The Billionaire’s Ex

A loud ring interrupted my sleep, but I closed my eyes and ignored it, rolling over in bed and pulling my covers on top of my head. I wasn’t ready to wake up yet and I had time off from work, so I intended to at least sleep in. But the loud ringing didn’t stop, and I groaned.

“Go away already! It’s too damn early…”

Finally, the ringing stopped. I was just about to settle back in, when I heard a door slam open, and a loud voice called out.

“Chief! Hey, chief! You better not still be in bed or I will beat your ass black and blue!”

At the sound of the voice, I could only wake up. Pushing myself so I was sitting up in bed, I rubbed my eyes and yawned. A moment later, my bedroom door was opening, and my friend, Nora, stepped inside. She had a heavy scowl on her face as she stood there with arms on her hips.

“Brooklyn! Don’t be lazy today of all days! If I’d known you would be like this, I would have made you stay with me! I’ve been waiting for an hour already.”

I narrowed my eyes at her and grumbled, “Noisy. This is why I didn’t want to stay with you in the first place, okay? You’re so damn annoying when you’re excited. What time is it?”

“It’s almost eight in the morning,” Nora said with a huff, folding her arms over her chest.

My eyes widened. “Wait, really?” I looked around the room, then saw my cell on the nightstand to the right. I picked it up, and sure enough, it was eight minutes to eight. “What do you mean you’ve been waiting on me for an hour? Just how early did you even wake up…?”

The soft, fluffy bed was calling to me, but seeing Nora standing there eyeing me like she was ready to toss me out of it, I reluctantly got up. I pushed off the sheets and slid my legs off the side, standing up and wobbling over to the bathroom. I was staying in my friend’s apartment for free, much to the annoyance of Nora who wanted me to stay with her.

“We’ve got our appointment at nine thirty, Brooklyn. We absolutely can't be late, okay? Do you know how difficult it was to even get that appointment?”

I shot a dark look at her over my shoulder. “It’s not like it’s that far, Nora. And besides, there’s nothing wrong with you going ahead and calling me to come after. You don’t actually need me to hold your hand…”

“Of course, I do. Why else would I have had you come here? Because we’re friends?”

Her face was full of derision, but I just rolled my eyes and didn’t take her seriously.

Nora was my best friend, and even in the six years since I’d left New York, that status hadn't changed. We were used to talking to each other, so I knew no matter what was still my best friends. Even with the distance between us, we’d visited and talked often, but this was my first time back in New York since I left, and it was because Nora was getting married.

I knew she was dating, but when I heard her boyfriend proposed, I was surprised, seeing as they´d only dated for three months, and here I was, a couple months after the proposal, Nora’s appointed chief bridesmaid.

I was with him. The one whose name I try not to say out loud for years, part of me was envious when Nora said that she’d only been dating a few months before she got the magic ring.

As I walked into the bathroom and stripped to have a quick shower, my thoughts went back to six years ago. Back when Nora and I graduated, and I was the happiest woman in the world…only, it didn’t last.

Quickly finishing up with the shower, I grabbed a towel to wrap around my hair, and the other around my body, leaving the bathroom and leaving those thoughts behind as well.

It’s all in the past, I tried to tell myself. It was just being back in New York that was making my thoughts of the past stronger.

In the bedroom, Nora had made herself at home on the bed. She also had an outfit laid out for me, which meant she’d gone through my things. I looked at the dress she’d picked for me, and frowned.

“There’s no way I’m wearing a dress that short,” I said, eyeing her maxi dress clad body pointedly. “New York is far too cold for that.”

“If you weren’t planning on wearing it, then why did you even bring it?” she retorted.

“I packed that for special occasions, not for going out with you to pick your wedding dress. I have some jeans, I’ll just put on a pair.”

She pursed her lips, but didn’t say anything as she watched me put the dress back in my suitcase and pulled out a pair of jeans, a white top, and a leather jacket. I stared at her until she sighed and got off the bed to leave me to get dressed.

