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.”
