"Joan? Alexander? What are you two-"
Lana felt shock flood her entire veins, her whole body suddenly frozen. She couldn't move, think or even speak and simply remained in her position for a while, her body and eyes doing all the talking.
"Shit," Joan cursed then immediately pulled the sheets away, revealing her completely naked upper body. With her gaze darting all over the room, she reached for her bra then her gown, quickly throwing them all over her body.
Alexander on the other hand, remained in the bed, groaning softly as he rubbed his eyes. He looked unbothered, watching the sight in front of him unfold and by the time Joan was fully dressed, let out a hiss.
Flabbergasted had to be an understatement for what Lana was. She shifted her gaze between the two people who meant the most to her, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
But she couldn't. Regardless of how hard she tried.
"Lana," her best friend-ex best friend finally called out to her and in the blink of an eye, it was finally able to pull her back to her senses for a while. "It's not what it looks like."
"I sure as hell hope not," she breathed out, her voice shakier than she'd intended. "Cause it looks like I just caught you sleeping with my fiancé."
Her gaze was on Alexander as she spoke, fervently hoping that would finally spark any reaction from him. "Huh?"
He didn't move. He didn't even look at her. He looked unbothered, nonchalant and if anything, seemed like he just couldn't wait for whatever was going on to be over.
"God."
"Lana, I-"
She didn't want to hear it. She didn't want to have to make sense of it. She 'd heard enough and definitely had seen enough. More than enough to have her certain her heart would stop beating if she spent another second in that room.
So she did the best thing she could think of and turned around, her legs hitting the cold tiled floor. She quickened her pace and ran down the stairs and in no time, out of the room to find herself back in the streets, suddenly wishing everything was just a very bad dream.
But it wasn't. her phone buzzing in her hand to signify a call from Andrew more than enough proof.
The realization hit her all over again and at that moment, tears welled up her eyes. But she didn't cry. Instead, she wiped her eyes, careful not to mess up her mascara, turned off her phone and headed straight home.
By the time she got home, luckily for her none of her parents were in sight. So she made her way upstairs, stripped out of her clothes and fell into bed, immediately shutting her eyes tight.
The entire night was spent with Lana continuously trying to make sense of what had happened. The betrayal and hurt gnawed at her chest but like a fool, she kept on trying to understand it all. To find a reason, an excuse- just anything to justify the reason her best friend would decide to sleep with her fiancé a week to her wedding. The reason her fiancé would sleep with her best friend a week to their wedding.
She might not have known Alexander well enough but Joan? She was her best friend. They had been friends ever since they were kids and more than anyone, she knew how much she had been anticipating the wedding. So why?
Morning finally came and unfortunately for her, she got up from bed with neither a wink of sleep nor a reasonable explanation or conclusion. With freshly fueled frustration, she reached for her phone and finally turned it on, her heart sinking as she stared at the notification bar.
She had eight missed calls and a dozen unread messages. But to her surprise and if she was going to be honest, disappointment, they were all from one person- Andrew.
Not a single one from Joan. Not a single one from Alexander.
She felt fresh tears well up her eyes but once again, she refused to allow those emotions take over so she blinked about a dozen times then sat up. It was supposed to be a busy day filled with classes at college for her but none of that mattered. Not at that moment.
She got freshened up and changed into the fit her parents had gotten her on her nineteenth birthday. It was a casual suit with the blazer and skirt in the same fabric. It was bright pink, the skirt reaching her mid thigh as it hugged her curves, the entire colour and design doing a great job at enhancing both her features and complexion. It was an outfit that always gave her a boost of confidence and that confidence was something she suddenly desperately needed.
Painting her lips and taking her time to apply her mascara, she grabbed a matching purse and stepped out of the house. Again, luckily, her parents were still nowhere to be found as she headed out and stopped the first cab she spotted.
"Where to, miss?"
"Frane Industries."
He nodded and began the ride, Lana's grip on her purse immediately tightening. The drive turned out to be shorter than expected as in less than thirty minutes, the cab was pulling over in front of the skyscraper that belonged to alexander.
She paid the fare and stepped out of the cab, her heels hitting the ground to make a clinking sound as she approached the main entrance. Easily gaining access, she walked in and found her way around, taking the elevator to his office.
"Good morning, Miss-" the receptionist stared at her from head to toe like she was trying to make a quick decision on how to address her.
"Sanderson," Lana saved her the trouble. "Yes, you may help me. I'm here to see Alexander."
"You mean Mr. Frane," she almost hiccupped at Lana's confidence. "Who are you-"
"Tell Alexander I'm here to see him," she looked around for an empty seat to help herself. "Tell him I'm here to see him. I'll be waiting."
The receptionist looked confused but regardless but regardless, bowed and walked into the office to inform Alexander, leaving Lana.
