Secrets And Lies

Chapter 27

It's been a few weeks since Brooke and James testified against Scott and Tanya. Brooke was almost finished with her first year of law school.

The case was still ongoing as the charges were still pending but in a few days, the whole country would know their fate.

Brooke was sitting in her dorm room, studying when there was a knock on the door. Brooke told the person to come in and James walked in with a smile on his face and two cups of iced coffee.

"Hey! What're you doing here?" Brooke exclaimed as she took the iced coffee from him.

"Well, I figured that since you'll be coming home in a few days, I could stay in a hotel and visit you. I know that you haven't gotten any sleep so I brought you this iced coffee and I was hoping you could accompany me to lunch." James stated with a crooked smile. That was her favorite thing about him. His smile. Whether it showed his perfect white teeth or not, she loved it.

"Yeah, I'd love to!" Brooke confirmed before getting up, shutting her books and changing into a white t-shirt, white skinny jeans, black pointed-toe heels and a black leather jacket. She left her hair in its normal condition and it was the same for her makeup.

Brooke and James soon left, Brooke not knowing where they were having lunch but when James pulled up in front of a restaurant with a fancy Italian name, she knew that he had something important to tell her.

"Why are we here?" Brooke asked in a soft voice with a smirk.

James got out of the car, walking over to Brooke's side, opening the door and holding his hand out to her.

Brooke gladly took it but James still didn't answer her question.

"I need to talk to you about something." Was all he said. It immediately got Brooke's heart racing because she didn't know what he could be insinuating.

When they walked inside, a waiter greeted James, referring to him as "Mr. Lancor", so Brooke assumed that he came here somewhat often or that they knew each other personally.

When they were seated, James ordered a glass of champagne before the waiter left.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Brooke asked, her voice somewhat shaky.

"Thomas called me yesterday. He stated that the case was moving along swiftly and that the verdict would go public next week, on about Tuesday. He asked if we would like to be in the courtroom when Scott and Tanya were sentenced. I told him I would talk to you then give him our answer."

Brooke furrowed her brows. She honestly didn't know her answer to that question. Did she really want to see Scott get sentenced? She would love to see Tanya sentenced but what about Scott?

"Sure... yeah. You can call him back and tell him yes." Brooke stated. James nodded his head once as the waiter arrived with their bottle of champagne and two glasses.

The waiter took James and Brooke's orders before leaving again.

"So... I was wondering when you would want to get married. I mean like, the summer, winter, fall...?" Brooke asked, trailing off.

"Anxious, are we?" James teased with a raised eyebrow. Brooke chuckled while smiling at him.

"Well I need to know so we can set up a date, RSVP, caterer, venue, etc." Brooke stated. James casually shrugged his shoulders before thinking for a moment.

"How about... September of 2020?" James suggested. Brooke thought about it before a smile formed on her lips.

"That sounds perfect."

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The rest of the week went by quickly and before Brooke knew it, her and James were on a flight to D.C. to listen to a jury declare Scott and Tanya's fate.

The entire week, Brooke watched as new anchors speculated about Scott's trial and what his future would hold but Brooke knew those answers herself. She just didn't realize it.

When the plane landed in D.C., Brooke and James headed to the hotel. Since they were only going to be here for two days, James felt it was unnecessary to rent a car so they would travel by cab.

When Brooke and James got to their room, Brooke sighed, catching James' attention.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he took ahold of her hand. Brooke shook her head before walking towards the window where she looked down at the cars passing by.

"I can't help but feel some guilt. I mean, we were in love! And here I am, helping the government determine his fate. I can't help but wonder if what I'm doing is wrong?" Brooke murmured as she stared at each individual car move along. The sun was just beginning to set so she could see the color, the make and the amount of people inside each car.

"Brooke... He was helping the Russians. Our enemies!" James stated. Brooke turned around and scoffed.

"Of course you would say that, because you're my fiancé! You have to defend me and my actions!" Brooke exclaimed.

James sighed and crossed his arms in frustration.

"No... I'm saying it because it's true. If I remember correctly, you said the same thing in court."

"That was a few weeks ago!" Brooke snapped.

"Look, I don't know why you're acting this way but maybe it'll change tomorrow, I don't know!"

Brooke scoffed before turning around and continuing to stare out the window. Her and James didn't speak much the rest of the night except when they had to order room service for dinner.

They went to bed, turned away from each other. Brooke honestly felt this nagging feeling inside of her, telling her that she shouldn't have testified against Scott.

James, however, felt it was necessary. He felt that Scott deserved to sit in a cell for a while and thing about his wrong doings.

But maybe James felt that if Scott was released, Brooke would go back to him. Could she? Would Brooke leave James just to go back to the man she loved before him? Or were her feelings real and did she honestly not love him anymore?

No. Brooke did love Scott. Not romantically but there was this small part of her that still loved him, no matter what she said in court.

And that was James' worst fear. Brooke still loved Scott.

James honestly didn't want to lose Brooke. He loved her that much and he didn't want to let her go, no matter how many times they argued.

That was the thing though. James would always love Brooke but could Brooke say the same about him? Maybe.

That is the reason why James felt Scott should sit in a jail cell. Not because of his crimes but because if he was there, him and Brooke could have no contact with each other which means that Brooke couldn't fall in love with him all over again.

James was utterly terrified of losing Brooke to Scott.