DYLAN

“One more round, Dylan.” Madeline purred seductively, reaching for my belt once again even as I tried to dress up.

The woman was insatiable!

“Wait wait wait,” I reached for her hand to stop her, ignoring the frustrated look on her face. “I’ve got other places to be, plus, I believe I’ve fulfilled my part of the bargain.” 

She thudded to her chair petulantly, like a child that had been denied her favorite candy. Her ass was on display, her bra on, but barely recognizable, and yet, she seemed absolutely comfortable in her skin. 

I pushed the contract towards her hastily. “Now sign the damn papers.”

She stood there glaring at me for what seemed like ages, before a smile broke out on her lovely face. “Jeez alright, alright. I’ll sign the stupid papers. But only on one condition. You-”

“No more conditions, woman! If you won’t sign them, that’s alright. I won’t force you.” I turned on my heel and proceeded to walk out of her office.

“Wait Dylan, look, look. I’m signing them, come on, can’t you take a joke?” She called out hastily, the contract scrunching noisily on the desk at her swift ministrations.

I turned to shoot her a glare of my own. “If that was your idea of a joke, then you shouldn’t try to make one next time. Cos it really wasn’t funny.” 

Madeline signed the papers and strutted towards me apologetically. 

I took the papers from her hands. 

“Dylan?”

I ignored her and gave the document a final once-over.

“Dylan, come on. I said I was sorry.”

“Good to know.” I replied absentmindedly.

“So… am I forgiven?” She asked hopefully, as she proceeded to dress up.

“Honestly, whatever. You can come by to RetroCorp anytime to check the place out.” I retorted.

“That’s great. I’ll do that. I really should come see what I’m gonna be pumping my money into, don’t you think?” She declared in a serious tone that had me questioning if she had been the same person throwing a tantrum not too long ago.

I did the only thing I could… nod in agreement, but even as I did, the serious look on her face faded gradually, and her playful countenance appeared once again. “I really want to see you again, Dy.”

It took a minute for her statement to sink in.

Wait, what did she just call me?

I threw her the most murderous look I could muster, causing her to step back in fear. “Never, ever in your life call me that again. Have I made myself clear?”

She opened her mouth to… I don’t know, maybe protest but reasonably kept mute at the seriousness of my tone and how angry I looked. Instead, she timidly nodded. 

And just like that, I was back where I started.

Hell, of all the nicknames Madeline could give me, she just had to go and pick the very same one that would remind me of Brielle. 

How ironic!

I was already beginning to regret making this decision of hooking up with someone I was going to be seeing more of. But seeing as it had already happened, I was just going to have to deal with it.

I made quick work of packing up my stuff into my briefcase. I don’t know, but I felt like I was suffocating all of a sudden; like something was pressing down on my chest. I felt… guilty, like I had cheated or something which was ridiculous really, because Brielle and I weren’t even in a relationship. But my brain wasn’t listening, I just wanted to be out of the office. I walked towards the door and opened it, but Madeline’s voice kept me from closing it behind me. “You didn’t answer my question, Dylan.”

I turned to shoot her an angry glare. “Look, this was a one-time thing, and it’s not going to happen again. So get that into your thick head.” 

She stood there silently fuming, with this… this creepy look in her eyes.

“THIS ISN’T OVER UNTIL I SAY IT IS, DYLAN THOMAS!”

Even as I banged the door shut, I could still hear her loud words. 

God, what had I done?

*****
“Marin, for the last time, I said I’m fine, I’m just stressed with work that’s all.” I groaned over the phone in frustration as I banged my car door shut and made my way to my office.

“Are you really sure?” I heard him ask again even after I’d literally just told him I was fine.

Damn best-friend telepathy.

“Look Dylan, maybe all of this stress is a sign that you should give up this revenge plan of yours man. You’re too stubborn for your own good sometimes.”

“Trust me, that’s not what’s stressing me out. And I’ve told you I’m never going to drop it. He has to pay, and I’ll make him. It’s…” I trailed off hesitantly as I punched in my floor number and stepped into the elevator.

“It’s what?”

I sighed. “Remember that girl at the office I was telling you about?”

“Uh huh?”

“I just realised that, I may have feelings for her but… uh-”

“But what, man?”

Why didn’t I want to tell Marin that Brielle was having an affair with my father?

“Uh… but she’s already in a relationship.” I lied convincingly. 

It wasn’t technically a lie though right?

Cos I mean, an affair was a relationship, right?

“Aw that’s too bad.”

“Yeah, it really is.” I admitted dejectedly.

“You know, I’ve seriously never seen you this pussy whipped before.” Marin teased with a laugh causing me to let out a scoff. 

