wild star| ongoing

sixty

CHAPTER 60:
June 1st, 2016
• • •

In the city's quiet hum, beneath the flickering streetlights casting shadows on the pavement, Brandy made her way home. Each step echoed the turmoil inside her, emotions stirring beneath a composed surface. Grant's lingering scent mixed with the city's morning air, a reminder of the impulsive choice she'd made. 

Upon entering her shared apartment with Ace, tension thickened the air. Ace's eyes blazed with hurt and betrayal as they locked onto hers. Brandy held an unreadable air, her indifference a barrier against his accusatory anger. Her decision to spend the night with Grant was calculated, reflecting her anger at Ace's past actions. Yet, in their silence, it was a battle of pride and pain, unspoken but heavy between them.

Ace's voice sliced through the tense air. "Where the hell were you?"

Brandy met his accusatory gaze with nonchalance. "Out. Didn't feel like hanging around here."

"Out? Doing what?" His tone sharpened, edged with frustration.

"Just out," she shrugged, evading a direct answer.

His jaw tensed and his fingers curled into tight fists at his sides. "With who?"

She hesitated, avoiding his probing stare. "Just someone."

Ace's eyes narrowed, his patience waning. "Someone? Don't play games with me, Brandy."

Her gaze met his. A silent defiance brewed within her. "I'm not playing anything."

Brandy's silence, a veiled shield against Ace's probing questions, left an unsettling feeling hanging between them.

"Be honest with me, are you fucking someone else?" he asked.

She scoffed, slipping off her shoes as she headed toward their shared bedroom. Ace sprang up from the couch, trailing closely behind her, demanding answers she felt he had no right to ask for. He couldn't assume a moral high ground when he himself had been with another woman in their bedroom first.

He grabbed her arm, halting her in her tracks.

"Who is he?" 

"None of your business, Ace," Brandy retorted, attempting to pull away.

"This because of yesterday?" His tone bordered on pleading. "I'm sorry, but that doesn't mean you get to do this."

"Like you get to do whatever you want with other women?" she shot back.

Their standoff intensified. Brandy shook her head, disbelieving his audacity. "You don't get to lecture me on fidelity, Ace."

His grip on her arm tightened slightly. "You owe me an explanation."

She yanked her arm free, meeting his gaze with defiance. "I owe you nothing." With that, she turned on her heel and stormed into the bedroom, leaving him seething with frustration and unanswered questions in the wake of their volatile exchange.

Slamming the door shut and locking it, Brandy felt an overwhelming surge of disappointment. Ace, the person who professed love and had been her companion through thick and thin, was now the last person she wanted to face. It was a bitter realization. She had sacrificed her relationship with Teddy for him, and now, she was confronted with this unsettling truth.

Alone in the room, Brandy paced. Her phone buzzed incessantly with messages from him, but she ignored them, unwilling to engage further.

"I can't believe this," she muttered to herself.