“What are you being so shy for? I’ve already seen all there is to see,” she complained.

“It’s been six years, what if something’s changed, huh?” I challenged. “I could have gotten a piercing or a tattoo or something.”

Nora paused and looked back at me. “Really?”

She looked curiously, but I pushed her out of the bedroom. Like hell I would do something so crazy. Not only was I very afraid of physical pain, even with all the emotional pain I left New York with, it was never enough to do something so reckless, no matter how drunk I got.

I dressed up quickly and met Nora in the living room. I wanted to go to the kitchen and whip up something to eat, but she just grabbed me and impatiently dragged me outside.

“Nora, I haven’t eaten anything,” I whined.

“Doesn’t matter, we can get something on the way.”

Her voice was a mix of anxiety and eagerness. So, I let her do as she pleased and smiled secretly behind her back.

The real reason I wasn’t staying with Nora, was because I knew she would need some time to herself. She was excited to be getting married, but she was just as equally anxious, which was why I’d had to take a couple weeks off work and come be with her as she finished the preparations for her hasty wedding. If I stayed with her, she’d keep me awake all night talking her anxiety and excitement out, and we wouldn’t get anything done.

There was also how she kept waking up too early and expecting me to follow her everywhere. It was my first time off from work in a while, yet looking after an overly excited Nora took more out of me than my job did.

We did stop by somewhere to have some coffee and muffins, then headed to the bridal store to look at wedding dresses. We were a bit early for the appointment, but since the store didn’t have any prior appointments, it wasn’t a problem. The attendant that met us led us to some seats that were situated around one of the platforms where women stood on display with their dresses, and handed us a portfolio.

“Since you didn’t make any special arrangements before,” the attendant explained. “Please look over these dresses and let me know which style works for you. We have these all on hand, though we might need to adjust the size for you…”

“No, it’s all right,” Nora said quickly. “I want the size I specified before.”

The attendant hesitated, but finally nodded and stepped aside.

Nora and I started looking through the portfolio.

“Hey, Brooklyn! Come look at this one, isn’t it pretty? Oh, this one, too! And this one!”

I rolled my eyes as she kept exclaiming at each photo, but I had to admit they all looked beautiful. After ten minutes of her gushing over everything, she picked out a few she liked, and from those, I helped her pick from those what she would look best in. When we were ready, we called the attendant back so Nora could show her the dresses we wanted.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” she said with a firm nod, and turned around to leave.

Nora fidgeted beside me, her leg bouncing uncontrollably as she twisted her hands together. Seeing her so obviously nervous, I put my hand on top of hers and gave a light squeeze.

“Honey, if you keep acting this nervous I’m going to wonder if you really want to marry this boyfriend of yours,” I joked.

She looked up at me in surprise, as if she’d forgotten my presence for a moment, then let out a light laugh.

“Of course I want to marry him, Brooklyn! I know it hasn’t even been a year yet… but Paul just makes me so happy, when he proposed, how could I possibly say no?”

“He hasn’t officially given you a ring yet,” I said with lips pursed in disapproval.

“It’s not his fault,” Nora defended earnestly. “Paul’s been having a tough time at work so money is tight for him. I actually met him when he was about to get fired, but he managed to fight to keep it. I’m not in such a hurry to get an engagement ring, he promised me one before the wedding ceremony, anyway. And even if I don’t get one, a wedding ring would suffice for me.”

I sighed and patted her hands. I wasn’t so sure about this soon to be husband of hers. She’d spoken of him a lot, but the times I got to meet him were so few. I had been with her for the past four days already, and I’d only met the guy once and both times very briefly. Also, I didn’t know him well, so I couldn’t say I trusted him, but I definitely trusted Nora.

The attendant came back before I could think too much about it.

“Here you go, ma’am,” the attendant called.

Nora had turned before I did, and her eyes lit up. When I turned and caught sight of the dress…I gasped.

