Love and Betrayal

Chapter 6

Barrett's POV

I hated these damn events and I swear Lilly had us going to them all the time. She thought it was a good place to network. I didn't need to network; my clients came to me and so did hers. She may only have worked part-time, but she was busy. She was good at her job as well. I worked on getting my bow tie straight when she walked into the bathroom.

"Have I ever told you that yellow is your color?"

"Nope."

"Well, it is. That dress looks amazing on you, and you look beautiful as usual." I told her and leaned in to kiss her cheek, but she pulled away saying I would mess up her makeup.

I finished getting ready and made sure that my credit card was in my wallet because I knew it would get used tonight. It was a gala for some charity event, but really it was for the rich to show off their money. I'm sure that whatever charity they have chosen would benefit from it, but honestly, probably not very much.

We walked downstairs and got into the limo that I had ordered for us. It was about image, and we would look the part, not that I cared, but Lilly did. She spent the whole ride texting on her phone and when the car arrived at the hotel, I got out first and held my hand out for her. She slipped her hand in mine and smoothly got out of the car. People were walking in from all directions, and she instantly saw some of her friends and she dropped my hand and ran to them. I followed behind like the rest of their husbands. They all looked as excited about this as I was, but at least my brother will be here tonight. He usually avoided these things like the plague, but my mom got to him.

We walked in and there were tables lining the edges of one wall that held the items for the silent auction. There was a stage up front, a bar in the back and tables for eating in the back and then desserts set up on the other side. Dinner would be served, but dessert would be something you would get yourself.

"I'm going to go get a drink, do you want anything?" I leaned in, asking Lilly, who just shook her head at me and kept talking with her friends.

I ordered an old-fashioned and then a second when I saw my brother walk in. He saw me and walked straight over and just in time for our drinks to be placed down. He grabbed one of them and started sipping on it.

"Damn, Lilly looks hot in that dress."

"She looks hot in anything she wears."

"True. Not sure how your ugly ass got her, but you did."

"I still don't know why you call me ugly. We look just alike."

"My boys," I heard my mom say and we both turned around and there stood my mother. I leaned in and kissed her cheek and then Everette did the same. "You two sure clean up nicely. Where is my soon-to-be daughter?"

"I'm not sure. She was talking with her friends when I left her to get a drink."

"I'm sure I will see her soon. Have you guys bid on anything yet?"

"No, but we will, mom."

"Good, get over there soon before things get too high." She said and then walked off to talk to a group of friends. She was a socialite and lived for these types of things. When we were young, they didn't attend anything. They were great parents, at every event, every holiday, family vacations. We had the perfect childhood, but when we got older and started having lives, they started going to these events, and then we were expected to come when we turned twenty-one.

"Are you ever going to find a wife and settle down?" I asked Everette as he ordered us another drink.

"Nah. I'm in no rush and, besides, it would take a special someone to want to spend the rest of my life with them."

"Forever the bachelor," I said, and he just laughed. We stood there drinking two more drinks before I decided I had to be done, or I was going to be drunk and this wasn't the type of place that you get drunk at. A buzz, yes, but you didn't want to embarrass yourself. I honestly could care less, but again, image is everything.

I scanned the crowd looking for Lilly but couldn't find her anywhere. I saw her group of friends standing by the table of desserts talking. I walked over there and grabbed a cookie on my way by and quickly took a big bite before I made it to the other side where they were standing. This was the best damn cookie ever. I didn't eat sweets a lot, but these I could eat every day, they were that good.

"Hello ladies, do you happen to know why Lilly went?" I asked, and they all looked at each other before one of them finally spoke up, "we're not sure. She said something about the bathroom and then finding you. I'm sure that she will be back out here in a few minutes."

"Thank you, ladies," I told them and then walked off, deciding to go look at what they had on the tables for the silent auction.

These were always high-priced hotels or someone's cabin in the woods or beach house that they donated for a weekend. I saw my parents' cabin in Colorado. I don't even know why they owned it. I'm not even sure the last time that it was even used.

