my own baby!”

“Astrid will find out!” Bryan argued.

“And you still plan to marry her after getting me pregnant!?” Geena asked angrily.

“I already spent a fortune on that wedding she planned! It was too extravagant! What do you want me to do? Call it all off?”

“Oh, really? So you want me to call off my pregnancy instead?” Geena asked. “I can’t believe you’re even considering that! Perhaps you should have considered checking your ten-year old condom before you jumped on the sofa with me!”

“Are you sure it is even mine?”

“How dare you, Bryan?” Geena fired at him. “We’ve been sleeping together for six months! I’ve never let any other man touch me except for you!”

“So what do you want me to do? Choose between my wedding and your pregnancy? It’s a difficult choice to make, you know!”

At that point, I couldn’t take any more. I barged into the room, which shocked them both. I stared at both of them, pasting a bored expression on my face.

“Oh, sweetheart… we were just having a discussion about… a patient.” Bryan struggled to lie.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Really? Which patient? Your unborn child?”

They were both shocked to hear me say that.

“I’ve been standing here long enough and I assure you, I need no explanations from either of you.” I struggled to keep my voice calm. “Bryan, I know it is a very difficult choice to make. A man like you will not have balls big enough to make a decision like that. So, why don’t I make it for you?” I took a deep breath. “You both stay away from me for the rest of my life! In case, you were too dumb to understand, Bryan… the wedding is off!” Then I turned on my heel.

“But… I already spent a fortune on that damn wedding!” Bryan said angrily.

I turned around so I could face him. “Well, then I’ll send you all your receipts and you can see if you can get any refunds!” I stormed out of the room.

I went home immediately and gathered my clothes and as much stuff as I could fit in one suitcase. I didn’t have anywhere to go at that time. I couldn’t face my friends yet. I was too embarrassed. They already didn’t like Bryan that much because they thought he was self-centered and egotistic. I had defended Bryan, saying that at least he was faithful to me. And now, this!

Before I could even have second thoughts about leaving Geena’s apartment, I went to the person who knew what was happening even before I knew it myself. And I sincerely hoped that person considered me as family all throughout these years.

Adam never liked Bryan. He always told me that my boyfriend was up to no good, or that he only thought of himself and he would only make me cry.

When he was suspecting that things were happening between Bryan and Geena, he would say things to me like:

“You’re so naïve, Ash!”

“Open your eyes sometimes and stop trusting too much!”

“Sometimes, the people you trust the most, Ash, are the ones who betray you the deepest. Look around. You just might understand what I am saying.”

So when I came to him that night, I didn’t have to explain anything. He saw that my eyes were swollen and that I was carrying a suitcase with me. Without a word, he opened the door wider to let me in.

“How long have you known?” I asked him.

“Does it matter how long I have known?” he asked back. Although he sat beside me on the couch, he offered no arm or shoulder for me to cry on. Adam isn’t a very touchy feely person. But it meant a lot to me that he made me feel that he was there for me.

“How could they do this to me?”

He sighed. “The more important question is, what are you going to do about it?”

“She’s pregnant!” I said.

For a while, Adam was silent. I could tell he was brewing his anger all inside him. Then finally he said, “I suppose I should beat the hell out of Bryan for getting Geena pregnant. But right now, I want to give him a shiner more for what he did to you.”

I stared up at him. He smiled, which is something he rarely does. “You grew up with me, Ash. You, too, are like a sister to me, believe it or not.” He chuckled humorlessly. “Now, what happened to Geena, she’s an adult now. She should know that her actions have consequences. I can’t beat up Bryan if Geena participated in the act so willingly. But you, on the other hand… it was not fair what they did to you.”

Adam took me in, but it had always been on a temporary basis. He’s a little bit of a woman-hater… I think. A woman’s presence in his luxurious bachelor flat would probably kill him little by little.

But I was glad that he allowed me to live with him… until I get my act together. I intended to find my own apartment. If only the rest of my friends were rich enough to rent a two-bedroom flat, I could crash in with one of them. But until then, I’d be the parasite living in Adam’s guest bedroom.

“Are you okay?” Adam asked, giving me another gentle shake.

I nodded.

“You were in all afternoon. Aren’t you supposed to be working?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Not anymore.”

He raised a brow. “Your boss sacked you?”

I sighed and then I nodded. “Apparently, I am no longer recommended to stand within ten feet of people who are getting married.”

“I can’t say I blame your boss,” he said. “You made this breakup the center of your universe, Ash. You have to stop this. You have to pull yourself together. Dwelling on what would have been will only make you twice the loser.”

“I’m not a loser!”

“Whatever.” He rolled his eyes. “But it looks like that from where I’m standing. No house, no boyfriend, no job.”

“Right. Remind me to look for an apartment as soon as I can stand up.”

“As soon as you get a job, you mean,” he said.

“Yes, that too.”

He sighed. “It’s no secret that I want to keep this apartment all to myself. But right now, Ash, I’m the only one you have. I don’t have a choice. I can’t disown you. But I hate to see you deteriorating every day. A week of moping is fine. It’s been almost a month now. You’re in worse condition than you were the first time you showed up on my doorstep.”

“I… I don’t know what to do, Adam,” I admitted.

“Yes, you do. Go out with your friends. Party all night. You can sleep around if you want. Even I won’t judge you,” he said. “Just get out of bed and stop moping.”

“I’m not moping!”

He snorted. “You don’t convince me.”

I rolled my eyes and lay back on the bed.

“By the way, your mother called me. She asked if I’ve seen you. When was the last time you talked to her? She was very concerned.”

“Last week. Took her a long time to call you.”

“Honestly, I am the last person in our family that they would expect you to run to,” he said, standing up from the bed, and then he headed towards the door.

“Adam…” I called.

He turned back to me.

“How’s… Geena? Bryan was asking her to get rid of the baby. Did… did they go for it?”

He raised a brow at me. “Why do you want to know? They can go to hell for all you care. Don’t ask again! Because even if Bryan’s on his knees begging for forgiveness, I will be the last person to tell him where you are!”

“Is he asking for my forgiveness?”

He sighed in frustration. “The only reason he’ll do that is because he wants back the sixty grand he already spent on your wedding preparations!” With his last barb cutting through me, he strode out of the room.

Adam can be ruthless and careless with my feelings, but somehow, I appreciate it that he doesn’t lead me on or tell me lies just to make me feel better. I can always count on him for the brutal truth. Maybe that’s why I ran to him when I found out about Bryan’s affair. Because I felt that I had been surrounded by lies for too long. And for once, I wanted the truth. No matter how painful it was.