Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 131209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 656(@200wpm)___ 525(@250wpm)___ 437(@300wpm)
I abruptly turned, facing him. “Brooke! My name is Brooke!”
He jerked back, wounded.
“We’re done. We’ve been done for so fucking long. Goodbye, Devon,” I calmly stated, my voice breaking and my body shaking.
I left without letting him say goodbye, because I knew I would breakdown if I heard the words come out of his mouth. I cried the entire way home. I didn’t think I had any more tears to cry, and I promised myself I wouldn’t cry for him again. I had learned my lesson, ten times over.
I walked into my condo, and Ysabelle was sitting on my couch with Chance’s head on her lap. We looked into each other’s eyes from across the room.
“I’m so sorry,” she wallowed, tears swelling in her eyes.
“Why?” was all I could reply.
She proceeded to tell me everything that had happened to her in a course of twenty-four hours, and I swear I thought I was watching a movie as she explained it. I learned that afternoon that Madam was truly the puppet master, and she had not only hurt me, but hurt Ysabelle as well. The woman we thought we could trust, a second mother to me, and a first to her…
Everything we were supposed to be as a VIP—the fantasy, the dream, and the illusion—turns out Madam was exactly that. I wasn’t going to tell Ysabelle’s story; it was hers to share…
Though she had a plan, a plan that I avidly accepted.
I couldn’t blame her for her decisions based on the impact of her discovery. I barely knew what to do with it myself. She was emotionally fucked up after learning everything. She needed to numb herself, she needed to forget, and I assumed that’s what Devon was going to tell me. She said that they both had used each other. She knew it was wrong, and it may have caused her to lose Sebastian.
At the end of the day… no one was perfect, we all had made our beds, and now we had to lie in them. I could forgive her, and I could probably forgive him too. I’m sure it would take Sebastian some time, but they would find their way back to one another.
They were soul mates.
It didn’t take away the pain, hurt, and loss we both felt that afternoon. I mirrored and matched her despair, sorrow, and regret, we were one in the same. After she shared her story, I told her mine.
“I don’t know how everything got so out of hand. I would never want to hurt you. Devon hadn’t said anything to me, and you didn’t either. It was a shock when he told me last night. I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me?”
I shrugged, sitting next to her on my couch. “I wish I could tell you. I honestly don’t know. I’ve always put Sebastian and you on this pedestal, I guess, I was afraid I wouldn’t live up to it. You’ve always had everything, and for once… I wanted something of my own.”
“Jesus, Brooke, you know that’s not true. I mean you know how we started off. I’m obviously here for a reason. Look at me now. I would never want you to feel that way.”
I nodded. “I know that now. I guess appearances can be deceiving.”
“Are you guys? I mean… what’s going to happen with you?”
“We’re done, Bella. We’ve hurt each other so much. I don’t think we can come back from that. I love him, and I know he loves me, but maybe that’s not enough,” I wiped the tear away from my cheek. “So much for not crying anymore,” I snickered.
She grabbed my hand for support. “Never say never, trust me, Brooke, I know that more than anyone. Devon is one of the most amazing men I have ever had the privilege of meeting. And you’re… well… you know… fucking crazy,” she smiled, laughing, making me grin.
“Everything will fall into place, for all of us. We just have to have faith.” She pulled me into a tight hug, and for the first time in my life.
I prayed that she was right.
<>D<>
“Hey, Kid,” I answered my cellphone six weeks later.
“Hey,” Ysabelle greeted. “So… I’m leaving.”
“Come again?”
“I’m done here. I'm going to take a sabbatical for a bit, and try to go home."
“Are you okay?”
“I hope so.”
“What about VIP? I thought you took over?”
She laughed. “It’s in the right hands. I’ve washed myself of it. It was never mine, Devon.”
“Who—”
“Everything will fall into place. I promise,” she vigilantly interrupted.
“Take care of yourself, okay? Let me know once you’re settled.”
“Of course. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
“And, Devon?”
“Yeah?”
“Sometimes people need to royally fuck up to find out what they need in life. It’s human. I’ve done it all my life, and I’m hoping for once that it leads me back to where I belong. But forgiveness is a bitch.”