“Nora, this looks so amazing,” I whispered, getting up to go and see the dress. I reached my hand to touch it, but didn’t dare, it looked so amazing and delicate…

“Try it on.”

My head whirled around to face Nora who was still seated calmly, watching me with clear eye. For a moment, I thought I heard her wrong.

“What…did you say?”

She smiled and waved a hand at me. “Try it on already,” she said insistently. “I want to view the dress on you. Brooklyn, not only are you my chief, you also picked out this dress. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t wear something you picked out for me?”

Nora had a scowl on her face, but she was still smiling. Not that she needed to for me to know she was just teasing. But since she put it that way… I rolled my eyes at her.

“Just don’t complain if I look better in this dress,” I said haughtily, then turned to the attendant. “Where can I change?”

“This way, please.”

I was led to the changing rooms, and the attendant followed so she could help me. While getting half naked in front of a stranger and having someone help me get dressed was strange, the dress deserved that kind of attention. Five minutes later, I was walking back to the seating area and on top of the display platform. To the side of where Nora and I had been seated were a set of mirrors, and I took a look at myself.

Amazing…

In the mirror, my blonde hair was falling around my face, my blue eyes were bright and wet. The dress… was simply a masterpiece. It was a mermaid design with the area above the chest, up to the neck, and the sleeves made of lace with some pearls inlaid in a pattern. The dress was slimming and flared out at the knees with a bit of a train.

“The veil that goes with the dress is longer in the back and closer to opaque to cover up the back, if all you want to show off is the front. You also have the option of choosing a shorter veil if this is not your intention. The longer veil usually is used if you want to attach a longer train to the dress. The train can be attached at the small of the back.”

The opaque veil was probably so it wouldn’t ruin the look of the dress, not that I thought it was even possible. I twirled in front of the mirror with a smile on my face, and turned to look at Nora. Her eyes were misted a bit, just like mine.

“You look so beautiful, honey,” she whispered, emotional as she dabbed at her eyes. “Oh, just look at you! Here I am desperate to lose weight and you look so perfect. I’m not sure I’ll even fit into that dress…”

I smiled at Nora, feeling she was too conscious of her body. Sure, she had let herself go a bit since graduation, but she was just a little curvier than me.

“You would look amazing in a dress like this. It might need a few adjustments, but it’s absolutely perfect.”

She nodded her head. “You’re right, it’s really not something I can give up on, is it?” Then she sighed and shook her head. “I bet that bastard would be so regretful if he could see you now.”

The smile on my face grew strained at her words, but a small part of me would love for it to happen, just to see the look on his face. I completely gave up on the idea, though. It had been six years, he could have forgotten me, but then I just looked up a little so I could blink back the tears that wanted to fall, as I glimpsed him walking inside. I was stunned for a second, doing a double take until I was sure that it was him.

Abe, the man that broke my heart so badly six year painful years ago, that I could only run away from him. He broke my heart.

Before, I could figure out what to do, he looked up and saw me, too. I saw his eyes widen in a look of surprise, and he walked toward us without seeming to think about it.

“Brooklyn?”

My body shivered at the sound of his voice, especially with the way he called my name. It was so fucking familiar, like I’d just been waiting to hear him call my name for the past six years.

I fixed my expression to something distantly polite. I had refined the look at work, and I didn’t think he would see through it easily.

“Abe,” I said indifferently, nearly having to choke it past my throat. “What a surprise to see you here.”

“You as well,” he said.

His lips twitched, and I didn’t know what look he wanted to make. It was such a minute detail that others unfamiliar with him would probably miss, but how could I? Abe Sanchez and I had dated for nearly five years before that incident from graduation. Hell, who was I trying to kid? In the past six years, I had missed him like crazy. Seeing him now was like feeding an old thirst. The only problem was, it also opened the old wounds in my heart that I’d tried so desperately to close up.

Whatever expression Abe intended to make, though, he never did, because he suddenly looked down at what I was wearing. He was stunned a second time, and I looked down at myself, remembering I was in a wedding dress.

