A BABY FOR MY STEPBROTHER

“Where the hell have you been, Brooklyn?!”

That was the first thing Zayne yelled the moment he saw Brooklyn drive into the building, the tyres of her car screeching as she sped. It took a lot to refrain from hitting and knocking him down with her car.

The sight of Kimberly and Zayne brought back the scene of their betrayal and all she kept seeing was both of them in bed, moaning and making love as she stood watching them. Thinking about the whole thing broke her heart even more.

It was the day, – their wedding.

He was neatly dressed in his sleek, timeless charcoal gray tailored suit. A patterned tie and polished dress shoes that shone like a mirror. Brooklyn couldn’t deny that he looked dashing and neat, – but his character was dirty and awful.

“Sis, I've been trying to reach you,” Kimberly said, her hands holding up the bridesmaid dress she had on while standing next to their mother, who was busy talking on the phone.

“Brooklyn, where have you been?” Her mother rushed to ask her, her phone slightly moving away from her left ear. Scanning her daughter from head to toe, she added, “And why aren't you dressed yet?”

Brooklyn stepped out of her car, walking past her step-sister and Zayne, her eyes staring at everyone who was in her house: Her mother, Zayne, Kimberly, and other relatives.

She had forfeited going to the hotel, church, and even her mother's place just to drive straight home, but it turned out they were one step ahead of her and knew what she had in mind.

“There will be no wedding,”

All eyes flashed in her direction, huge and surprised as they stared at her like she had gone insane.

“What is the meaning of all these?” Zayne threw at her, walking closer to grab her wrist, “What do you mean by there'll be no wedding?”

She flinched her hands away, her eyes giving him a sharp look and fuming with the anger she was trying so hard to suppress. He had no right to touch her, not after touching and making love to another woman.

“Don't fucking touch me,”

“What on earth is wrong with you?” Sophia inquired sternly, finally dropping the phone call, “Why are you acting so strangely? Zayne has been trying to reach you all night, but you kept ignoring him. And now that you've shown up, you're giving him an attitude?”

Brooklyn felt her lips quivering and her emotions simmering. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and her breath was becoming unstable. It wasn't just about Zayne and Kimberly's betrayal anymore, but what she had done last night, – she had sex with the stranger at the hotel.

“I'm– I'm calling off the wedding,”

Everyone gasped while exchanging looks and murmuring. Kimberly tried to touch her as she got close, but she slapped her hands away.

“Don't you dare touch me you backstabber,”

A hint of fear and surprise flashed through Kim's eyes, but she quickly replaced it with feigned innocence.

“Stop it, Brooke. You can't say such words about your sister,”

“Ohh, really?” She scorned, turning directly to face her sister's defender with gritted teeth, “Trying to protect your mistress, I see,”

“She is not my mistress,”

“Then why are you defending her?”

“Can someone just tell me what the hell is going on?!” Sophia screamed at the top of her lungs, unable to take the sight of them bickering and arguing, “We have a wedding to attend. The reception starts at 9am, and it's just five minutes left, but here we are, arguing and fighting over ‘God knows what it is,”

Brooklyn heaved a distressed sigh, her lips burning as she struggled to break the news to her mother.

“Zayne and Kimberly are having an affair,”

The words came out forcefully. She was in denial and still wasn't ready to accept the fact that her boyfriend of ten years had been cheating on her with her sister.

“THAT is not true,”

“Yes, it is, Mum,” She confirmed, glaring hard at both culprits who looked surprised that she had caught them, “They were at your house yesterday when I stopped by. I caught them having sex in one of your guest rooms,”

Kimberly shifted uncomfortably, her eyes exchanging looks with Zayne who was forcing himself to act normal and not suspicious.

“That damn Skyler,” he grunted, sounding annoyed and casting blame, “She couldn't keep her loose mouth shut,”

“Keep Skyler away from this,” Brooklyn reprimanded him with her fingers in his face, “She's not the reason you were caught,”

“You– You've got this whole thing wrong,” Zayne tried to explain, his hands running through his beards and stuttering, “Kim and I, – we, we have nothing going on, believe me,”

“Maybe I believe you,” Brooklyn uttered with a snort, folding her hands across her breasts, “What about the moans? Her voice moaning out your name and pleading with you to go on? What was that all about?”

“I–”

“- the wedding is not happening and that's final, We're done for good,”

Brooklyn reached for the engagement ring on her finger, trying to pull it off, but her mother's words halted her.

“The wedding must go on,”

She raised her head up in disbelief, trying to fathom the look in her mother's voice as she uttered those words. Hadn’t she heard her? Didn't she hear about his infidelity? Or the fact that her ‘favorite daughter’ was having an affair with her husband-to-be?

“What are you saying, Mum?” Brooklyn cried out in frustration, feeling her eyes form with tears, “I can't marry him, not after I caught him cheating on me with Kim,”

Sophia Moreno walked closer to her daughter, her eyes stern and serious. With her facial expressions, Brooklyn knew her mother wasn't playing, even though she knew she wasn't going to give in.

