"You must be Brooklyn." Angela smiled while extending her hand towards Brooklyn. Brooklyn smiled and nodded, standing up out of the waiting room chair to shake the hand extended to her.
"Yes, that's me." Brooklyn softly said. Angela gave her another warm smile before beginning on her way to her office. Brooklyn looked around, grabbing her purse and doing a light skip to catch up to Angela.
"Well hello, I've been working with Chris for a little bit of time now. Diving deep into y'all relationship and bringing certain things to the surface for him to cover and go over. I felt it would be good for you to come in today specifically because I wanted to talk to him about how you two have changed and what having children has done. Also how to move on in the future and move forward with the two of you together-."
"I don't know about the getting together part but I guess." Brooklyn mumbled the last part and Angela lowered her glasses a bit. She made sure to write that down in her notes, just something to keep as a reference.
"Okay that's fine. He is in there though, so after you." Angela said as she opened her office door and gestured for Brooklyn to walk in. Brooklyn took a deep breathe, silently thanking Angela for holding the door and walked in slowly. She carefully watched Chris as he looked back at them. The two locked eyes before Brooklyn turned away, breaking it.
Angela walked ahead of Brooklyn and around her desk, sitting down at her desk. Brooklyn looked at the only open seat which was right next to Chris. The chairs were fairly close also. Brooklyn positioned her purse in front of her before sitting down. She could smell the cologne lingering off of him, nearly causing her to moan.
"Alright so how are the two of you doing?" Brooklyn clasped her hands together and looked to Chris for an answer.
"I've been good, living." Angela nodded and turned to Brooklyn.
"I've been fine." She mumbled. She was already reconsidering being here due to the sudden anxiety she got. Angela pulled out a file from her desk drawer and put on her glasses. She held the file up and read to herself.
"It says here that you found out you aren't the father to the child in question. How does that make the two of you feel. It's been a couple days since the news and your thoughts might not be same as your initial thoughts. So Brooklyn you can start." Brooklyn cleared her throat, she wasn't gonna chew him up just yet, but she had her opinions.
"In the moment I was relieved and happy, but these last couple of days it kind of set in why we were put in that position in the first place. To think he could have possibly had a whole child on me due to his careless actions disgusts me. Cool there's no child, congratulations you gained back the pint sized amount of the probability of us getting back together eventually. That doesn't change the facts." Not even noticing, Brooklyn turned her whole body and faced Chris. He looked dead at her, his eyes showing sympathy and crying out if they could.
"I'll say this a billion times if you need me to, I'm sorry. I won't try to alter your thoughts because you have every right to feel the way that you do. To answer the question, I feel relieved and like a weight been lifted. Obviously I have more problems to focus on like getting her back, but that's something I can push to the side." Brooklyn rolled her eyes and straightened her body again.
"Brooklyn how many sorry.s have you heard from Chris?" Brooklyn chuckled at the question.
"He probably wouldn't even know if you asked him the question also. I have no idea Angela because he's apologizing for some stupid shit monthly." Brooklyn cut her eyes at him and he sat with his head in his hands.
"Chris...what are you apologizing for monthly." He ran his hand down his face and looked up at the two women.
"Lying, cheating, other stuff." He wasn't trying to be nonchalant or anything, just honest. Brooklyn grabbed her sparkling water and took a sip.
"Now do you understand the issue with that? How do you look at Brooklyn now as opposed to a couple months ago before you two broke up?" Chris scratched the back of his neck.
"I'm just gonna be honest...before we broke up I did look at her as my fiancé because we were engaged. But I did still see her as less of a woman I guess. I don't know how to explain it but I see her totally different now. A woman, independent, and an amazing mother. The respect I have for her giving birth to two of my seeds is a respect that's special that doesn't come to everyone. These sessions opened my eyes a lot to be honest. Though I don't know how to show it because I've given her so many empty promises in the past and shit. But imma try." Brooklyn shook her head, this was nothing new.
"Brooklyn, any comments?" Chris turned his whole body to face her now, he held his hands in his lap while his head hung kind of low. Brooklyn licked her lips, looking directly at him.
"Since we're being honest...I don't believe him and I don't trust him. Everything he just said basically went through one ear and out the other. I'm just tired, I'm fed up, I'm annoyed, and I'm drained. I would've thought from the way he acted last time while getting me back that he was done with the stupid shit forreal. Then he lets me down once again not only while I'm pregnant but even after I have our children during our engagement. How am I supposed to trust you again after that Christopher? This is a serious question." Angela leaned back, she wasn't going to say anything. This is what she wanted, them to have a civil conversation with a mediator.
"Baby listen, words can only say so much. I understand you've given me chance upon chance and I've let you down every time and I understand that. You have every right not to believe me, every right not to trust me, but I want us to be a family together. Especially for the 2 little boys we have here now. I've fucked up a lot and I've given you plenty reasons to leave for good. But Brooklyn on my life I'll try- I will do better." The two stared deep in each other's eyes. Tears began to well up in Brooklyn's eyes as she quickly blinked in attempts to fight them back.
