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"What the f**k, Florian? How could you f*****g do this?"
"What did I do?" Florian asked, his voice deep, dark, and smooth. "Drive her insane with pleasure when you were planning to drive her insane with pain?"
"What?" Damien countered, his eyes wide. "What the hell are you talking about?"
I swallowed hard, pulling myself away from Florian. "You were at..." I trailed off, blinking the tears away. In as much as Florian was right about his ability to make me forget everything, at least for last night, seeing Damien, those pretty eyes I had loved so much, that face I saw in my happiest dreams...
It hurt. All over again.
"f*****g speak up, Roxanne! What is yoir excuse for being this bastard's little slut?"
"Don't you dare call me names. You are the one who went around and broke the vows we didn't even get to make. You are the one who..."
"Shut up, Roxanne. Shut up." It was my brother this time, and I could see the nervousness in his eyes as he looked towards Damien.
My eyes filled even faster because, unlike every other cheating scandal, my brother was in on this one, too. Instead of having him on my side, he was going to try his best to cover for Damien so he doesn't get caught, too.
"Roxanne!"
I looked up, just as mum stalked down to us. The tears were still running down her cheeks, but her eyes were dark and angry. I steeled myself for what she would say or do, knowing that explaining would be a waste.
My brother was always the golden child. Always. He would never do any wrong, even if I said he did. Besides, I had no pictures or anything. I have no evidence. Just Florian. And even if he says something, no one would believe him.
"Come here!" She screamed, grabbing my arm, her carefully done nails piercing into my flesh.
I gave a yelp as I followed her, my hair bouncing off my back.
"Easy," Floran suddenly said, gently wrapping his hand around my mum's hand.
I gasped and turned to him, but his eyes were fixed on hers, and they were determined. The pain in my arm immediately eased up as he loosened her grip on my hand, then slowly got between us again.
"I don't care what you people have to say, but no one is hurting Roxanne while I am here."
"Florian," I said in a small whisper, my chest heaving. "That is my mum."
"I don't care," he said simply, his voice low. "No one is hurting my lady."
My lips parted, and I turned. My dad had come down too, and his eyes were filled with anger as he wrapped his hands around my still surprised mother.
Damien and my brother had grown quiet now, and it was nice to know they had the decency to at least feel guilty.
"This.... you were so happy, Roxanne. You wanted to get married so bad, and a day before you do this? What came over you? What could it possibly be?"
"Mum, I..."
"Move away from him," Dad suddenly said, his eyes focused on my arm, which Florian was holding and carefully massaging the points where mum had dug her fingers in.
I turned to Florian and bit down on my lips. "Dad, I...."
"Don't call me that until you get away from him. You saw him hurt your fiance and..."
"He did nothing to Damien, dad."
"Roxanne! Damien is the man you are going to marry!"
"No," I said, my heart thumping in my chesg. "No, dad. I am not marrying Damien."
"Have you lost your mind, Roxanne? Why? I treat you well. I do everything for you, and now, because of one night? You wanted to wait till marriage! You should have told me all it would take to have you was to f**k your brains out!"
"I was waiting till marriage, Damien. But you weren't! You lied about the bachelor's party. You were at a strip club! You were mindlessly sleeping with other women a night before our wedding!"
I saw colour drain from his face, and he turned to my parents. My mum now had a look of confusion while my dad looked even angrier.
"What?" Dad said, his voice low. "Damien?"
"She is lying, dad."
I turned to my brother, and my teeth gritted hard, my fingers clenching my dress.
"Tell us what happened last night, Ronan. Immediately."
"Dad, he..."
"We played games all night at the club house. If you don't believe me, I will call my friends."
"You guys were together!" I screamed, feeling voiceless. Again. This wasn't the first time I was feeling this way. Unseen. Unheard. This wasn't the first time I was feeling like I had to swallow everything I felt in the face of Ronan's never-ending attention seeking.
"Does that make sense, mum? Does it? Why would I ever let Damien cheat on my own sister and still cover for him? Think up a better lie, Roxanne."
I shook my head, tears streaming down my cheeks. "Damien, at least, have the decency to say the truth. At least, after cheating on me, after breaking my heart like this, at least..."
"Are you asking me to back up your lie because you know how much I love you?"
I closed my eyes as tears ran down my face, my chest heaving. My knees felt weak, and my heart broke over and over again.
"Damien. You are..."
"Roxanne," my dad said, cutting me off.
I turned to him, my heart dreading what he would say next. His eyes had grown absolutely cold, his hands gripping my mother tighter.
"So you choose him?" He asked, gesturing towards Florian.
Florian was still holding me, and I turned to him, my chesg heaving. No. Of course, I wouldn't choose Florian. But what difference would it make?
They were all against me anyway. Even if I let go of Florian's hand now, I knew I would regret it. I would be forced to marry a liar and a cheater, and my brother would win. My parents will hate me, and I don't know how am I supposed to bear that when their clear favouritism of my brother was already suffocating.
I turned to Florian again, my tears freezing in my face. I had to be rational. There was no use. If I couldn't even be trusted when I had done something so out of character, why would I choose them?
"Come home," Dad said again. "Come home and get married like you are supposed to."
I let out a small breath. "Why would I choose you, dad?"
"What?"
"You just chose Ronan. Again. You always choose him. You went for his stupid audition instead of my high school graduation. You stayed at home because he didn't feel like going for my graduation. You only let me date Damien because he approved!"
"Roxanne!" Ronan yelled, his eyes wide. "Are you jealous of me? Is that why you are acting out like this?"
"Twenty-six years!" I yelled, ignoring Ronan. "Twenty-six years of my life, dad. I couldn't even move out because Ronan didn't want me to. Why would I choose you now, dad? You have always chosen him. My birthdays catered for him. You bought me his dream car instead of mine. You were absent for me just to be there for him. Why should I choose you?"
My mother pushed out of my father's grip, her chest rising and falling in a rapid rhythm. "You... you are a disgrace! I did everything for you!"
"And you did twice as much for him! Even now! No one is listening to me! Because he is on Damien's side! I got cheated on, and instead of coming home to warnth, I am the one who is being criticized. Again!"
"Roxanne!" Mum yelled, then suddenly fell back, a gasp leaving her lips.
"Naomi!" Dad said, immediately wrapping his hands around her, breaking her fall.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as they ran around her, with Ronan screaming curses at me.
"Call the ambulance," Dad said, and Damien immediately straightened and pulled his phone.
Florian held my hand throughout, so even when I tried to go to her, I couldn't.
"Get out," Dad said suddenly, straightening. "Leave my sight, right this instant! You are dead to me, Roxanne! You chose some man over your own family! You ruined everything!"
I took a step back, my eyes falling to my mother. She was crying in Ronan's arms now, her body shaking hard. I bit down on my lips, then slowly turned to Florian.
He was unfazed by the entire thing, his eyes dark as he watched my family turn against me.
"Let's go," he said suddenly, turning to me. "I will take you home, Rox."
I swallowed hard, my chest heaving. Home. I had always thought this was home. Apparently, it wasn't.
"You're a bastard, Florian! Don't ever show up around me! Don't ever bring that ungrateful b***h around us, ever again!"
Florian gave a small nod. "I won't have to."
Without another word, he leaned, carrying me into his arms bridal style. I saw Damien's eyes harden at the gesture, but I buried my face in Florian's chest, hoping I would be able to heal because I wasn't hoping not to be broken anymore.
I was already broken.
- Writer
