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Chloe stormed into their house like a tidal wave startling Brooklyn awake who’d unknowingly fallen asleep on the couch. Turning back to the door she leaned out and yelling at the top of her lungs “bye guys’ great job today” with a final wave she slammed the door shut and walked into the house her Dior platform heels clomping on their hardwood floor. Taking off her expensive crush velvet blazer she dropped it on the floor heading to the kitchen she stopped when she saw Brooklyn draped across her chocolate brown with cream accented  six thousand dollar contemporary Italian leather sofa-sectional  like it was that cheap tacky lazy boy she threw out to make room for her dream sofa.  Walking to him she ignored his outstretched arms and hopeful eyes and walked to the end of the sofa and slapped his feet off of it “Jeez Brook you don’t put your feet on Italian leather, could you at least pretend to have some class” huffing she rolled her eyes as she straightened up turning back to the kitchen. Pausing she suddenly realized he didn’t say anything to her, she normally at least got a ‘yes dear’ even though they both knew it was bull. Turning her head her brows scrunched up in concern to see him sitting on the sofa with his head in his hands and his shoulders slumped. The posture was so symbolic of defeat that she almost went to him, in fact the sounds of her heels clicking made her realize that she’d in fact taken a few steps toward him before she stopped herself. What did he have to be upset for, they were richer then they’d ever been thanks to her, she’d moved them into this house in the richest neighborhood in the area and his wife was making her way to the top. Snorting Chloe rolled her eyes and turned back to the kitchen having worked out the problem to her satisfactory, turning on the Kuriq she got her coffee mug out and the cream and made herself a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee while she took her script out for tomorrow’s episode of ‘Passions’ the soap she worked on. Firmly she put all thoughts of Brooklyn out of her mind, he and whatever was wrong could wait, the producers of ‘Passions’ however wouldn’t. It took a lot of hard work and scamming to make herself the star of NBC’s number one soap opera, and it would take just as much hard work and sacrifice to stay there. She had no time to coddle a jealous husband. Her mind made up she put her cream in her coffee and sat down to do her memorizing.

 

Brooklyn knew the minute she walked through the door without a care in the world that he wouldn’t be able to pretend anymore. For  the past few years he’d been doing nothing but giving in, his entire life centered around Chloe’s whims and desires, he’d put his own aspirations on hold because she had her dreams and for what. Chloe was born with this sense of entitlement that you only see in the extremely wealthy it was the reason he threw his inheritance in his father’s face and made his own fortune.  That sense that the world owes rather than you should work for never sat well with him, and though Chloe worked hard she wasn’t above using if it was a means to an end. She thought he didn’t know but she used his family’s name to get her job at ‘Passions’, sighing he shook his head. She wouldn’t even go to his family home for dinner, or God forbid a holiday.  It was always her family, her friends, anything he suggested or wanted to do was quickly shot down. But he simply grinned and bared it because she was his wife and he loved her, he knew she didn’t appreciate him but he thought he at least had her respect. He could live with respect, lesser marriages were established on merely that, but today he discovered she didn’t have neither and that he couldn’t live with.

Getting up he started to head to the bedroom to get the backpack he’d packed earlier when he’d first gotten home. He hadn’t realized what he was doing at the time but now he knew his subconscious already knew what needed to be done. Passing the hallway coo-coo clock he gave it a sad half smile, it was the only thing in the new house that represented him and he had to fight tooth and nail to have his childhood clock brought over with them. Suddenly the clock began to chime the new hour shocking Brooklyn when he realized he’d sat on the couch trapped in his thoughts for over two hours, hurrying on to the bedroom he forced himself not to look around simply grabbed his bag and walked back out. Looking back towards the kitchen as he headed for the door to leave, Brooklyn longed for those days when things were happier, and she loved him. He’d give anything for her to tell him what he did wrong, if he could just fix what was wrong. Make her love him again…but she didn’t seem to want to love him, only his money and her fame.

 

Needing to take a break from all the words jumbling together Chloe walked out of the kitchen massaging the back of her neck just as Brooklyn was opening the front door. “Oh good you’re going out, stop and bring me some dinner on your way back. And don’t take long I have some things I need you to do” she never looked at him longer than a second, groaning Chloe talked to him with her back turned as she bent over to unbuckle the strap of her shoes to slip them off. 

 

Brooklyn had it dropping his bad he raked his hands through his hair “no Chloe” his deep voice was so low it sounded like a growl, for once he didn’t look at her as he spoke he couldn’t. His eyes were closed shut as he used all the self-control he’d ever learned to contain his anger.

 

“What? Why?” Chloe answered shocked to hear him say no but quickly dismissed it “look don’t be stupid Brook you’re going out just do as I say. I have more important things to do than to be dealing with this” shaking her head she started to walk off but the tone of his voice stopped her cold making a chill go down her spine.

“I’m sorry I forgot” Brooklyn spat out the tone of his voice so out of character for once if shut her up and stopped her cold. Pacing back and forth with barely restrained anger he kept his eyes on the floor “I should be trained well enough by now to know not to rebel against a direct order right Chloe” he asked mockingly laughing at her shocked gasp.

Shaking her head Chloe laughed nervously “what in the hell is wrong with you?” crossing her arms over her chest “what are you talking about? You never make sense Brooklyn that’s why I never let you talk” she said condescendingly. Normally a comment like that would have made him back off but not tonight and the surprise was in her face when he spoke again.