Oh. It was clear Abe had misunderstood something.

“Brooklyn…?” he said again, with that shocked expression still on his face and his voice sounding confused, hesitant.

It only took a second to make my decision. He’d misunderstood, why bother explaining to him?

“Sorry, I didn’t expect to see you here. I came to look at wedding gowns. Don’t tell me you’re also getting married?” I said the words deliberately.

Sure enough, his eyes seemed to go impossibly wider, and his mouth parted, but he didn’t immediately speak.

Even with the pain still wracking through me, I felt some triumph in my chest at making Abe speechless in that moment.

“Were you in the middle of something?” I asked, looking around deliberately. “Please, don’t let us distract you. We’ll be here a while yet so we can see each other after you’re finished with your business. I only just tried on my first dress.”

No matter how much I still loved him, seeing him in here made me want to fall down on my knees.

Tell him that if he liked what he saw that I could be his bride.

I would wear this down the aisle and meet him and we could be happy, real happy. Maybe he had time and thought about it.

But then again, six years was a long time ago.

Yet, I still missed him as if it was only yesterday.

I knew that like six years ago, it would never be my reality with him and the only thing I could do was pretend that I was happy now and going to get married, even if it was all fake.

“Sir? Is there something I could help you with?”

The voice broke me out of my staring, and I turned to see the woman that had approached me. She was dressed in a simple brown and cream skirt suit with the store’s logo on her coat’s breast pocket. She was looking at me with a professional smile, and I assumed she was an attendant at the store.

“Um…” I murmured.

Why did I come here?

I came to the store with an objective. Not one I particularly enjoyed, but this was the last thing I expected to see. My eyes slid back over to Brooklyn, and I could feel my throat go dry and my heart squeeze tight.

She still looked so beautiful…but she was dressed this way for someone else, wasn’t she?

I flattened my lips and turned to look at the attendant. “I came to book an appointment, would that be possible?”

“Of course, sir. Please, let me—”

“You’re already busy here,” I interrupted, nearly turning around to look at Brooklyn again. “You appear to be busy, if I could find someone else to attend to me…”

“Let me call someone,” she said immediately, then turned to walk off.

Without the distraction in the way, I could only turn back to Brooklyn. She’d stepped off the platform, and standing beside her, to my surprise, was Nora. The two of them had been best friends throughout college, and it seemed like that hadn't changed. If Nora was by her side and she was in New York, then it really must be true.

Brooklyn was getting married.

“Abe,” Nora said, her tone and expression cold, tilting her chin up at me.

I smiled blankly and said, “Nora.”

“What are you doing here, huh?” she sneered, looking me up and down in derision. “You didn’t answer the question. Are you also getting married?”

I pursed my lips, for a moment, tempted to say that I was just to see if she would lose the haughty look on her face.

Nora and I hadn't exactly been close. I actually met her before I even met Brooklyn when we were all in college. She dated a close friend of mine, but they didn’t last long, and after they broke up, I got to meet Brooklyn. We weren’t close at first, because all she could see was the friend of the bastard that broke her friend’s heart, but Nora moved on and things between Brooklyn and I went smoother. Nora never liked me since then, though.

I decided to just tell the truth.

“I’m actually here to set up an appointment for my sister,” I explained, my expression darkening as my mood turned gloomy. “She’s absolutely insistent on getting married, and absolutely insistent on getting this store, only she doesn’t have the time to come herself.”

“And you do, Mr. CEO?” Nora retorted.

I sighed. “Well, I am the boss, so I can find free time when it suits me.”

Though usually I was busy, this was my sister. She tended to be extreme when she wanted things, and I was starting to think lately that maybe I indulged her too much.

“Isn’t she a little young to be getting married?” Brooklyn exclaimed.

I turned to look at her and noticed her stunned expression. I had been avoiding looking at her directly because I knew once I saw her face I wouldn’t want to look away. Her clear blue eyes were locked on mine, and I couldn’t help getting lost in them.

