The Billionaires' Love Club

Chapter 1: We’re Done

There's no easy or simple way to break somebody's heart. But he had been practicing doing exactly that just as hard as she practiced the cello. This was Luke and Laura's (love?) song: he cheated, and she forgave him. They were great for a while and then he cheated again. Laura was ashamed to realize that Luke had been continuously cheating throughout their entire romance.

Monogamy was not his forte. As long as Laura was willing to put up with it, he was content to repeat the same pattern of affairs and empty promises that kept her hanging on. It seemed that Luke and Laura were just going through the motions and Luke kept stringing her along as she kept hanging on to him in hopes that things would get better.

Things came to a head when she found Luke in bed with his latest conquest, a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Laura. Before, he had always had the decency to cheat on her outside of their apartment.

Laura had not planned to come home early that day, but like all artists, some days were better than others. She had been struggling all day with the music for an upcoming concert and she had finally decided she needed a break.

She Ubered home with her cello in tow to the downtown, studio-style loft that she and Luke shared in a nicer part of the city. Laura fished for her keys in her purse after she exited the freight elevator. She opened the door and her senses were assaulted simultaneously.

First, she heard moaning from the section of the loft that served as their master bedroom. But before investigating further she saw a trail of clothes on the floor leading her directly to the bedroom area. Rumpled pants, a wrinkled shirt, and a lacy red bra lying next to a pair of stiletto heels made a suspicious pathway to their queen sized futon where she discovered Luke and his latest conquest.

Their moaning stopped when Luke's hussy du jour shrieked his name. This was not as an excited utterance, but a shocked shout of being caught in the act of lovemaking with another woman's man.

Laura picked up one of the woman's shoes and threw it, hitting Luke in the back, where the sharp heel punctured his skin and started to bleed. He was human after all, Laura thought, although his hurtful serial love affairs were inhumane.

“Get OUT!!! Both of you," Laura screamed. “You have 2 minutes to dress and leave."

“Hey Hon. He didn't tell me he was involved," the woman casually mentioned as she fastened her bra in the front. “All's fair in love and war anyway, right?" At that comment, Laura wanted to throw the other stiletto heel at this woman. “Shut up!" shouted both Luke and Laura, the former grinning at their shared disdain for the woman in front of them. Luke tried to establish solidarity with Laura from the put down.

“Sweetheart," Luke pleaded with Laura, “it's not what it seems. You've been so caught up with your cello that I guess I felt neglected. It was just sex." His words seemed especially jarring considering the two women in the room shooting daggers at him.

In the past she might have listened to him reason with her as he convinced her that he should be forgiven. He would win her back, assuring her of his love, only to repeat the cycle a few weeks later.

None of these hookups, to the best of her knowledge, had taken place where they lived together, however. Luke had crossed the line. She had to stand firm and look him in the face, a handsome face, of this...man...a proven and repeated long-term liar and a cheat.

“No," Laura managed to speak out after Luke's latest “not what it seems" woman let herself out of their home. “No, Luke. There is no way I will trust you again," Laura said in measured words. “How can I ever know if you are telling me the truth or just lying to me?" She sank down to the floor, exhausted by the domestic situation she was still trying to process.

One thing for sure, it did not get any easier. It didn't matter if she was the first or the fiftieth woman, this was who Luke was, a cheater and a liar, who always had another woman on the side. He was a lady's man with the game of a snake oil salesman. The problem was, simply put, that she did not want to play anymore. A tear rolled down her cheek.

He moved closer to her in an effort to comfort her. She pushed him away, her arms strong from supporting her cello, her heart broken from supporting him. With all of the excitement she had forgotten what she had done with her instrument.

Following her distracted gaze, Luke asked her, “Is this what you are looking for, Laura?" He grabbed the handle of the black cello case and held it over her head. “Maybe if you paid as much attention to me as you did to this...instrument, then I would not feel the need to seek out other women," he bellowed.

Laura tried to make a grab for the instrument, but Luke held it just out of her reach.

“Give me some TLC every once in a while," he said, their relationship hanging in the balance.

“Are you trying to say that you feel neglected by my career as a cellist and your cheating is MY fault?" she sobbed through the hot tears running down her face, as she continued to try to rescue her cello from his hands, which had been on another woman only a few moments ago.

“No, Sweetheart," he cooed, trying to calm her down now to make it more likely that he could get her back again. “You don't have a career. At best you have a hobby. You need to grow up and face facts. No one listens to that mess...that mess that you mistake for music."

At that point Laura stood up, stared Luke in the eyes, and slapped him across his cheek. “Now that's music to my ears!", she glowered, slowly feeling anger overtake her sorrow. “Don't worry about a place to stay. You are like a cat: you will always land on your feet. I am sure you can charm one of your 'just s*x sweethearts' to take you in, like the stray that you are. Not many would put up with you like I have. And that 'mess mistaken for music' pays the bills around here!"

“Now wait a minute! You have it all wrong. Those chicks...those women... are not serious. Sweet...Laura," he was grasping at straws in order to avoid losing his place to stay. Luke never kept a job or a “side chick" for long.

His career of choice was sales, where his smooth talking personality was an asset. He was as inconsistent contributing to paying the bills as he was staying faithful to Laura. Luke mocked Laura's career as a cellist, although, she had a string of steady music students through the private prep school in the city, which allowed her to pursue playing the cello with the small local orchestra and give private concerts as part of a thriving string quartet.

Luke's drama made it difficult for her to practice, perfect, and honor her craft. In the beginning, Luke adored Laura and she had thrived as a result. Then Laura began to earn more money and Luke's sales contacts dried up. Instead of being grateful for Laura paying all of the bills, Luke resented her. That's when his long line of affairs began and the dream that was the relationship became worse.

She found the strength to do what she should have done a long time ago.

“We're done, Luke. I'm changing the locks, taking you off the lease and blocking your number. Don't worry about getting your stuff. I'll box it up and ship it to your next address, which you can send me on a postcard."