He just wanted a reaction, and I honestly wasn’t going to give him that.

The elevator opened and I stepped out only to crash clumsily into someone.

“Oh shit, I’m so so sorry-”

“No, I’m the one who should be apologising. Fuck, I really need to watch where I’m going—”

Silvie Carpenter?!

No. 

I mean, what were the odds?

Maybe it was someone who just freakishly looked like her.

“Silvie Carpenter?” I called out unsurely after helping the smallish woman pick her stuff off the ground. She looked up at me hesitantly, as if trying to figure out where I knew her from. “Uh, do I know you- oh my God Dylan Thomas!”

I don’t know where the happiness came from, -perhaps it was a way for my senses to enjoy a little respite from a very terrible day- but I crushed the poor woman in a weird hug that had both her and myself stunned from its suddenness. “Wow, sorry about that.” I admitted sheepishly causing her to let out a light laugh.

“Oh so we’re doing hugs now, huh? Funny how we barely walked the same circles in high school.” She grinned. 

The barb would have hurt a lot more if it wasn’t for the fact that she was only teasing, so I took it in good faith. “I guess I deserved that… but God, it’s been almost ten years. What brings you here though? Cos, I’m almost a hundred percent sure you don’t work here at RetroCorp.”

Silvie adjusted her handbag on her shoulder and bounced on the balls of her feet. “Oh I don’t work here, that’s for sure… I’m just here to visit my friend Lucia.”

Wait, Lucia?

Why did that name ring a bell?

My eyes widened as a memory filled my senses.

“Wait, you mean Lucia as in your best-friend-in-high-school Lucia?”

The petite woman’s eyes widened in alarm, the action so swift that I would have missed it had I blinked or looked away. 

“No… uh, yeah, wait what am I saying?” She muttered in frustration.

“No, no… just another friend with-”

“Syl, you silly girl… wait up! You left your phone, how many children at all have you go—” 

My eyes widened as the sound of heels clacking approached and Brielle caught up with us.

Just perfect.

She froze uncertainly, her eyes moving from me to Silvie in what looked like confusion. 

After two whole weeks, I was now seeing her again, and it honestly felt like a breath of fresh air… like I was a blind man finally opening his eyes to the beautiful world, it was ethereal;

And corny, I know.  

Silvie had this guilty look on her face, she couldn’t stare at her friend, and her gaze kept shifting from me to her shoes. 

All of a sudden, it completely made sense.

Brielle was Lucia!

The girl who had courageously, though unintentionally blurted out her feelings for me back in high school, the girl I had admired from afar and thought of as cute, always wanting to get a chance to talk to her… the girl that had picked the worst time to bump into me, the girl that had taken extra measures to avoid me after that regretful incident.

Brielle was Lucia. 

And she was fucking pissed if the daggers shooting out of her eyes as she glanced from her friend to me were any indication. “You told him? How could you, Syl?”

I honestly didn’t know what to do… how to act. I was both overwhelmed by the news of Brielle’s identity and by the fact that I was now seeing her after she had tearfully left my office.

Yeah, and I had been the cause of that.

“I honestly didn’t mean to Lu… it just slipped, besides… he wouldn’t have figured it out if you hadn’t appeared.” Silvie explained guiltily.

“But I came out because you left your phone, stupid.” Brielle threw back. 

I watched them stare at each other for a long time before they both burst into laughter.

What the fuck was happening?!

“I’m honestly sorry, Lu-”

 “Nah, it’s okay girl. It’s not like it was a huge secret anyway, I mean he was bound to find out someday.” She handed Silvie her phone. “Here you go.” 

I watched her sashay off, without sparing me a single glance.

To be honest, it hurt.

It really fucking did.

“Have a nice day Syl, call me when you get home, and make sure you don’t lose your damned phone again.” I faintly heard her throw over her shoulder. She rounded the corner, 

And then she was gone.

Silvie turned to face me, a little uncomfortable now… it was that obvious. “So yeah, Dylan… it really was nice meeting you, have a nice day.”

She stepped into the elevator, and the doors shut before I could say a word.

BRIELLE

Oh God, Dylan knew who I was now.

He probably remembered the young naïve little girl in glasses and pink hair who had hopelessly believed that her confession of love would be requited but had instead only gotten a rude awakening.

He probably thought I had grown into an older even more desperate version of that girl.

Because let’s face it, which girl claiming to absolutely hate someone’s guts would stoop so low to allow said person kiss her at the first chance he got?

The man had called me a gold digger because of that for crying out loud!

To be honest, it didn’t really seem like I was getting the full story—that Dylan was the type to over react because I had allowed him to kiss me a couple of times too early. Matter of fact, if anything at all, he should have been damned pleased… that- that for a lack of a much better phrase- I had cared enough to lower my standards, even if it was for a little bit and against my better judgement.

