2. Rejected By Two Men

Stephanie:

Anna shrieked loudly as she flung herself away from Cole immediately, instinctively grabbing a pillow and throwing it toward the door with all the force she could muster.

The soft foam landed right on my face, knocking my glasses down to the bridge of my nose as my head fell back.

Slowly, I lowered the pillow away from my face, because clearly that was the only respect this day was going to give me.

My gaze fell on Cole, who was still in his white long sleeve that had a white rose tucked at the pocket.

He stared at me like he was displeased by my interruption, and he wasn’t remorseful, nor did he seem like he owed me any explanation since I had already caught them.

Stretching lazily on the bed, he pulled up his boxers and tucked in his singlet back before finally speaking, “Now that you are here, I think it’s better I just tell you the truth.” His eyes flicked toward my stepsister with a softness I had never seen directed at me. “Anna and I have been together for the past three months, and I’d been thinking of a way to tell you about us.”

A bitter laugh scraped its way out of my throat. “What?”

He regarded me. “You and I have been engaged for the past five months already, so I didn’t exactly know how to break the news to you when marriage plans were already on a roll. And my mother quite likes you, so she would have disagreed to call it off.”

I bit my lips tightly, and my hands turned to fists beside me. “So you lied about needing to relieve your bladder just to come up here and sleep with my stepsister?”

“We weren’t sleeping.” Anna scoffed, clasping her bra and looking at me like I was dirt on her shoe. “He was just making it clear that it’s me he wants.”

I ignored her, because one at a time was all I could handle.

Cole continued, his warm brown eyes staring directly at me. “I didn’t lie. I really did want to use the restroom, but then I found Anna crying outside the door. And that’s when I realized she was the one I wanted from the beginning. But I couldn’t disgrace you in front of the crowd, so I stayed back hoping they’d eventually get tired and leave.”

That was the most absurd reason I had ever heard in my life.

My fingers trembled beside me. “So I was supposed to be grateful for your thoughtfulness? For sparing me the disgrace of being dumped at the altar while you were busy screwing my stepsister upstairs?”

Cole’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t answer right away.

Anna folded her arms smugly across her chest, tilting her chin like she’d just won some crown. “You make it sound worse than it is.”

“Worse than it is?” I repeated, my voice climbing higher, touched with laughter that wasn’t laughter at all. “You were on top of my fiancé, Anna. There isn’t a softer version of that.”

Her lips curled, and she twirled her hair in her fingertips, puffing out a breath. She didn’t even bother to look ashamed. “At least now you know the truth. Cole doesn’t want you.”

The back of my eyes burned with tears, which I was trying to hold back. I had shed too many of those for him in the past to waste another drop today.

“We should just settle this right here,” Cole finally opened his mouth again. “You’ll find someone else. Someone more suitable. Someone who actually matches your personality. Maybe a man with glasses too, so your kids can all come out squinting together.” He said that as if he were discussing the weather.

And that was it. Rage blinded me before I even knew it. I wasn't sure how my feet carried me across the room, but in a couple of seconds, I stood before him, and my hand flew faster than my mind could catch up.

The slap landed hard against his cheek. His head jerked to the side, and for one glorious second, I wished that sting would last him forever.

A tear slipped down my face at the same time, because unfortunately I did like him, and this was the worst way he could ever return my interest.

Rejecting me before this day would have been so much better, but humiliating me in this way was simply cruel.

I turned, my heart dragging heavy in my chest, ready to leave this room behind when a sharp tug yanked me back.

Anna’s fingers tangled in my hair as she ripped my veil off. My head snapped backwards, and before I could steady myself, her palm cracked across my face.

It was unexpected, and the sting went deep.

Unlike Cole, I didn’t freeze. My shock didn't turn me still. My hand rose before the sting had even settled, slapping her once across the cheek. And then again on the other side, harder, her face whipping left, then right.

Her mouth dropped open, and I saw a single tear run down her eye.

“What the fuck, Steph?” Cole reached for me, but I slapped his hands off.

Straightening the weight of my gown, I reached for the floor and gathered the pink flowery dress, which was for Anna, and also the black trousers, which were for Cole, then turned on my heel and walked out, pulling out the key on my way out, leaving the veil and the yellow roses behind.

If he had been screwing anyone else other than my stepsister, then it would have been better, way better. But he knew how my relationship with Anna was, yet he did this.

What do I even tell the crowd? Or the officiant? Another tear found its way out of my eyes as I stepped out of the room, having the decency to shut the door behind me but burning with the feeling in my chest to twist the key and lock them both inside.

Wiping the tears on my face and glancing down at my fingers, which were smudged with makeup, I wiped my hands with the clothes and then threw them into the bin.

“Steph, open this door!” Cole shouted, and Anna’s sobs reached me.

“You can't leave with our clothes!” Anna whined loudly.

I turned to leave, and a sharp gasp escaped my lips as my head slammed into a hard, rigid chest.

My gaze fell on his luxurious black leather shoes before trailing higher, from the neatly ironed trousers that wrapped perfectly around firm masculine thighs, and then a little bit higher, past the solid chest outlined beneath the fitted black shirt, to the clean-shaven jaw, the boldly sloped nose, and the dark hair brushed back neatly from his forehead, before finally settling on the pair of dark brown eyes—the darkest shade of brown I had ever seen—staring down at me with displeasure.

There was another man beside him who was rambling about something, but I didn’t pay any attention to him.

The man’s gaze flicked to the door I had just locked, and he asked, in a low, deep, rich baritone, “What's going on here?” His voice sounded like honey on skin.

There was nothing as cruel as being humiliated by one man and immediately colliding with another who looked like the devil in a tuxedo.

The back of my eyes burned with tears.

I realized what I needed was an outlet.

And I did the most unthinkable: I stood on the tips of my heels, stretched, and grabbed him by the nape, pulling him lower to my height.

The last thing I saw was the shock in his expression as I captured his lips with mine.

The kiss was slow, so slow at first, and he didn't move. He simply froze. But less than a minute later, he reciprocated finally, kissing me back.

A wince escaped my lips, and my eyes widened to saucers as he nipped my lower lip and gripped my waist tightly, halfway close to pushing me away.

I tasted salt, and I wasn't sure if his lips tasted like salt or if I was crying. The latter, it must be the latter.

Just as soon as the kiss intensified, I heard footsteps rushing down the hallway, and the man groaned before muttering between kisses and forcefully pulling away.

Great, it felt humbling to know that I was rejected by two men on the same day. I was close to apologizing and running away from the hall, but just before I could sidestep the tall, brooding man, he grabbed me by my wrist and pulled me back to his front.

His gaze flicked to the door, then shifted back to me, before he asked, “Did you just lock my brother in there?”