Chapter 8: A friend in Need
1673 Words
Brianna's POV
The ride home from Nikolas’ office was depressing. I'd managed to reel in my emotions before getting to my room and accepting the fact that I just couldn't cope. One question weighed on my mind: Why on earth does Nikolas hate me? He didn't act like someone who'd held my hands as we stood under a palm tree, the sea waves crashing behind us. And the kiss we'd shared, did that mean nothing to him?
Yes, dummy, because he loved Daphne! My inner mind reminded me.
I dropped to the bed and thought of apologizing to Mrs Conti even though all of me was sure she'd had a hand in what happened at dinner yesterday. Then again, how could I approach her? If she'd seen me as an inconvenience before, right now, she despised me.
Sighing aloud, I packed up some clothes and my laptop into a duffel bag. The goal was to spend a few days or possibly a week in a hotel until everything was resolved.
I dropped by at my restaurant, or rather my soon-to-be restaurant, to continue with the preparations for launching. My goal was to keep Thyme & Bloom up and running before the end of the year.
I buried all my attention to focus , and I didn't realize I'd skipped lunch. My blaring phone was what jarred me back to the present.
“What the f**k, Brianna? You don't consider me a friend anymore?” LaToya's angry voice blared out as soon as I picked the call.
“Good day to you too, ma’am,” I replied, despite the confusion brewing in me. “You woke up on the wrong side of the bed, huh.”
“It's past 2. And no, I never wake up on the wrong side of any bed. You forget I prefer my hammock.”
I pinned my lips. “Right.”
“Was I supposed to learn about your wedding from the tabloids?” s**t. “At first I thought it was some form of prank, but apparently I was wrong. There are pictures of you in a freaking white dress. And a veil. Outside of a courthouse. What the hell?”
Cold sweat broke out on my face, my eyes widened with horror. The tabloids had gotten hold of the news. Oh no!
“You there?” Her voice tore into my thoughts.
“Yeah yeah.” I sighed. “Look, I was about to tell you. It's just that, Nikolas prefers a private life. He didn't want everyone knowing about the wedding.” The ease with which the lie flowed out baffled me. Maybe because there was an element of truth in it. Nikolas was an incredibly private guy.
“I am your friend, Brianna. Your best friend. Not some random stranger you meet on the streets. Since when did we start keeping secrets from each other?”
I could hear the hurt in her voice. Even I would have felt bad if the tables were turned.
“I’m sorry, Tee.” There was no word from her. “Come on, say something. I know how bad this is. But trust me it was out of my power.”
After a long silence and just as I began to fear she'd hung up, she spoke. “It is pretty bad.”
“I know. How about we meet up today? I have a lot to tell you.”
I could picture her shrug as she answered, “Fine. But on one condition.”
“Okay.”
“You rustle up some cheeseburger with extra sauce. Strawberry milkshake will work, but with granola.”
I nearly chuckled at her emphasis, then remembered she was likely still mad at me.
“Sure thing. I'll see you,” I replied with a small smile.
I buried my face in my hands, letting out a long sigh. I sure had a lot of explaining to do.
×××
LaToya arrived few minutes after I checked into my room.
My gaze dropped on the bag she carried. LaToya was here with goodies from my favourite cake shop. “No way. Come on, you know I'm on a diet.”
I pushed the door wider to let her in.
“And who says I got this for you.” She brought out the content of the bag. Two boxes of cupcakes and a bottle of wine.
I hide my delight as I grabbed one of the boxes and took a generous bite from a cake.
“You can blame me, Tee. Haven't had this since forever,” I said when LaToya gasped.
“Yeah, remind me. Weren't you the one that started the ‘eat healthy brouhaha?’ Oh, I don't eat this, I don't eat ramen,” she mimicked, causing me to laugh even harder.
“Whatever, Tee. Allow me enjoy my pastries.”
Just then, room service arrived with my order. Thanking them, I set it before LaToya.