"I need to talk to you, but you need to continue looking at things like we aren't talking," someone said right next to me. I didn't even look at who it was. They were trying to be discreet.

"I'm listening."

"I don't know you and I barely know your fiancé. I'm new to this town, but there are a few things that I will not tolerate, and I think everyone deserves to know the truth. If you go through the door behind the bar and start looking in the doors down the hallway, you will find her."

"Thank you," I told her and turned around and walked away. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I was breaking out in a cold sweat. I tried to make my way through the crowd and not look suspicious. I'm sure I did, but I just had a gut feeling that whatever I found I wasn't going to like.

I made it to the door and slowly opened it up and slipped through it. I was in a long hallway that was dimly lit, and it held about ten doors that were spaced far apart. I went to the first door and tried to open it, but it was locked and so were the next three doors, but when I came to the fifth door, I went to open it when I heard a noise. My heart sank when I heard her and I knew exactly what was going on. I couldn't believe she would do this. I gave her everything she wanted. I loved her and this is what she does to me.

I swallowed the bile down that was threatening to come up and turned the knob and pushed the door open, and they were so into it that they didn't even notice that I had come in here. She had her dress pulled up over and hips and to make matters worse, the man who was f*****g her was no other than Brad. Partner at the firm I worked at.

"You mother fucker," I yelled and charged towards him. That finally got both their attention, and he was quick to pull out and get his pants done up quickly.

"Barrett, what are you doing here?" Lilly asked. She asked me that like I was doing something wrong.

Brad ran out of the room while my attention was focused on Lilly. I wasn't sure what the hell was going on or how long this had been going on, but I was about to find out. "Lilly, do you care to explain yourself?"

"God, you are so dumb. I've been f*****g him for weeks now. I really thought you would catch us much sooner, but I had you so wrapped around my finger that it actually turned into a game between us." She laughed in my face and then walked right past me and out of the room. I flinched when she slammed the door shut. I stood there in total shock. It took me a solid five minutes to come out of it and march back out there. Lilly had some explaining to do, but we could work through this. I loved her and if she could just explain why she did it and what needs to be fixed, we could work through it.

I saw her standing with her group of friends drinking champagne and laughing. I walked straight over to her and grabbed her elbow, which she jerked out of my hold. "Lilly, we need to talk now," I said as quietly and calmly as I could.

"I don't think we need to talk about anything. I thought that was obvious," she said louder than she needed to.

"We do need to talk now. We can work through this and fix whatever is broken."

"Good god, get the picture. You walked in on me f*****g some other man, and you still think that I want to be with you." she said and then ripped her engagement ring off her hand and threw it at me before turning back to her friends and started laughing.

I just stood there staring at her and she completely ignored me. I could feel myself starting to break. I wanted to scream at her. I wanted to understand why. I needed to know what I had done that was so wrong for her to do this to me.

"Come on man," Everette said and pulled on my arm. I turned and walked out of the room with him. Everyone was staring at me. So much for image. She just ruined any that either one of us had. She looked like a slut and I looked like a weak man. Someone who couldn't live without her and that is how I honestly felt right now. I turned one last time, and she was still laughing with her friends.

"I will take you home," Everrette said.

"No, I can't go there."

"OK, my place." he said, and we got in his car and he took off. My phone was going off in my pocket, but I didn't care right now because I knew it wasn't her.

"Want to tell me what the hell happened?"

"I caught her f*****g Brad tonight."

"Brad as in the guy that is a partner at your law firm."

"That's the one," I said, and he let out a whistle like he was almost impressed by something, but there wasn't anything to be impressed by.

He pulled up to his house. He lived just on the edge of town in a house that was too big just for him. "I've thought about this the whole way to my house but why in the hell was Brad still standing upright and why did it look like you were trying to work it out with her."

"Because he ran off like a f*****g chicken, and I was. I love her man and if she would just tell me what I did or didn't do, and we work on it, we will be just fine."

"Seriously?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means once a cheater always a cheater and, ya, she is hot, but man, she was kind of a b***h, but you were so in love you couldn't see it."

"She was never a b***h," I snapped at him, and he threw his hands up in defense.