Page 10 of Nova

4

Promise

Waking before the alarm, I look over my shoulder and find Brad's side of the bed empty. When I got back from London's last night, he was already home. The two of us went about our nightly routine and when it came time for bed, Brad was giving me his usual ‘I'm in the mood' signals, only I wasn't feeling it. He didn't take my rejection well and ended up sleeping in the living room on the sofa.

Turning over on my back, I stare up at the ceiling and sigh. As much as I don't want to deal with mine and Brad's situation, I know the conversation needs to happen. We both have to commit to fixing our relationship or it needs to end. Sadly, I'm not upset at the second scenario.

Climbing out of bed, I pad into the bathroom and take care of business. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I snag the robe from the back of the bathroom door, slip it on, and tie it at my waist. I then prepare myself to face Brad. When I open the bedroom door, the smell of coffee lets me know he is already awake. Walking into the kitchen, I find him already dressed, sitting at the dining room table with his coffee and his laptop open in front of him.

"Morning," I murmur as I go about pulling a mug down from the cabinet and fixing myself some coffee.

"Morning," Brad returns but doesn't look at me.

"You're ready early," I point out.

"Yeah. Figured I head to the office and get a jump start on my day."

"That's good."

I'm silent for a moment before I speak again. "Listen. I have court again this morning, but I thought we could grab lunch together and talk."

Brad finally tears his gaze from his computer and looks at me. "Lunch sounds good. I agree we should talk." Brad closes his laptop, stands, slides it into his briefcase and strides up to me as he hitches it over his shoulder. "I know things have been off between us and I'd like to work on making things better."

I don't say anything, only nod.

He kisses my cheek. "I'll see you later."

Once Brad has left, I head back into the bedroom to get ready for my day, which I'm anxious to get through so I can mentally prepare myself to talk with him. He says he wants us to work out the rut we're in, but I haven't entirely made up my mind what I want.

Tossing those thoughts away, I go into the bathroom, where I put on a touch of makeup and tie my long hair back into a bun at the nape of my neck. Finished with that task, I move to the closet I share with Brad and pull a pair of black slacks from the hanger along with a grey button-down blouse, then pair my outfit with some black four-inch heels. Making my way back into the kitchen, I fix myself a cup of coffee to go.

An hour later, I'm sitting in the courtroom gathering my things along with the state's attorney. Court was supposed to begin an hour and a half ago, but word has just gotten back that my client was in a fight earlier this morning. Now the hearing has been postponed until next week. The stunt my client pulled will not bode well for him. Word is, he was the one who instigated the fight in which two other prisoners and a bailiff were injured. He'll be facing more charges now.

Leaving the courthouse, I note the time and decide to call Brad to find out if he wants to make an early lunch. I place the phone to my ear and listen to it ring several times before it goes to voicemail. I try one more time only for the call to go to voicemail a second time. Knowing he's probably with a client, I decide to head to the office in hopes he'll be finished by the time I get there.

Pulling into the parking lot at work, I notice Brad and Jackson are here. I also see Avery has decided to grace everyone with her presence.

The sweltering New Orleans heat assaults me as I climb from my car. It's not even 10:00 am and it's like a furnace outside. I breathe a sigh of relief the second I step inside, and a gust of cold air hits my face making me feel like I can breathe again. The humidity in the south is damn near unbearable. I don't bother addressing the receptionist as I pass by her desk because she's a bitch who is chummy with my step-sister. She sucks at her job and the only reason she got it was because of Avery.

Stepping off the elevator, I make my way down the hall and notice Thomas's office door wide open. I take a peek inside but don't spot Avery waiting in there for him.Maybe she's visiting with her brother.Passing my office, I walk to the end of the hall to Brad's. His door is closed, so I lift my hand to knock but think better of it since he must still be in a meeting or on the phone. Just as I go to turn and leave, I hear a throaty moan come from behind his door, followed by a grunt. I stand rooted in place with a sickening feeling settling in my gut. Knowing I probably won't like what I will find when I open the door, I twist the handle anyway. There in front of me is Avery, on her back, on the top of Brad's desk. And between her boney legs, ismyfiancé, with his pants down around his ankles as he moans and thrusts into my stepsister.

I take in every detail before me. Avery's heels digging into Brad's ass. Brad's hand over the top of Avery's exposed fake breast. The way his head is thrown back in pleasure. Lastly, I note the way my bitch of a stepsister is peering over at me with a smirk on her face.

Finding my voice, I finally speak, sounding eerily calm, considering I just found my fiancé fucking my sister. "Apparently you have a different definition of 'working it out' than I do. Thanks for making my decision to dump you an easy one."

My voice and words cause Brad to startle. He peers over his shoulder at me. His face pales and his eyes go big. "Promise!"

My name is the only thing he has a chance to say before I turn on my heel and walk away. Jackson hearing the commotion appears from his office. He looks at me and then his attention diverts to Brad who bursts down the hall toward me, calling out my name.

"Avery," Jackson growls. "What the fuck have you done now?"

I don't bother looking at the scene behind me, and I sure as hell don't bother sticking around to wait for an excuse. Avery is a vile bitch, so her doing something like this doesn't surprise me, but Brad is a whole other story. I never once thought he would be capable of doing something so cruel, especially since he knows how I feel about my so-called family and how I feel about Avery.

"Promise, wait!" I hear Brad shout as I bustle down the hall to the elevator. The ride down feels painstakingly slow until finally the doors open. My body is in a heated daze as I fly out of the office building and dash across the parking lot to my car. I ignore Brad calling out my name as I jump into my car and peel out of the parking lot on to the road. Immediately my phone starts ringing. A few seconds later, it stops and starts again. Stopping at a red light, my phone rings for the third time. This time it's London calling. I answer. "Yeah."

"Jackson just called."I seriously love my stepbrother. He knew I'd need my best friend and she's the only person I'd answer right now."I'm going to kill that stupid son of a bitch. And don't get me started on that cunt!" London shouts into the phone. "Where are you now?"

"In my car."

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