One Night With The Wrong Brother

I thought I was waking up in the arms of Arthur, the man I loved. But as the morning light hit the Hamptons estate, the man buttoning his cuffs by the window turned around with eyes like chips of ice. It was Augustus Riddle, Arthur’s cruel younger brother, and I had just spent the night whispering confessions of love into the wrong man's ear. The night I thought was a beautiful beginning turned into a devastating nightmare. Instead of comfort, Gus treated me like a stain on his expensive carpet, scribbling a check for "services rendered" before shoving me into a dark service corridor to hide my existence from his brother. "How much does it cost to buy your silence?" He sneered, before leaving me barefoot in a torrential downpour while he drove away in a luxury Cadillac. Four years later, I am a struggling actress in Los Angeles, working double shifts as a barista just to keep the lights on. My life was finally stable until my roommate dragged me to a high-end dinner to meet her new "influential" boyfriend. The man sitting at the table, looking more arrogant and lethal than ever, was Augustus. He spent the entire night humiliating me, calling me a pathetic amateur and a social climber in front of my only friends. When I fled into the rain and collapsed on the sidewalk, skinning my knee until I bled, he watched from his car. He saw me clutching a plastic baggie containing the taped-together pieces of that four-year-old check—the only proof of my shame. He looked at me like roadkill, rolled up his window, and drove off into the dark. I couldn't understand why he was doing this. Why did he hate me enough to crush me, yet remember that I couldn't handle the smell of cigarette smoke? Why did he leave me bleeding in the street, only to send expensive medical supplies and coffee to my door the very next morning? "I'm moving out." I told my roommates, realizing that Gus Riddle didn't just want to destroy me; he wanted to haunt me. I grabbed my suitcase and walked out with eighty dollars to my name, finally ready to disappear into the city before he could burn the rest of my life to the ground.

Chapters

Chapter 8

The bus dropped her off two blocks from the apartment. The rain was torrential now, a curtain of water hammering the pavement.

Katherine didn't have an umbrella. She put her purse over her head and ran.

Her cheap flats slapped against the wet concrete. She was soaked to the bone in seconds.

As she rounded the corner to her building, she saw brake lights.

The Escalade was parked in front of her building.

Katherine skidded to a halt. She ducked behind a large hedge, her heart pounding.

The passenger door opened. An umbrella-huge, black, and sturdy-emerged first.

Gus stepped out. He opened the umbrella effortlessly.

He walked around to the back door and opened it. Kylie stepped out, giggling.

She moved into his space immediately. Gus held the umbrella over her. He tilted it so she was completely covered.

But in doing so, he left himself exposed.

The rain hammered down on Gus's left shoulder. within seconds, his expensive t-shirt was soaked, clinging to his arm. He didn't seem to notice. He just held the umbrella steady for Kylie.

Katherine watched from the bushes, shivering violently. It was such a small gesture. So gentlemanly. So Gus.

He walked Kylie to the door. Kylie turned to him. She stood on her tiptoes, her hands on his chest.

From Katherine's angle, hidden in the dark, it looked like their faces merged.

A kiss.

Katherine clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a sob. The pain was physical. It felt like someone had reached into her chest and squeezed her heart until it burst.

She closed her eyes. She couldn't watch.

After a moment, the lobby door opened and closed.

Katherine opened her eyes.

Gus was still standing there. Alone. In the rain.

He hadn't gone inside.

He folded the umbrella. He stood by the car, water dripping from his hair. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the lighter and a cigarette. He lit it, shielding the flame with his hand.

He took a deep drag, the cherry of the cigarette glowing bright red in the darkness.

He turned his head. He looked straight at the hedge where Katherine was hiding.

He couldn't possibly see her. It was pitch black.

But he stared at that spot for a long, long time.

Then, he threw the cigarette into a puddle. He got into the car. The engine roared, and he drove away.

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