40. Brent
Chapter forty
Brent
Five Years Ago
W alking back into the wedding reception, I greeted a few of the guys at their designated tables before taking a seat at the wedding party table.
Looking around the room, I took a small sip of my white wine as I watched Rosenna and Gavin greet the guests. The maid of honor took her seat beside me, and I had to pretend to listen to her speak as my eyes remained focused on the happy couple.
I was the best man at my best friend’s wedding. It was a joyous occasion, one where we all celebrated the union of two soulmates who decided to spend the rest of their lives with one another through thick and thin, till death do they part .
I had no reason not to be congratulatory toward my friend. We were landing clients left and right at the firm, and for God’s sake, we just made partner after reviving it when Gavin’s parents passed the torch down to him.
Everything was going perfectly…
Well, that is what it had seemed like. Under the surface, there were a few more underlying issues. Some had to do with the way Gavin glanced at one of the bridesmaids as she walked past. Others had to do with Rosenna smiling gracefully as Gavin’s mother practically scolded her for a good portion of the wedding. Not to mention how her smile had faltered ever so slightly as her own father practically forced her off of his arm after walking her down the aisle.
Simply watching without acting was paining me, to say the least, but I couldn’t say anything. I could never say what I felt as a close observer. Even if I wanted to, it was too late.
There were moments that should be left unspoken. Thoughts that should remain buried. This was one of them.
I watched Rosenna take Gavin’s hand, watched him press a kiss to her temple. It was nothing. A public display. A well-rehearsed act for family and friends.
But it still felt like a noose tightening around my fucking throat.
The maid of honor soon grew bored of me, and I watched as she left to bother someone else. She and Rosenna grew close only over the last few months or so. Kira, was it? I didn’t know her too well, but as Rosenna’s assistant, she often contacted me about certain things regarding their upcoming loan.
The other seat beside me was pulled out. Looking over my shoulder, I grinned as Rosenna downed her glass of wine without any hesitation.
“Feeling all right?” I asked her.
She nodded softly as she crossed one leg over the other before sitting back, her voice coming out somewhat like a melody. “Just fine. Thanks for asking, Brent.”
I said nothing as my eyes shifted to her waist and thighs, which were now accentuated by her white silk reception dress.
Looking away, I masked my groan with a slight cough as she looked over to me curiously. Her intoxicating scent filled me to the brim, and it took absolutely everything in me to control my thoughts that wanted to go straight to my dick.
“Not a problem. Just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“You always say that.”
“Well, I have to care about you, Rosenna. If not, what kind of best man would I be to Gavin, or what kind of friend would I be to you?” I said. The words practically pained me to say them aloud.
She smiled thankfully, and my mouth went dry as she placed her hand over my mind, which rested on the table, in a friendly manner.
“Thank you, Brent, for everything.”
I could only smile when she pulled away and turned to Gavin, who leaned down to speak into her ear. My hand that she touched twitched, but I hid it as I watched my friend place a kiss on his wife’s cheek before he sat down, giving me another reminder that she belonged to him. Like this whole fucking day wasn ’ t a reminder that she would never be mine.
Pouring myself another glass of wine, I took it down easily as I tried to control my growing jealousy.
As much as I wanted to be happy for him, I couldn’t help but feel pity for Rosenna as I looked at her, smiling for pictures as she laughed at a joke thrown in by the crowd, masking the uncomfortableness and anxiety she must’ve been feeling throughout the entire day.
He doesn’t deserve you.
A Few Months Ago
“What’s the status this evening, gentlemen?” Gavin questioned as he entered the conference room, reading a contract that had to be reviewed soon.
“Where’ve you been, Johnson?” Walter, an older attorney, asked.
“Busy,” Gavin muttered.
Soon, the newbie, Ethan, began his presentation, which discussed the different cases for the week as well as the progress made on each. However, I wasn’t focused much on the meeting: I was reading an article on my phone. My eyes landed on a photograph of Rosenna, sitting legs crossed with her powerful, seductive smile.
I wasn’t going to think about how fucking sexy she looked, radiating such power and confidence, how her makeup and hair only highlighted her alluring features. I wasn’t going to think about how absolutely flawless she looked. I wasn’t going to think about her in a room filled with my colleagues as we conducted our meeting. But as my pants tightened annoyingly while I forced myself to scroll past the photo, I knew I’d failed in my attempt.
After an hour or so, we’d finished, and Gavin dismissed the room as he put away some files. Contemplating whether or not I should discuss the article with him, I approached him as one of our lingering associates left the room.
“Brent,” he muttered.
“Gavin, your wife made the news headlines,” I uttered. He looked over at me in slight disbelief. Fucking typical.
“She made the what?”
I handed him my phone to view the title of the article I’d been reading. Vincent Garcia’s Son Expected to Debut His Art for the First Time Ever.
After angrily scrolling for a few moments, he practically forced the phone back over to me. “Doesn’t matter.”
“She just made a payment of fifty grand yesterday.”
Gavin sighed. “When will she ever learn? Send her a note. Raise the interest again.”
I furrowed my eyebrows. This wasn’t the first time Gavin had made me raise the interest to teach his wife a lesson. It stung every time I did, but I couldn’t say no—not when I was supposedly his friend first.
“Gavin... I can’t do that. I raised it on her around three times already, and if I do it again, she won’t be able to make any payments.”
