New Husband For My Wife

CHAPTER 2

Elliot followed after her. He saw Brooke hailed a taxi and was about to hop in when he stopped her by holding her elbow. “Brooke…we need to talk.” He said guilt was clear on his face.

“There’s nothing to talk about, Elliot…See you at the court,” Brooke said before she pushed him back and slid onto the taxi. The driver looked at Brooke with a confused expression. “Just drive…” Brooke told him. He then nods and drives away.

“Brooke!?...” Elliot banged on the window, but Brooke looked away. She broke into tears almost instantly after he was lost from her sight. She can’t believe what just happened to her. She never suspected Elliot to be cheated on her.

She was fully aware that Elliot has been out drinking at the bar these past months, but she never suspected him with any woman. He was more of a faithful and family man, unlike Jackson, her other friend, who had women worshipped the land he walked on. A total heartbreaker.

The driver cleared his throat as he looked at Brooke from the rearview mirror in the middle. “Ummm…I’m sorry, but where to, miss?” He then asked her carefully. He was afraid that she might burst into tears again.

Brooke wiped her tears and fished out her phone from her small clutch. She dialed Claire’s number as she sobbed softly. Claire is her cousin, the only person that can calm her down in this situation. She picks up in the second ring.

“Brooke?...” She answered, panting in her own breath. “Claire…can I come over to your place?” Brooke said. “Oh s**t, girl! Are you crying? Come to my place right now. I just finished my morning jog.” Claire replied. Brooke just hummed in reply before she ended the call. 

“CLAIREE!!?!!” Brooke instantly ran towards to hug her as soon as Claire opened her apartment door. She looked surprised to see Brooke in this state. What could possibly happen to her this time?

“Hey…calm down, okay. Let’s get you in first.” Claire said before she closed the door behind them. She led her to sit on her sofa and poured Brooke some chamomile tea.

Her apartment was nothing fancy, just a two bedroom regular apartment. Despite her parents’ wealth, Claire wants a simple life on her own, so she bought this apartment. She was managed to keep her place comfortable because Claire was a very organized person.   

“Do you want to talk about it now? Is it about your business?” Claire said, sitting by her side. Brooke eagerly shook her head. 

“Elliot…” Brooke said and paused. She can’t bring herself to complete the sentence in front of Claire.

Claire frowned a bit, “What about Elliot?” she asked, totally confused.

“He cheated on me!?” Brooke finally bursting out and spilled it to her cousin. Claire’s eyes went wide at that.

“What did you say? Maybe this is all just a misunderstanding, Brooke? Have you tried talking to him?” She replied, still maintain to sounded calm in front of Brooke.   

“The evidence is there, Claire!? I saw their photo…He was sleeping naked on that slut chest?!!” Brooke said, with a voice full of hatred. Her hands are moving animatedly in the air to shows her frustration.

“Brooke! Get yourself together, this is Elliot that we’re talking about…Your husband? He can’t even hurt a fly…Maybe it was someone that looked like him?” Claire said as she stroked Brooke’s back gently.

Brooke harshly swatted her hands away. “I don’t care anymore, Claire! This is all over between Elliot and me…Do you think your dad could help me with the divorce?” Brooke asked her bitterly.    

Claire’s dad was a famous lawyer, and who thinks it could be handy at this time? Never in her entire life, Brooke imagined that she would file a divorce against Elliot. She always despises the idea of separation. 

Claire let out a deep sigh without saying anything. “Claire, can I stay here for a while? I have nowhere else to go, and I don’t want to go back to that son of a bitch.” Brooke said as she took Claire’s hand, hoping that she would kindly let her stay for a while before she could find a new place to live.

Claire smiled at her, but her eyes were still showing a hint of sadness. “Of course, Brooke. You know you can always crash at my place anytime.” She replied. Brooke went to hug her, “Thank you, Claire…I don’t know what I could do without you.”

A month had passed after the divorce. Brooke still can’t accept the fact that she was divorced now. She’s not Brooklyn Smith anymore... It’s just Brooklyn Lee now.

