Once Upon A Forever (Preview)

Prologue

Emma

Four Years Ago

A car pulled up to the parking lot of his apartment, startling me. My heart thumped loudly in my ears. I told him I'd be at work until midnight, which would have given me enough time to do what I had planned. I looked down at the watch on my wrist. If it's him, he's forty-five minutes early.

Shit.

There was no time to think. I had to move fast. I was shaking and overwhelmed with fear of being caught. I ran to his bedroom and turned off the light before dashing back to the window in the living room. Peeking out from behind the curtain, I recognized his car immediately. He cut the headlights and opened the car door. His silhouette, bathed in the glow of the streetlight. When he glanced up at the window, I thrust myself firmly against the wall, chest rising, heart pounding. I tried to catch my breath.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I looked around the apartment, grabbed my satchel and searched for a hiding spot. I'm desperate. I ran back to his bedroom and scanned the room. There wasn't enough space for me under the bed. I moaned in frustration.

The front door to the apartment squeaked open. I had no other option but to make a dash for the closet. I closed the folding accordion door and crawled as far back as the small space would allow. My heart felt like it was going to pop out of my chest. I had to focus to steady my breathing.

I wasn't even going to come here, but he'd left me no choice. He had withdrawn from me, from us. We used to be able to tell each other everything. We were inseparable. I didn't know what happened between us to make him change. It was so sudden. He'd slowly cut back on our time together. Rarely taking my calls. I barely saw or spoke to him anymore.

My first conclusion, he was cheating on me.

And, I could have just came out and asked him, but I didn't trust him anymore to believe anything he had to say. I came here tonight in search of clues, a sign that my imagination wasn't getting the better of me. Now, I was hiding in his closet, afraid of confronting him head on. But I was afraid to confront him about my suspicions, and fears. I didn't want to come off as pushy or needy.

Now, here I was, hiding in my boyfriends' closet, running through all the reasons I had for being here, and the excuses I would give him if he found me. I pulled my knees up to my chest and closed my eyes in an attempt to focus my eyesight in the darkness.

The front door slammed shut. Footsteps shuffled around the apartment. A man's muffled voice echoed as he spoke. I assumed it was Cooper. Who was he talking to?

Suddenly, my cell rang from inside of my purse. Fuck! Frantically, I searched for it and set it to silent. I looked at the caller ID. It was him.

Then, the bedroom door swung open The doorknob made a loud thump sound as it made contact with the wall. I placed my hand over my mouth and tried to breathe out of my nose.

"I can't believe we're finally alone," a female said in a honeyed voice.

I shook my head in disbelief, not just because he'd brought a girl to his apartment, to his bedroom, but because I recognized the voice.

It was Elizabeth.

My sister.

Anger rushed through me. I didn't even know they were friends. Shit, I didn't even know they knew each other. I thought Cooper had been my sole secret.

I peeked through the slits of the door. They had decided to keep the lights off making it difficult to see anything except for their silhouettes.

Elizabeth walked over to the bed. When Cooper made his way over to her, my heartstrings broke one by one. He wrapped her up in his arms. There was a long kiss before they both undressed.

I'm frozen, dizzy, and nauseous. This isn't happening. This can't be happening. I have two hands over my mouth now. My eyes and cheeks are drenched in tears. A tornado of fury tears me apart from the inside out.

The man who once promised to love me forever, not only lied, but shattered every ounce of love I held for him. Everything about us, everything that had been us, was a lie. A complete waste of time. How could he do this to me? To us?

"I love you," Elizabeth moaned, and then she dropped a bombshell, "I'm pregnant."

I gasped. The next few minutes go by like a dream, a mirage. With slow movements, I slid out of the closet and crawled to the side table. I opened the drawer and reached inside. My hand gripped cold hard metal. I'm stealth standing a few feet away from their naked bodies.

All I could think about, at that precise moment, is what Cooper and I have shared. Our love. Our trust. He'd chosen to destroy it. Destroy me. Tears spilled out of my eyes.

 My heart was beating like a freight train. I closed my eyes as my finger curled around the trigger.