He scoffed. “Why do you think I said to raise it? She needs to learn her fucking place and realize she’s got in over her head. She won’t listen to me. She won’t listen to reason. Maybe if she gets scared enough, she’ll finally understand that she needs to.”
“If she lands this with Garcia’s son, then she’ll be fine.”
But Gavin stayed firm. “And when she doesn’t, she’ll be exactly where I want her.”
I sighed, feeling defeated as I walked out of the room, agitated. Gavin could see my anger, but I didn’t care. I was allowing him to torment her.
This wasn’t just about the loan anymore. Gavin didn’t just want to control Rosenna… he wanted to break her, own her… ruin her.
And the sickest part?
I wanted to save her. I wanted to worship her. But deep down, in some dark, fucked-up way… I wanted to own her, too.
I could put a stop to this. I could have done it a long time ago. But then she wouldn’t depend on me. Then, we would have no reason to associate with one another. Then, we would no longer be friends . Not that she’d seen me that way throughout the years I’d subjected her to Gavin’s wrath.
He doesn’t deserve you, Rose… and fuck. Neither do I.
A Few Weeks Ago
Sitting in my office, I threw down the last document I had to review before running my hands down my face, exhausted as it was already late into the night. Gavin would be returning from Chicago in the next day or so. Truthfully, much of the work we had to do was completed in a day’s time, and I was on the next flight back home to continue my other obligations.
I, unfortunately, couldn’t say the same for Gavin, who was staying back for more… personal affairs that made my blood absolutely boil. Recalling our flight to Chicago, I remember being surprised but not shocked as another woman came onto the jet and sleepily seated herself next to Gavin.
Jessica Howe… How Gavin was able to score the daughter of one of the city’s billionaire tycoons was beyond me, but he had been able to keep Rosenna on a leash for the last five years, so anything is possible I guess.
Jessica was friendly towards everyone, but it was clear she was only there for one reason, one reason that fucking made my blood boil as Gavin’s wife continued working, oblivious to the fact that her husband was having an affair.
Well, he was continuously having affairs with many different women. The only reason she didn’t know of the countless women he’s slept with behind her back is because he had paid them off, using her fucking loan payments to do it. And I was the facilitator. I helped my “friend” betray and use his wife solely because I resented her for being with him.
Over time, she grew to hate me with the interest rates or fees or whatever bullshit I could come up with to give her money to Gavin. And over time, I began to hate myself for torturing her and for falling even more in love with her. Just thinking about her made my dick hard in my pants as I rubbed my temples. Any fucking man would want a taste of her.
To hold her in their arms. To cherish her in ways her husband couldn’t. And instead of seizing the opportunity to show her what it felt like to have a man love her, I only fucked it up even more by being the one who caused her the pain.
Thinking back to earlier this afternoon, I could still remember her look of shock and hesitancy when she saw me approach her at the museum. It was just as much a surprise for me to see her there, and even more of a surprise to see her alongside her new client, Beckham.
Beckham and I were friendly towards one another, but our interaction was more passive-aggressive than cordial, all with Rosenna sandwiched between us uncomfortably. I made the offer to assist her if she wanted to purchase the property however, Beckham “politely” informed me that she wouldn’t be requiring my services.
Something tells me she won’t be needing it.
That meant, soon enough, she wouldn’t need me. And the thought, the fucking thought practically enraged me. She was so close… yet so far from being mine. I needed her. She needed me. That’s the only reason I tolerated Gavin’s requests and infidelity. Because maybe… just maybe, in the midst of that, she could be mine.
Thinking of the way my hand touched her soft skin made my breathing increase. The way her ass swayed back and forth, her soft, comforting smile… I’d almost memorized every time I saw her lips part, every time I watched her tuck her hair behind her ear, every time she brushed past me in the office with the soft scent of vanilla and honey trailing after her.
Shamefully, I reached my hand down to unzip my pants. I always fucking say this will be the last time. I promise myself every time like a goddamn addict making a vow to get healthy after each fix. God, why do I always lie to myself?
I barely got my cock out before I was pumping it furiously, chasing something I knew wouldn’t satisfy me. It didn’t matter how hard I gripped myself, how many times I imagined her soft little sighs, the way her legs would squeeze together shyly.
It didn’t matter how I tried to convince myself that this was enough. It would never be enough. Not when I wasn’t inside her. Not when I wasn’t the one she was falling apart for.
Leaning my head back as I stroked the tip, torturing myself as I hummed, I tried to think of Rosenna doing the same thing with her dainty soft hands. I practically shuttered as I imagined her kissing the tip and licking the underside of it along a protruding vein. Jerking my cock in my hand, my eyebrows furrowed as sweat glistened on my forehead. Thinking about that tight cunt, her sexy curves, those plump fuckable lips… Fuck, I was about to cum.
Going faster as I practically thrust into my hand, I groaned deeply as my cum spurted out. Grabbing a napkin as I tried to calm my breathing, my eyes went over to my phone to see a call from Gavin himself. I considered ignoring it but decided to answer it, not contemplating if the shame or guilt were driving my actions.
Clearing my throat, I spoke as I fixed myself in my pants.
“Gavin, talk to me,” I said in the usual way we would greet one another over the phone ever since we became firm partners.
“Brent…”
From the tone of his voice, he seemed troubled, and I was unsure why.
I listened intently. I heard the soft breathing of a woman in the background, so I could only assume that Jessica was asleep.
Gavin continued, and as the words left his mouth, my face paled, and my pulse quickened in shock and rage.
“I think… I think Rosenna is having an affair .”