Dare To Love Again

Author's Notes and Disclaimer: Before starting this story, let me remind everyone that this is purely a work of fiction. Resemblance to anyone or anything dead or alive is purely co-incidental. Purely for entertainment purposes only. The names of the places mentioned in the story are again used as part of fictional reality. The description of towns or states has nothing to do with reality. Only the names are borrowed. Trigger Warning for cheating, infidelity and obsessive behavior. If you happen to be triggered by the description of these scenes you're fairly warned in advance. Adult language and content. No hate please. Peace and Love. Special Mention and Thanks to my wonderful editor, Jessica Jones for being so patient and lovely with me, this woudn't be possible without her guidance. I wish you all enjoy reading this as much as I did writing this.

Brooke stood in front of the mirror as she looked at herself in her wedding gown. It was a silk gown, with an open boatneck and short sleeves. The gown was embroidered with small beautiful flowers studded with stones. Complementing the gown, she wore her mother’s diamond necklace with long earrings. Her tiara was a traditional one, gifted to her by her mother-in-law. Brooke admired herself in the mirror for a while.  She couldn't believe that she was about to get married to the man of her dreams. Greg Wilson, the owner of Baxter Auto Pvt. Ltd., the biggest factory in her town.

“You look great, sister mine,” Meredith Johnson ,her sister, gushed from behind her. “Greg is the luckiest man alive to have landed you as his partner.”

“Shut it, Maddy,” Brooke muttered, fixing her hair once again.

“Oh please, you know Greg worships the very land you walk on. He’s a goner.” 

“Ugh...you’re exaggerating. Besides, we haven’t even…” Brooke blushed as she thought about it.

“Oh sweet lord, please tell me you’ve had sex,” Meredith exclaimed, and Brooke blushed a deep shade of red. She never knew what to say to her sister’s very outward observations. Maddy never knew when to shut up. 

“Of course I’ve had sex…” Brooke glared at her sister, offended at the accusation, even though she had never gone for full-on penetrative sex, yet. Well, don’t blame her, she was waiting for  her one and only; her special someone. And apparently, that one and only was Greg Wilson. Tonight, the dry spell was going to end. 

“But…” Meredith prompted, waving her hand in a gesture so as to encourage Brooke to continue. 

“I’ve never … you know,” Brooke replied, making an awkward gesture by hand to imply she was still untouched in many ways. 

“Holy Shit!” Meredith exclaimed.

“Hey, I was waiting for…”

“Your True Mate.” Meredith completed his sentence, still pretty much stunned by her sister’s revelation. She knew her sister was a hopeless romantic and a stubborn bitch, but she didn’t know she held the idea of “Mates for life” so seriously. It was kind of cute though. “Man...I have to commend Greg’s patience.”

“Maddy..” Brooke gritted out, questioning her sanity as to why she was having this conversation with her sister. 

“Three years, Brooke. For three years you’ve held back and the man never complained. To top it off, he asked you to marry him. Wow. “ 

“Hey, it’s not like I’ve never done anything. We have been...intimate.”

“Intimate...wow, you really sound like a fourteen-year-old teenage girl. “

“Ugh...why do you always harass me? Why can’t it be Neil helping me?” Brooke whined.

“Oh, cool it with the whining. Don’t worry. When he gets a serious girlfriend I’ll have the same talk with him, too,” Meredith answered gleefully and headed off towards the hall. 

Greg and Brooke had grown up together in Twin Peaks, but the romance had only blossomed after Brooke came back to town as an experienced architect. Brooke had garnered her degree from New York University and then worked with good, solid firms in New York. Brooke was passionate about her work and because of her dedication, she quickly climbed the ladder, her firm offering her an associate position in a matter of only two years. It was a great achievement. But Brooke had declined the offer, instead opting for going back to her roots and setting up shop there. She wanted to base her business back at home. She was never fond of the busy city life. She rather loved the tranquility and peace back in Twin Peaks. 