“Oh I make perfect sense” he growled “it’s you that’s clueless and I’m tired of it, I’m tired of you. A person can only take so much before they leave and look at you” finally he looked up at her. He had no idea what his expression was like but whatever she saw it made her clutch her chest and back up a few steps her face suddenly very serious. “You’re so self-absorbed, so wrapped up in yourself, your own world, and your own needs. You haven’t even noticed that I’M LEAVING!” he screamed the last part.

Chloe seemed to go absolutely still breathing shallowly she blinked a few times looking down at the floor flinching at his words. Looking up finally she seemed to really look at him, her eyes traveled the length of his body as the fake persona she’d built the past few years began to chip away and for the first time in years Brooklyn could see a glimpse of the Chloe he’d fallen for and married. Her eyes finally made her way to his feet and took in the bag lying there and an involuntary sob left her as she took a few large steps forward stopping when Brooklyn help up a hand and shook his head “Brooklyn” she whispered her eyes wide, she looked like a child faced with an unwanted harsh reality. “What is this how could you do this to me? Why now?” suddenly her arms narrowed “you won’t get any of my money when it comes it’s mine I did the work. Me” she said arrogantly thrusting her chin up in the air even though it was quivering.

 

Fists clenched Brooklyn felt the overwhelming need to throttle her and hand to close his eyes and breathe for a few minutes before speaking “You think this is about money? How dare you, it’s like you never knew me at all, there is only one person in this relationship that can answer that question and it’s not you. Especially if you’re honest with yourself. But we both know how hard that is for you”.

Chloe looked as if he’d slapped her in the face but quickly like the actress she was she pulled herself back together and blanked her face “Sss..so then what it is about” she stuttered as stray tears came down despite her best efforts. Her fingers clenched with the need to go to him as she starred at the back of his long brown wavy hair, his normally easy going stance was now rigid and cold, but still she felt confused.

“This is about us Cloe” his voice choked as his emotions rose. “about how I feel invisible, how I can count on one hand the amount of kind words you’ve said to me this year, it’s about we never say more than three words to one another, how when you come home I hide so that I don’t have to see or hear you, how I don’t remember what if feels like to hold you in my arms…”.

“Stop!” Chloe was breathing heavily now her face flushed red and her hands shaking, she brought her hands up to her face to cover her trembling lips. “Why now? Everyone will know? Ask questions” she looked as if she wanted to plead but they both knew her pride wouldn’t let her.

“I’m telling you I’m leaving and you’re worried about your fake little friends finding out?” Brooklyn shook his head in amazement and leaned down picking up the backpack and draping it over his shoulder. “I heard you” he confessed, when her face looked even more perplexed he elaborated “remember you asked me to watch you film today, which you never even noticed I was there or not. But anyway they asked me to leave cause I was apparently in the way, I didn’t want you to think I didn’t come at all in case you looked for me so I waited outside and my phone rang”. He met her eyes and could see she finally caught on, her face turned white as a ghost as she realized what happened, the tears suddenly falling down her face unheeded as she called his name over and over repeatedly “you must have been sitting on it or something cause I could hear your whole conversation and you didn’t know I was there”. He backed up when she walked forward again this time her arms outstretched he thought he might have heard a whispered I’m sorry “would you like to know what I heard?” he asked meanly.

“Please let’s talk about this” she begged now “you know I didn’t mean any of that it was just Hollywood talk. Please Brooklyn, you can’t leave like this. Where are you going to go?” her thoughts going on million different directions she went on as her mind continued to fight what was happening. “You can’t listen to anything that I say you know I do things I don’t mean, what am I supposed to do if you’re not here” she was almost incoherent now as she babbled tears streamed down her face as she felt on the verge of a panic attack.

“You learn that people aren’t there for you to just toy with. You learn that some things you can’t take back” turning way he opened the door and started to walk out. “Bye Cloe don’t worry about the rest of my things this is all I need”.

“Wait!” she screamed finally she ran forward clutching his arm her long nails digging into his forearm painfully “please tell me where you’re going, can we talk about this please” she met his eyes making sure he saw everything. It’s funny how you don’t appreciate a person until they have one foot out the door… literally, but her husband was right she had been horrible to him why he hadn’t had an affair or left her before now she didn’t know. She talked all time to her Hollywood friends about how horrible he was to her, and even divorce, but the truth was none of it was true. Her husband was a good man and he didn’t deserve her, she acted like he was invisible but she suddenly realized that she couldn’t let him walk through that door. She loved him. “I love you” she said the words she’d just thought aloud.

Brooklyn’s face was stricken as he forcibly shook off her death grip and walked through the threshold and turned back to her with tears in his own eyes. “I’ve been starving to hear you say those words for two years. I told myself if she just said them things would be okay. If she just said them I know we can work and make things better cause that’s all we need.” Sighing he took a shaky breath and shifted his backpack “but I know what it means now when people say love isn’t enough” blinking the tears fell down his cheeks in large dollops blending in his 5 o’clock shadow. “You said the words I needed to hear but it’s too little too late” his entire body all six foot two inches of him seemed to slump Chloe had never seen anything like it he looked like a broken man. “Go…”he clamped shut as if saying goodbye was too much even for him “later Cloe, I’ll…later” turning away he walked down their driveway he got in his BMW and drove off.

Chloe fell to her knees completely hysterical right there in the doorway as she rocked herself back and forth watching his taillights disappear around the corner. “He really left” she said to herself over and over as she wailed inconsolably the coldness of the night was nothing compared to the numbness seeping into her heart, “oh God he really left”




LOOK OUT FOR THE NOVEL COMING SOON!