"I don't think you understand how scared I am. At this moment, it's a no and I don't think it will turn into a yes Chris. You've damaged me bad over the last 5 years." Chris grabbed both of her hands, holding them firmly in his. Brooklyn wanted to pull her hands away but didn't.
"If you were done for good you wouldn't be here right now, you wouldn't allow me to touch you, you wouldn't allow me to talk to you, you wouldn't allow me and you to even be in the same sentence. You need to be honest with yourself and I'm not here to tell you your feelings or nothing...but I'm just saying." Brooklyn snatched her hands away and placed them in her lap, looking down.
"All the shit you've done and you gon sit here and tell me to be honest. Very bold of you." The two nearly forgot Angela was in the room, the tension in the air being thick.
"I understand that and I swear I regret everything that I've done to you. It's taken a lot of thinking and self reflecting for me to even sit here and admit every single fault that I've done. You know, also deciding not to show any type of interest or being intimate with anyone else. Of course that's something little, but it's a start. I'm willing to do anything, I swear I am." Brooklyn sighed and wiped the little tears that did end up falling.
"I just want you to know that a couple months ago, I saw such a bright future with you. I just knew you were changed and we would finally get our happily ever after. I was excited, thinking we were going to get married and live our life with the babies. Then you do this to me again, I want you to be honest and tell me everything you did with that girl." Chris pulled his lips in his mouth and nodded. Angela flipped her pen, getting ready to write some stuff down.
"Well, while we were together I never had sex with her or anyone else. The first time I had sex with her was the day we broke up. While we were together, she gave me head 3 times. Each time, it was while we were fighting or going through something. Before you say anything, I know that it's still cheating because we never officially broke up. But I want you to know that it was never when we were in a good place and just because I wanted to." Brooklyn nibbled on her index finger nail, feeling conflicted.
"It does reassure me I guess that is was always when we were fighting, but cheating is cheating. I want you to know that whether we are fighting or on top of the world, you do not step out on me until or unless we officially break up. If we're in a place where you don't know our status, then you do not step out on me. So at the end of the day...you cheated." Chris hesitated before nodding. Brooklyn nodded also, looking over to Angela to figure out where to go now.
"As I study the two of you and the interactions that you two have, I'm just going to explain what I'm sensing. First and foremost, I believe there is a strong sexual tension in the air. Being that Chris along with you has not been having any sexual activity, it's heavy in the air. Next, I'm getting love but it's complicated. I believe that you Brooklyn want to be with him badly, but you're scared so you continue to convince yourself that you don't want to be with him. Chris, I can see that with your words you're being genuine. I believe you are also scared to move forward, scared that you'll hurt her. Do you doubt yourself a lot when it comes to the two of you?" Chris sighed and adjusted the rings on his fingers. Brooklyn also adjusted the rings on her fingers.
"Yes I do."
"Well, I think that's another reason why the relationship fails. You're doubting yourself from the beginning, you're basically telling yourself that you will cheat and you're putting that mentality out into the universe. In order to successfully have a relationship, you have to go in strong and with faith. That's where it starts...your mind." Brooklyn tilted her head at him a bit, curious as to what his response would be. Chris was speechless though, there was really nothing for him to say.
"No comment?" Brooklyn asked, her petty side coming out. Chris glanced at her and shook his head.
"Well then, I think the two of you need to speak privately sometime in the near future. If not for yourselves then for your children. Not saying get together, but get to some type of understanding."
"Yes and thank you for everything." Brooklyn smiled as she stood up. Chris mimicked her actions, standing out of his seat also. He stood close to her, towering over due to the height difference.
"Of course and I hope you two figure out everything." Chris sent her a small smile before turning around and following Brooklyn out of the office door.
"Brook!" He called out. Brooklyn stopped but didn't turn around. Chris lightly jogged, catching up to her. She didn't look up at him but could feel his presence.
"I'll be over later to pick up the twins, but I just wanted to ask...do you still love me?" Brooklyn rolled her eyes, finally turning to look up at him.
"Chris-."
"Brooklyn..." He raised an eyebrow at her. She pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and looked off to the side.
"Yes." She whispered. Chris smiled to himself and nodded.
"One last thing...will you always love me?" He could tell she was getting annoyed with him but he didn't care. She crossed her arms and placed her weight all on her right leg.
"Till the day I die, anything else?" Chris smirked and nodded again. His eyes went from her eyes to her lips. She noticed and waited to see if he would actually do it. It would be risky, but worth it. Chris grabbed her chin and brought her head up, quickly leaning down and attaching their lips. The kiss didn't last long due to him pulling away and rushing out of the building. Brooklyn stood a bit shocked until he popped his head back in the door.
"I love you and I'll love you till the day I die." He said, flashing his bright smile before rushing out again. Brooklyn touched her lips and shook her head with a little smirk that she tried to wipe off. She slowly walked out of the building, seeing him speeding out of the parking lot.
*
Time jump in the next chapter. Also, I started school so these little updates are slowing down chile.