Brooke spent her time mostly inside Claire’s apartment doing nothing. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and she wore a loose T-shirt and pants. She looked like she just got hit by a train, which is so unlike her. She stopped taking care of herself. It was still very painful for her.

Elliot won’t stop calling or texting her, but she decided to turn off her phone. She just felt the need to block him from any area of her life. Maybe she should consider buying a new number so that he would stop calling. She thinks to herself.

“Brooke…What are you doing locking yourself up in this place the whole day?” Claire asked as she got back from her work. She worked in a notary office as an assistant, preparing herself to take over her dad’s business.

She looked professional with her navy blouse and a matching navy skirt. Her medium-length hair was tied in a bun leaving no strands of hair in her heart-shaped face.

“Just watching some movies.….” Brooke replied nonchalantly. Claire let out a deep, exasperated sigh before she sat in front of Brooke. “Brooke…I know this is all hard for you. But you have to get back up and get yourself together again.” Claire said with a thin smile.

Brooke looked away for a while and didn’t reply to her. “I don’t know where to start…” Brooke replied weakly. Claire lifted her chin, leveling Brooke’s eyes with her. “Find some activity to distract your mind from him, and get yourself together again…You know, I missed my cousin, Brooke.”

Brooke thinks that Claire is right. She had to stop mourning over that unfaithful man. A smile cracked on her face. “I’m still your cousin, Claire…” Brooke replied. “I know…But she could look more beautiful than this…” Claire said as she pointed towards Brooke’s face. “And she definitely smelled better than you…God, do you even take a shower today?” she said again, pinching her nose teasing Brooke.

Brooke playfully hit her arms and hugged her. “Oh Claire, I love you..!!” Brooke said, giggling.

Brooke started to put her life back together as Claire had advised her. She rents a space and opens a small coffee shop to spend her time on some useful activities. Claire had a friend who was also interested in opening a café, and Brooke immediately offered to join ownership.

Claire had offered Brooke to work at her dad’s company, but the idea of working for other people irked Brook to the core. Even at her lowest point, she just felt the need to be in charge. She learned about latte art, which turned out to be her new hobby because it was pretty satisfying to her.

A few customers even praised her for her latte art and uploaded them on their i********: account. Well, maybe some of them just upload to get a ten percent discount…But it’s quicker to gain popularity through social media, right?

Being busy in the café helped her a lot, because the last thing she needs right now is to be stuck alone as she knew that Elliot’s face would soon haunt her back. She hated the fact that Elliot still affects her until now.

On some random night, Brooke would have trouble sleeping because she remembered how good and warm his body felt against her when he hugged her at night from behind.

His touch… that could be the end to her. She can’t say no to his every request. It was almost like Elliot had cast a spell on her. She was like a slave to him, and he was the master.

Her bed felt cold as she lay alone in the queen-sized bed. It makes her wonder how her mom could survive after the divorce from her father. Last night, she even had a bad dream about him. In her dream, Elliot was with that b***h, making love to each other passionately.

Brooke instantly woke up in the middle of the night. Her face was once again full of tears. She wonders, will there be an end to this?

Okay, stop thinking sensually about Elliot. She cursed herself inside.

Her eyes went outside the window, across the street. There is a famous bridal store around the corner, and it reminds her of her own dream to become a successful wedding planner.

After the divorce, she gave the business “Ohana Wedding” to Elliot. She just doesn’t want to be tied with something that can remind her of him.

She had a plan on making a new company after she had enough money from this café. She was familiar with how the business work since she mostly handled them by herself.

Elliot was mostly only concerned with the finance side, so that’s why he was the one who gets overly frustrated when our business went down.

She soon snapped from her string of thoughts as she heard the doorbell chimed, indicating that there’s a new customer’s coming.

“Welcome…” Brooke said enthusiastically. But soon, her smile faltered as she saw Elliot standing by the door. Looking as alluring as she remembered him to be.

Oh, crap!? What did he want this time?