The Billionaire's Distressed Bride

A Familiar Face

A few days later, and Patricia’s betrayal was still weighing heavily on Henry's mind. Of everything he had imagined was happening that night, his wife cheating on him with his brother was the furthest thing on his mind. His own blood brother and his wife. On the night of their second wedding anniversary when they were supposed to go on a date to celebrate. Henry lost track of how many times he clenched and unclenched his fist as he waited in his car for Tyler. It had taken a lot of persuasion and manipulation, but Tyler had finally gotten him to agree to go to the party but the only thing on his mind was the thought of Daniel and Patricia having s*x. The door of his car opened and he looked sideways to see Tyler settling into the car.

“Let's go,” Tyler said. Henry made no attempt to move and Tyler swung his head in his direction. “What's wrong?” He asked.

“You know what's wrong,” Henry snapped.

“Take it easy, man,” Tyler said, trying to pacify him. “I can't say I know how you feel but one thing I know for sure is that you can't feel like that forever. It will pass, man. You gotta try to forget.”

Henry tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “My brother, Tyler. My brother and my wife, on the night of our anniversary.”

“If that steering wheel was someone, I'm sure the person would be dead by now. Ease up, Henry,” Tyler said.

“And you know what annoyed me the most?” Henry continued, ignoring Tyler's words, “it was the way Patricia was so calm and collected about it. She acted like I'd only just caught her giving something belonging to me away without my permission and nothing more.”

“Well, she did give something of yours away,” Tyler remarked, and Henry glared at him.

“Sorry,” Tyler apologized, “I'm only stating the obvious.”

“You're not helping matters,” Henry said. His knuckles had turned white and it looks like his bones might stick out anytime soon.

Tyler sighed and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Look, Henry, I can't tell you that the pain will go away anytime soon, but I'll tell you that you're handling it the wrong way. Are we going to this party or not?”

Henry released his grip on the steering wheel and leaned forward to place his head on it. Tyler patted him on the back and said, “I know man, I know it hurts so much. But it will pass, I know it will. How about I drive us to the party instead?”

Henry murmured words of agreement and they switched seats. A few minutes later, they were on the way to the club where the party was being held. The drive was short, and they were there in less than half an hour. The club was named Merryland, and it was one of the leading nightclubs in L.A. Tyler found a spot to park the car and they headed inside. Music was blasting from a speaker somewhere and nearly all the people present were dancing. Usually, club lights were something Henry couldn't tolerate but he was too bothered that night to care. They found somewhere to sit and they ordered drinks. The D.J announced that the party was starting soon, and the announcement was received with cheers all around the club. While everyone was having a good time, the opposite was the case with Henry. He felt even worse and felt the irresistible urge to smash the wine bottle in his front, as if it was responsible for his problems. He would have done it if not for the argument that was happening a few metres away from their table. And the only thing about that argument that caught his attention was the fact that he recognized the person on the receiving end. It didn't take him long to remember that it was the same person he'd almost knocked over three days ago. She was dressed in a very short, bright gown that contrasted the gloomy look on her face. Henry couldn't hear the words of the argument clearly but he could see that it was very heated. The man she was arguing with was big and muscular and he looked very irritated. The lady dropped the tray in her hand on a nearby table, startling the occupants of the table, but she didn't seem to care. She wagged a finger at the man and said something to him. Henry watched his expression watch to pure anger and in one swift motion, his hands dashed to the woman's face. She staggered backwards from the force and collided with the table behind her. The guy said something to her and marched away. A few people around noticed what was happening but none of them made any attempt to help her. She recovered from the slap after a few minutes and she plastered her hands to her face as she scurried away.

A while later, Henry was feeling pressed, and he stood up from the table.

“Where are you going?” Tyler asked when he noticed this. Compared to Henry, he was having a good time and he was already on his fifth glass of wine.

“Bathroom,” Henry replied, simply. Tyler nodded and continued sipping his wine. Henry struggled his way through the crowd and he found the bathroom easily.

He pushed the door open, and it connected with something solid. Henry stepped into the bathroom and peered behind the door to see what had interrupted its motion. He heard the crying before he saw what was there. She looked up and their eyes met. It was obvious that she recognized him, but she didn't say anything, and she returned her head downwards to continue sobbing. Henry tried to ignore her and walk away, but something tugging at his heartstrings stopped him. He willed himself to move but his legs didn't respond. His heart went out to her, but he couldn't fathom why. She was a stranger and he didn't care about her. Or did he? Why else was he getting the nagging feeling in his heart from seeing her crying.

Left with no other choice, he retrieved his handkerchief from his breast pocket and held it out to her. “Here. Wipe your tears,” he said.

She stopped sobbing and looked up at him again.

“Take it,” he said, impatiently.

She obeyed, and she dabbed her face with it.

He wanted to turn and go but his mind supplied him with a question. “Want to tell me what the problem is?” He asked.

For the first time in her life, Mandy was looking at a guy's face, and she was very pleased with what she saw. It didn't matter that the guy was the same one that almost knocked her down a few days ago and she certainly didn't care that he looked quite older than her. For a brief moment, she forgot all about her problems and the only thing that mattered to her was the guy standing in front of her.

“Hello?” Henry said, raising an eyebrow.

“Sorry,” Mandy said, but Henry didn't understand what she was apologizing for.

“Here, let me help you up.” He offered her his hand, and she spent the next four seconds looking at it before she took it. The door burst open at that moment and it startled her.

“What the f**k is happening here?”

A voice asked and alarm registered on Mandy's face.