“Um…” I murmured, dazed. “Maria…is insistent on getting married, to the point that even our parents agree. She’s too young, but she won’t listen to anyone including me.”

I still couldn’t believe my little sister could do something so stupid. She’d only recently turned twenty-one, and she’d even paused school for the time being to get married. Whether or not she would continue after marriage, I had my doubts. All she ever did was complain about school and how she would find a husband to look after her. It wasn’t like I would let her go to the streets if she wasn’t working, the family company was doing way better than that.

My parents didn’t agree with it, either, but Maria wasn’t the kind of person to let others force her to do what she didn’t want. I knew, their biggest fear was of Maria doing something stupid and getting herself hurt. Even if I thought it was spoiling her, there wasn’t much choice.

I’m not happy about her marrying so young. Brooklyn and I had at least graduated college while we were still dating and talking about our future, and even then, we’d still been young.

Too damn young.

I was a year older than Brooklyn, so I graduated ahead of her. I was twenty-two, and she’d been twenty-one, and because of our youth we thought we could face the world together, but we were both too naïve. I didn’t want my sister to end up in the situation that I did where she had no other option but to get hurt.

“So you’re really just going to let it happen?” Nora said with a snort.

I shrugged helplessly, knowing nothing I said would make her look at me in a positive light, probably.

“It is her life, so it’s not like I can stop her. She’s absolutely sure she knows what she’s doing, or so she says. So, I wanted to show her some support, as her brother.

I don’t want it to break my family apart. My office is near here and she’s been trying to get ahold of the store to make her appointment, but their lines always seem to be busy.”

“I am so sorry about that, sir.”

A new voice entered the conversation, and I turned to see the first attendant had come with someone.

“Sorry about what?” I asked, turning to the two women. “It’s only an unfortunate coincidence, isn’t it?”

The second attendant let out a light cough, her expression looking awkward.

“My name is Isabell, if you could please come with me, I’ll explain everything and we can deal with your appointment.” Then, she turned to Nora and Brooklyn. “Ladies, sorry to disturb you. Clara here will continue to help you.”

I walked away with Isabell, turning once to see Clara leading Nora and Brooklyn away, probably to change into another wedding dress. I forced myself to look away, my feet feeling heavier the further from her I moved. Thankfully, we didn’t go so far that they would be out of sight if they came back out again. It would only be hurting myself to see, but I couldn’t help that either.

Six years ago, I had genuinely loved Brooklyn. Six years later, and that hadn't changed.

“So, Isabell,” I started. “Can you explain to me what the problem is?”

The awkward expression on her face told me the situation wasn’t normal. I’d thought the same, and just figured Maria said it as an excuse so I could do this for her. She claimed not to have the time to do it herself, but I knew she was out with her boyfriend doing who knew what, so she talked me into doing this for her.

It turned out, there was actually a problem with the store.

“The issue about the cell lines, they’re not busy.”

I frowned. “Then what exactly is the situation? Because my sister complained she’s been trying to make a call for an appointment for a few weeks.”

She ducked her head. There was a tablet held in her hands, and her hands tightened on the device.

“On this issue, I am very sorry. The issue is actually with our cell lines, they’re currently not working. We’re still in the process of getting them fixed, and we only realized the problem when walk in clients walked in and let us know this week. We hope this inconvenience won’t make you change your mind about working with us.”

I put my hands in my pocket, only mildly interested in this whole thing.

“The issue wasn’t your fault. And my sister is set on working with you, so it’s not a problem. But please, have them fixed or give me a number that does work in case my sister needs something.”

“I’ll handle that right away,” Isabell said, raising her head and lifting thee tablet up. “As for the appointment, I can handle that now. Can you let me know whatever time your sister would find it appropriate?”

I wasn’t really sure myself, so I took out my cell and texted Maria. We communicated like that, with Isabell asking for details and me getting Maria to give me the information. Brooklyn went through three other dresses by the time we were done.