“You must go on with the wedding,” her voice sounded final and firm, “You either get married to him or I'll disown you for going against me,”

Brooklyn bit down her lips, the tears she had been holding back finally streaming down her cheeks. She knew her mother always loathed her and loved Kimberly more, but she didn't expect it to be this far.

Get married to Zayne or forfeit everything she'd ever owned and known. The choice was hers, and she knew exactly what her choice was.

“I'd rather die than get married to this cheating scumbag,”

Her mother twisted her lips at her, and before Brooklyn could take off her ring, Sophia had already hit her hard across the face.

“You ungrateful bastard!” She snarled, spitting in her face as Brooklyn held her stinging cheeks, “Get out of this house and never return. You cease to become my daughter henceforth,”

Staring in the background was Kimberly, her face shining with satisfaction and mockery. Just like always, she had gotten away with her actions, while Brooklyn was blamed and left to suffer.

And for the first time, Brooklyn was determined to show them that she could be everything and more than what they took her to be…

*

Alexander woke up with a jolt. The rays of sunlight shone directly into his eyes as his hands felt the bed, — empty. She was gone!

He hurriedly opened his eyes, his heart racing with fear, uncertainty, and worry. His eyes scanned the entire suite, but there was no sign of her anywhere.

Just as he was trying to uncover what was going on, he heard a knock on the door. Ushering the hotel worker in, he threw on his trousers.

“Sir, I just wanted to confirm if you’re retaining the suite,”

He shook his head, trying to put on his shirt. “No, I was actually leaving,”

“Okay,” he was about to leave when Alexander halted him with a question.

“The woman I came here with, the one who parked her car next to the club space, Have you seen her? Did you see her leave?”

“Yes, she left about two hours ago. I saw her while I was at the reception,”

Xander grunted in frustration, biting down his lips as he mumbled. He didn’t even get the chance to know her name, or even collect her number. They had sex without even knowing who they were.

“Did she say anything? Or dropped something useful? Like her contact? Her name? Anything?”

“None sir. She left without saying a word,”

“Alright, thank you,” he muttered disappointingly, knowing there was nothing else he could do. The worker nodded, walking out of the door and leaving Alexander to solve the mystery.

His phone rang a few minutes later as he was about to step out, — a phone call from his best friend.

“What’s up, man? Couldn’t reach you all night,”

Josh said over the phone, with Xander adjusting his collars.

“Yeah. I— I was busy,”

“Had a girl over, I’m sure,”

Xander chuckled, knowing he was caught.

“So, what’s up? Why are you calling at this time?” He checked his watch for the time, “It’s past 10 am, I thought you were the best man at the wedding you’ve been talking about for months.”

“Yeah… about that,” his tone sounded low and negative, alerting Xander that something bad might have happened, “The bride called off the wedding this morning,”

That was… awful, and heartbreaking. And he couldn’t imagine what the groom must be going through at the moment.

“Oh… that’s… terrible. What happened? Why did she call it off all of a sudden?”

“Long story. Want to stop over for some drinks? I’ve got lots of things to talk about,”

Xander wasn’t sure if he wanted to go. After spending the night with the mystery woman, he couldn’t find anything else to do than find her, especially after what he discovered last night…

“Sure… I— I also have something I’d like to share with you,”

“Sounds great. Meet me home then, I’ll be there in ten minutes,”

“Alright,”

*

Brooklyn walked dejectedly through the crowd, her hands clutching the handle of her luggage tightly. This was it — a goodbye; she was leaving this city and everything she’d ever known.

Her mother had taken every single thing away from her including her last name. And she was thrown into the streets, left to fend for herself and find her grounds. It was hurtful because she was the one who had gotten hurt, betrayed, and triggered. But she was the one who had been left alone to face the suffering.

“May I see your boarding pass, please?” The voice of the female airline staff jolted Brooklyn back to reality. She forced a smile, searching inside her purse to retrieve it.

“Here you go,”

“Thank you,” her eyes scanned the little document, and then she raised her head with a smile, “Travelling to Japan, I see. Vacation or relocation?”

Brooklyn hesitated for a while, sincerely wishing all that was happening was a dream that would last for a few minutes, days, or even months. But she had no idea how long everything was going to take.

“Hopefully, Vacation,” she forced another smile, hoping she wouldn’t be asked further questions. Fortunately, there were other passengers in line so she had to attend to them.

“Enjoy your trip. Hope you have a nice time,”

Brooklyn nodded, slowly walking forward to take her seat. A single discovery had ruined her life, and another single action had cost her everything.

Maybe she had no right to call off the wedding.

Maybe she had overreacted.

Maybe if she had proceeded with the wedding, she’d still have all the wealth and influence.

But, No.

Her family despised her enough to throw her out, and she was going to prove them otherwise. Zayne and Kimberly were going to regret ever crossing her, — she was going to make sure of it.

But, for now, all she had to do was leave the country and never return until she was fully settled and ready to get back at them.