The whole situation just left me in a state of confusion.

I had barely sat down to contemplate my novel of a life when a quick knock sounded at my door and Dylan barged in. I kept my gaze locked on my laptop… almost as if I didn’t realise that I wasn’t the only one in the office.

Except that his presence wasn’t that easy to ignore. 

I so badly wanted to lift my head up to feast my eyes on his features… and maybe taste his lips again while I was at it,

But this wasn’t some fairy tale love reunion,

And I was no damsel in distress.

“Brielle.”

His tone was calm, almost like the gentle rustling of the wind in a garden. I ignored him.

“Brielle look at me god dammit!”

I raised my head and shot him the deadliest look I could muster, but I didn’t say a damned word.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I heard him faintly whisper, even as I willed my very being not to erupt in unbridled anger.

“Why didn’t I tell you what exactly?” I asked in a cool and composed voice that I barely recognised as my own.

“That I was Lucia? The girl you had completely and utterly humiliated for blurting out her feelings to you?” I continued, this time unable to control the emotion that slipped into my tone. He winced at my question. “Honestly, Lu- Brielle… it had never been my intention to hurt you. You… you just caught me at a very bad time-”

“Like the one I had caught you in two weeks ago? Fuck, looks like I always pick them bad moments.” I mussed sarcastically, much to his frustration.

He rubbed a hand across his face angrily. “Look, I tried my possible best after that time to meet up and apologise to you… because believe me, the lashing out had had nothing to do with you, but you had avoided me like the plague until we had completed.”

“NOW TELL ME WHY I SHOULD HAVE DONE ANYTHING DIFFERENTLY.” I screamed, too far gone to control my temper. “YOU’RE AN ABSOLUTE JERK WHO HURT ME VERY MUCH BACK THEN… OF COURSE I WAS GOING TO DEAL WITH IT THE ONLY WAY I COULD, BY AVOIDING YOU!”

I calmed down enough to lower my tone. “Besides, what good would your apology have done to me, huh?” I began to pace, pausing to giving him a sad look. “It would have done nothing to me, Dylan… maybe it would have given you the satisfaction of sleeping well at night without having to carry the burden of guilt on your conscience, but it wouldn’t have done shit for me.”

The handsome weary man sighed, a long and hard one. Even in my moment of despair, I realised that he had lost a little weight and looked like he hadn’t slept in ages. 

“For all it’s worth, Bree,” I winced at the nickname. “I am really really sorry for how I had behaved back then. It was childish and immature to take my feelings out on you… to have shattered you so bad, and then not have gotten enough balls to try hard enough to apologise.”

He moved away from the door and stepped closer, tentatively. “I’m sorry that my reaction destroyed any potential friendship that could have blossomed after that incident… a friendship that could have maybe turned into something more, because to be honest, I had been interested in getting to know you more ever since that time I had opened that door for you and you had given me one of the most beautiful smiles I had ever seen.”

Wait, what?

“I wanted to talk to you… to seek you out, but for some reason, I always found myself chickening out at the last minute. And then shit happened, and changed my perspective on life.” He finished dejectedly.

I was silent for a moment, soaking it all in, but I spoke up after a moment. “You know, for all it’s worth… I forgive you.”

“I forgive you for everything, and I believe I owe you an apology too.” A laugh escaped my throat. “I can imagine how it would have felt to be put on the spot like that, to decide if you were in love with someone in such a split second. I was too childish and immature to have understood the concept of love and how it works, and I’m sorry for taking it out on you.”

Dylan let out a chuckle. “Apology accepted, Brielle.” 

We stood grinning at each other for a long while until the moment passed and Dylan suddenly shook his head in confusion, as if to clear a certain haze from his eyes. His smile just as quickly faded. “I’ll take my leave now that all that’s behind us.” He declared somewhat angrily and then stormed towards the door leaving in me in a state of confusion as usual at how fast his mood swings came and went. 

He must have thought of something, for he turned back… pinching the bridge of his nose, his whole body tensed, as if he was gearing up for a fight. “Tell me something Brielle, why him of all people?”

What was he talking about?

I smiled in confusion, “Wait I don’t understand, why who?”

“DON’T PLAY DUMB WITH ME!”

“I’M NOT PLAYING DUMB, I HONESTLY DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT.” I screamed back defensively.

What the fuck was wrong with this man?

He breathed in deeply, as if to control himself from snapping at me again. “Tell me why Brielle… why out of so many men, you didn’t find any one to have an affair with, but my father.” 

My eyes widened in horror as I stood there, mouth open, staring at him in shock.