“Please thank your sister for choosing to work with us, and we look forward to seeing her.”

With a nod of her head, she walked off.

Now that I was free, I could pay my full attention to Brooklyn and Nora. They must have finished trying on dresses, because they were just standing around talking to the assistant. Technically, my job here was done, but I didn’t think I could just leave. Even if there might not be hope for us after all these years, I was incapable of giving up without a fight.

I hesitated until the attendant left them, then I approached. “Are you ladies ready to leave?”

Nora sneered, but Brooklyn caught her arm and she settled down, stepping back with a pout. Brooklyn looked up at me with a calm smile. “Did you sort out all your problems, already?”

“I managed to work something out,” I murmured. “Brooklyn…you seem like you’ve been doing well.”

At some point, I’d even hoped that she was unable to forget like I was. Only, thinking that way was unfair, wasn’t it? If I couldn’t be with her, then she deserved to be happy with someone that would treat her right. That was the attitude I was supposed to have, anyway. I just didn’t like the idea at all.

She smiled mysteriously. “I have.”

I frowned slightly, wishing she would elaborate more. What do you mean by that smile, and what do you mean by ‘you have?’

She wasn’t even going to ask how I’d been the past six years. Even knowing I didn’t exactly deserve it, since I had been the one to end things between us back then, but I couldn’t help feeling a thread of disappointment.

“Can I ask if the two of you are busy right now?”

Brooklyn looked at Nora. Her expression was complicated, but I could see the contempt she felt for me and the care she felt for Brooklyn. I stiffened, wondering if she would get in my way and what I would I would do if she did. If Nora was around, Brooklyn and I talking for more than a few minutes wouldn’t be a simple thing.

In the end, though, she sighed and looked at Brooklyn with eyes full of apology.

“I actually have to get home now. Paul was supposed to call me today, and I don’t think it’s going to be a quick conversation. He’s out somewhere on a business trip and I won’t be able to see him for a while.”

Brooklyn didn’t look happy, and I wondered if Nora had another lying, cheating boyfriend.

“It’s fine,” Brooklyn said.

“Actually,” I cut in. “I was wondering if you would go out with me for drinks?”

She arched an eyebrow at me. “What, for old times’ sake?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Why not?”

They shared a glance, then Nora sighed and picked up her purse.

“Do whatever you want, I need to go. I’ll come get you later, there’s still a lot of stuff left to do before the wedding.”

My lips flattened at the mention of a wedding, and Nora threw me a challenging look as she walked away. I was sure she’d done it deliberately, and I wondered how close it was to this wedding. My thoughts started going down a dangerous direction, but I cut them off. If Brooklyn knew what I was thinking, she would probably look at me with the same disgust as Nora was.

Besides, if she found someone she agreed to marry, could I even change her mind? I hurt her…

My heart ached, but I realized I brought this on myself, like shooting my own foot. During our relationship and when I chose to end it, I had been too young to be making such life changing decisions.

Brooklyn’s voice broke me out of my thoughts. “I want to head back and rest before Nora starts driving me crazy again, so why don’t we exchange numbers and we can meet some other day?”

I was already pulling my cell out, and I unlocked the screen and pulled up a new contact page, then handed it to her. She looked startled, but handed her own cell over then took mine. First, I searched through her contacts, frowning when I realized she really had deleted my number. I didn’t still have hers in my cell, I had hoped getting rid of everything that reminded me of her would help me forget, but I still had it memorized. I input my contact into her cell, then handed it over. When I got my cell, I looked at her name and number in my contact list, and felt a little short of breath.

“Friday,” I said suddenly, looking at her. “It’s Tuesday today, but can we meet this Friday?”

“Sure,” she said with a shrug and a smile. “Give me a call and I’ll let you know when I’ll be free. Laters, Abe.”

I watched Brooklyn turn her back to me and walk away without hesitation. I raised a hand to hold her back, mouth open to call her name. But I hesitated for a moment, and she was gone.

Just like six years ago.