"I need to leave. Please excuse me."
Those were the only words that Lana could come up with as she turned around to leave Alexander's presence and his office.
The tears she had been holding back for so long finally welled up her eyes, hot and ready to spill. With her head down, she walked past the receptionist, out of the room and staggered through the corridors in search of the bathroom.
She felt used and more than anything, stupid. Stupid for thinking Alexander was a decent person. That just like her, he'd been secretly anticipating their wedding for the past two years and doing everything he could to be on his best behavior.
But what did she get instead? An arrogant, cheating asshole who had absolutely no respect for her.
She felt broken and as she reached for her phone to temporarily distract herself, the pain felt doubled as she was reminded of the scene she walked into barely twenty fours ago. She could deal with her husband-to-be being an asshole but her best friend too? Just how did she manage to feel so betrayed by the two of them in less than twenty four hours.
She bit her lip, her phone immediately buzzing to reveal a text from Andrew. With a sigh, she ignored it, returning her phone to her purse.
How was she going to tell him? Not just him, how was she going to tell her mum and dad the man they bethroted her to was nothing like they imagined? And her best friend who they gushed on about how she'd look ravishing next to her on the wedding was nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing?
"That son of a-"
"Bitch," her curse words were unexpectedly completed by an unfamiliar voice. Quickly wiping her eyes, she turned around to meet an oddly familiar figure standing a couple of inches behind her, catching up to her in no time to stand next to her. "I know that feeling."
"What?" she looked at him from head to toe, her brain failing at trying to remember where she recognized him from. "Who are-"
"Lana Sanderson, right?" he stretched his arm towards her, Lana hesitating before shaking it. "I'm Nicholas. Nicholas Adams. I'm guessing you don't remember me."
"Am I supposed to?"
"Maybe," he shrugged then laughed. "It's been two years since we last met. It was at the dinner with the Frane's if that rings a bell? I was there. The night your engagement was announced. Rings a bell now, no?"
"Oh, yes!" it actually did the trick. "Oh, I remember now. You're Alexander's best friend, right?"
He winced at the last part then shook his head, Lana peering at him. "Not anymore. Was fun while it lasted though."
"Oh," she wanted to ask about the details but only remembered the pain she felt from loosing her best friend. "I know that feeling. Too bad."
"It sure is," he didn't seem hurt though. "So, I'll just go straight to the point. Can I talk to you?"
"I know we're talking right now," he quickly added, a hint of playfulness vanishing in his voice almost as quickly as it appeared. "But I mean, not like this. Can we go somewhere else to sit and talk? Somewhere private?"
"What? Why?" she gazed at him, unsure of how she felt about talking to anyone acquainted with Alexander at that moment. "Right now?"
"If that's not too much to ask."
It was. And she wasn't going to deny it.
"I'm afraid I can't," she shook her head . "Right now is not a good time for me. I don't feel like talking-"
"It's about Alexander," he interrupted her to say, her whole body immediately tensing up. "And your best friend, Joan."
'Ex-best friend', she wanted to correct him but she couldn't, that piece of information suddenly the least of her worries. Her whole body froze up in response, her tongue curling in her cheek, unable to form a single word.
"Here," he spoke up again, handing over a tissue to her. Unable to even pretend she didn't need it, she muttered her thanks and collected it from him, wiping her eyes carefully.
"So, do you have a minute to spare?" he was determined to get her to speak. "I promise I'll be quick."
Her phone buzzed again and she could tell it was another text from Andrew. She wasn't ready to talk to him or even see him. Not like that. Not when she was only a hug away from exploding into a pool of tears.
So, talking to whoever this Nicholas was just seemed like the best thing she could do at that moment.
"Alright," she finally gave in. "You have ten minutes."
"Nine would do," he flashed her an uncomfortable smile then led the way. "Let's go."
They walked out of the company and stopped at a nearby café. It was at a reasonable distance from the office- far enough to take her mind off him and his gigantic building and close enough to the bus station incase things went wrong and she just needed to head back home.
"So what do you want to talk to me about?" she didn't wait for their coffees to arrive before she spoke up. "You have eight minutes more."
Nicholas on the other hand, waited for their coffees to arrive, took a rather comfortable sip, glanced at his wristwatch then replied her. "Your wedding to Alex."
"What?" Lana was immediately glad she was yet to take a sip from the coffee, preventing her from choking. "My wedding to Alexander?"
"Yes," he nodded. "Are you going to go ahead with it?"
"What?" she was suddenly more confused than ever. "I- Why wouldn't i-"
"Probably because he slept with your best friend?" he said the words so easily, Lana's eyes widened in shock. "Yeah, I know about it."
A wave of embarrassment suddenly hit her. She was seated opposite a man she barely knew and all she wanted to do was vanish into thin air.
"I know you're going to have to go ahead with the wedding-"
"Why would I have to go ahead with the wedding?" she was suddenly irked. "Why and who are you to say that?"
"Because you are Lana Sanderson and we both know this wedding was never a thing of choice for you."
She balled her fist in anger but didn't stop him.
"And I know how you feel. Angry, betrayed, taken for granted- I know it all."
"Don't make me laugh," she let out a scoff. "I don't need your fake sympathy. Why would you know exactly how I feel?"
"Because, just like you, my best friend slept with the person I was in love with."
"What?"
"Joan, your best friend," he took another sip of his coffee. "I liked her. Loved her even. And Alexander knew that. Yet he didn't twice and slept with her."
"Oh," things were taking an interesting turn. "That's-"
"Very typical of Alexander but that's not what I'm here to talk about," he took another now annoying sip of his coffee. "This wedding- you're going ahead with it, aren't you?"
"I never said I was."
"Allow me rephrase then," he shifted his cup of coffee to the side and leaned on the table to bring his face closer to hers. "This wedding. If you decide to go ahead with it, you should join hands with me."
"What?"
"Alex feels no remorse," he continued. "And he sure as hell is ready to go ahead with the wedding cause for him, it won't change a thing. It doesn't matter to him and it would just be another deal he has to get over."
"But?"
"But," he had a contented smile on his face. "But we can change that."
"How?"
In the blink of an eye, the contented smile faded into one filled with venom. "We can make Alex regret things. We can make him, for the first time in his entire life, wish he did things differently."
"By making this marriage happen just like he wants, sure. But then, making it the biggest mistake of his life."