She eyed the meal for some time. “Okay, yes I know I asked for cheeseburger and granola-free shake but not one made by a hotel.” Her voice hiked at the last part of the sentence.
“Oh. Well, we could go to the restaurants down the street. There a couple of them actually.”
She raised her brow.
“What?” I asked, defensive.
“I meant your cheeseburger. You know, the one you made yourself. In your kitchen. Slightly burnt and all, you know what, let's just address the elephant in the room. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Where?”
“What do you mean where? In a hotel room, little miss. You know, it's crazy. One minute you were the Brianna I know and the next, you're a married woman? What's more, it's Nikolas Conti?”
I picked up another cake, not know what to say. The lie to give. It was already too late to lie; my silence was enough to make her suspect smell a rat.
“Brianna?” she called, her voice full of concern just like her eyes. “Is everything okay?”
“I'm fine, Tee. Just a little stressed, that's all.”
“And you can't even look me in the eye. Does that explain why you're in a hotel room, merely a week after your wedding? Come on, I'm not a fool,” she said, raising a brow.
No, she wasn't. I was the big fool here for not kicking against this marriage and letting my feelings rule over me.
LaToya’s sigh snatched my attention. “I think I know. Look, I'm sorry for how I lashed out earlier. You're right. Some things are rather kept private especially if that's what your…husband wants.” I almost burst out laughing at the unease with which she said the word ‘husband’. It must have sounded foreign to her.
“That's not it. I…I think I made a mistake.”
“Why do you say so?”
I stood up, as though my chair had turn into a burning coal and walked to the other end of the room where the windows stood.
The night skyline looked peaceful. And peaceful was the feeling I yearned for in my life.
I turned towards LaToya who remained on the armrest.
“I made a mistake.” I said again, louder, and reached for the bottle of wine , popped it open and poured a glass. Taking a long swig, I went for another and was about to pour again when LaToya stopped me. Her eyes eyes held mine as she shook her head.
“You're not going to get drunk. Not on my watch.”
“Drunken with fruit wine?”
Her lips stretched into a tight smile. “Not taking that chance.”
Letting her take the wine, I dropped to a couch.
“This is about the wedding, isn't it?” She sighed. “If I'm being honest, it's kinda surprising. You guys weren't secretly dating or anything, right?”
She shook my head.
She sighed in relief. “Thank God. It was an arranged marriage. I mean, you'd always known your old man was going to match you with somone.”
“Yeah, but not him,” I whispered.
“Brianna, Daphne is gone and…”
“Daphne is my sister.” I sat up. “Gone or not, she's my blood. You know, getting married to Nikolas is not better than committing murder.
“Come of it, Brianna.”
“I'm serious. Why's everyone acting like this isn't a big deal. They were meant to be together. They'd prepared the date for their wedding, gotten the rings and all. And you know what hurts more?”
She stared at me, her brows almost touching.
“He still loves her.” I chuckled dryly. “As he should though. They were perfect together. Now, he’s thrusted into this dumb marriage that doesn't have any value whatsoever other than bring hurt him.”
“Okay, that's enough. Geez.” She took my hands and faced me fully. “You're beating yourself so hard. None of this is your fault.”
“But I could have refused.” There was a part of me that feared I'd went ahead with the marriage for the stupid feelings I'd always had for Nikolas. “I'm a terrible person.”
“The only terrible person is the one blaming you for this, whoever that person is. Listen, Nikolas's a grown man too. He could've easily opted out. Why didn't he?”
I shrugged.
“See? If he was so against this, he would've refused. You're not going anywhere with this self-loathe, girl. It's not helping.”
I buried my face in my hands, tired of it all.
“It's okay. We'll figure this out.” LaToya wrapped her arms around me.
Inwardly, I shook my head. Her words usually uplifted me. Not in this case. I didn't see any hope. None at all.
- Writer