In her absence, Lana suddenly began to fidget, her confidence suddenly withering. She wasn't sure what she was doing but knew it was better than staying in her room, hopelessly waiting for an answer to reveal itself.
"You may go in," the receptionist finally reappeared. "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, ma'am. My apologies."
Lana simply nodded in response and made her way in, her chest tightening with every new step she took towards the door. With a deep exhale, she pushed the door and took the last step needed to face Alexander.
"Miss Sanderson," he spoke up even before she could, the minute she stepped into the office. "You're here. What a pleasant surprise."
She arched a brow, stepping in further. She pressed her lips and swallowed, taken aback by his words, tone and entire demeanor. He was seated, his legs crossed, one hand in his pocket the other on a mouse as he stared at the laptop in front of him. He didn't even spare her a glance, only acknowledging her from the information his receptionist had fed him.
"It sure is a surprise," her response was sarcastic as she moved closer to his table. "A huge one."
"So why are you here?" he still didn't bother to spare her a glance. "Right, I heard the wedding's in a week. Are you here to confirm it? If that's the case, you should see my father cause he's in charge of-"
Lana could have sworn she was hearing things. Was he really being serious? There was no way those words were actually coming out of his mouth.
"Do you really think that's why I'm here?"
His fingers finally stopped caressing the mouse as he belatedly looked up, his gaze settling on Lana. His sharp green eyes stared directly into hers, strands of his dark hair trying to get in the way. He took his time then slowly raised a brow before speaking up again. "Then why are you here?"
Lana wanted to scream. "You don't think you have anything else to say to me? Something you're supposed to say to me?"
He furrowed his brows, confusion slowly making its way to his face. "Like?"
"I don't know, maybe an apology?" she let out a chuckle, convinced either her or Alexander had finally gone crazy. "For, let me see, sleeping with my best friend a week to our wedding?!"
His eyebrows climbed higher, his eyes widening as he stared at her. Like he had just heard the most shocking news ever, he parted his lips for a while then closed them, pursing it again before eventually replying her.
"Oh, I didn't know she was your best friend."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"The girl from yesterday," he returned his gaze to his laptop, Lana left with a strong urge to snap his neck so he could just focus on her. "I didn't know she was your best friend."
"No, of course you didn't," she laughed then in a second, her expression hardened. "Wait, what? Is that supposed to be an excuse? Your excuse?"
"Miss Sanderson," he glanced up from his laptop to stare at her and she suddenly wished he'd continue staring at the screen instead. His eyes were cold, emotionless and lacked even the tiniest bit of remorse. "You seem to have a lot of things to say. So why don't you stop wasting both our times by uselessly beating around the bush?"
She was bewildered but certain that was one emotion she was going to have to get used to very quickly, she quickly dismissed it. She sunk in a deep breath and walked over to his desk, slamming her hands on it.
"Yes, Mr. Frane, you're right. I have a lot of things to say."
He remained silent and she took it as a cue to continue.
"We are engaged to get married in a week. Then you slept with someone- my best friend- and all you can say is you didn't know she was my best friend? What the hell is that supposed to mean? That I'm supposed to be fine with you sleeping with other women as they aren't my best friends?"
He stared at her like he wasn't making any sense of the words she was uttering. Like they were nothing but gibberish.
"Wait a second," Lana could see it yet dreaded where the conversation was headed. "Have you been sleeping with other women all these while?"
"And by all these while you mean?"
"Since we've been engaged to each other?" her voice cracked.
She watched him let out an exhale then finally slam his laptop shut, rising to his feet to walk towards her. Immediately, she took a step backwards, convinced the conversation was best had with a reasonable amount of distance between them.
"Miss Sanderson, you seem mistaken about something."
"Please enlighten me."
"The day our engagement was announced was the first time I laid my eyes on you and naturally, I expected our wedding to be our second. We do not know each other. This engagement, this wedding- that's all we have in common. You know that. You knew it all along."
"B-but-"
"You don't owe me anything- loyalty, your body- absolutely anything," he went on. "And neither do i. so you don't get to come in here and act like you caught me cheating on you or have been cheating on you."
"Oh," she felt something drop to the ground- her heart, her hopes, her self esteem and every single thing she deluded herself into thinking was real. She wished she didn't understand the words coming out of his mouth. But she did. A bit too well. "So what you're saying right now is this marriage is nothing but a contract to you? An arrangement?"
"I'd hope we are on the same page regarding that."
She sure as hell wasn't on the same page regarding that. Their wedding wasn't just a contract to her. She didn't see him as just a business partner. She saw him as her husband. The man she actually loved.
"Miss Sanderson," he must have gotten his answer from the look on her face. "Look, there must have been some sort of miscommunication along the line but here's one thing about me- I value mutual agreement when signing or dealing with any contract."
"So if the terms of this marriage isn't fine with you, then just like any other contract, you can terminate it. Or in simpler terms, cancel this wedding."