She had met Greg when Wilson’s had hired Brooke to draw up the plans for building a factory outlet on the land they’d newly purchased. Brooke being a passionate architect had worked hard at giving the best plans for their approval. Greg’s father was slowly detaching himself from the company, leaving the reins in Greg’s hands. As a result, Greg oversaw everything with regards to the work being done for the factory outlet. Their professional relationship slowly turned into a personal one. It was Greg who was drawn to Brooke, and the blue-eyed blonde had asked her for a date on the very first day. But Brooke had politely declined. She was an ethical woman. Never date your boss or your co-worker was her mantra. Greg never gave up though. He kept wooing her by sending her flowers, chocolates, perfumes, and scented candles. Everyday she entered her office there was something new awaiting her. Brooke’s heart melted at the way Greg was trying to impress her. She held out though, because he was still her boss and she didn’t want to mess anything up. Greg was a great guy, humble, loyal and sweet. With each passing day, Brooke’s resolve started melting.  Eventually, when the project was complete, Greg had left an imprint on Brooke and had suitably impressed her. The man was a gentleman, a good son, a humble businessman, and a perfect partner. He indulged Brooke’s every wish. Brooke had finally agreed to go on a date and they never looked back. Two years down the road, Greg had proposed and Brooke agreed. They had decided to get married at the “Central Hall'' at Wilson Estate in Twin Peaks.

Twin Peaks was a small town in Texas that was always lively and cheerful. The foundations of the town were laid by the Harrison family, originally from Dalhart, who were practically royalty in 1940. It was their winter vacation place. The family used to travel here during the winters when it became too cold in Dalhart. They owned acres of land which were inherited by future generations and given on lease to the ranchers for farming. Eventually during the fifties, because of the family feud, the Harrison’s split, and half of their property was seized by the government while the other half was inherited by Robert Harrison, the stepson of the then head of the family, Morris Harrison, who took the charge of the properties and sold the acres of farm fields to the locals. Ever since the split, the Harrison’s never returned. Then the government took over the administration and slowly the town was modernized. The town still retained the old look. 

The structure of most of the houses was old English style, with big arches. Even the architecture of the ranches was influenced by the Vintage English style with cottage like look to the buildings. The town had a museum and a huge library that housed the oldest of manuscripts. While it wasn’t as developed in the olden days, after the late 70’s there was a drastic change. 

Today, the town was home to one big factory, big ranches and two wineries. The people were good-natured, and most of the townsfolk had a good source of livelihood. The town retained its cowboy culture, with its regular rodeo events and weekly horseback riding events. The ranch owners were few but solidly rooted, generations of families inheriting the business. Some people had their own businesses like small grocery stores, packaging hubs or auto repair shops, while some worked for the big factory, Baxter Auto Co. Ltd., that manufactured automobile parts. The plant was located on the outskirts of the town and was set up with the advent of industrialization that was welcomed by the government. The Wilsons were well off, and a kind-hearted family. They had lent money to the people who wished to start their own business, and even invested in some. It explained why Wilson held influence over the decisions of the townsfolk. People looked up to the Wilsons with a deep sense of admiration. After all, had the Wilsons not set up their factory in the town, Twin Peaks would have been deserted by now. And Brooke felt lucky that she was soon going to be a part of such a great family. 

Brooke was pacing the small room, killing time before she had to show up at the altar. 

“Hey, Brooke, let's get going,” Neil, her big brother, said, as he dragged Brooke by her arm. He wasn't quite the patient one.

“Wait...I gotta…”

“Brooke, it’s okay to be nervous. Remember, the guy loves you. You love him. He’s not going anywhere.” Neil reminded her.

“I know, but,” Brooke looked thoughtful as she chewed on his lower lip. “I gotta fix my gown..” She dashed from there towards the private restroom that was to the left of the hall. All day she had felt restless like something was missing or something was falling apart. She couldn’t exactly explain what was going on in her mind but she was uneasy. She didn’t know why but there was a twisted feeling in her gut that something was going to go wrong. She couldn't put a finger on it. Just as she was about to open the door, she heard voices from inside. Brooke leaned in and carefully listened.

Someone was grunting and...moaning? 

A confused Brooke listeed attentively to recheck if what she heard was true or not.