The Broken Road (18+)

Chapter 24

Jenny!' The voice said again. Slowly turning towards the voice, I saw a beautiful woman, with long blonde hair walking towards me. She was dressed in a long and baggy trench coat, yet somehow still looked fashionable.

'I... I'm sorry, do I know you?' I asked nervously, taking a few steps back when she stopped in front of me.

'Not officially.' She smiled. 'I'm Laila.'

My head started spinning at her words. This was Troy's fiancée. Or maybe she was his wife now, if he went through with the wedding.

'Oh.' I squeaked. Clearly my throat, I spoke again. 'I didn't know... how... how did you know who I was?'

'Well when you're left at the alter, you do some research about the woman that stole your man.' She laughed, though I couldn't detect if she was bitter.

'I'm sorry that happened.' I sighed, running a hand through my hair. 'You didn't deserve that.'

'I know I didn't. Trust me, I'm far from perfect but that was a next level humiliation.' She scoffed, shaking her head. 'We are supposed to get married. It has been our fate since we were kids.'

'I'm sorry, Laila. I never meant to...' I felt my whole body shaking. Was I scared of this woman? I'd ruined her life, she was humiliated in front of all her friends and family, of course she was furious. She could be a threat to me. She might want revenge. 'I told him to leave me. I told him to go back to you and marry you.'

'I know. And he did.' She said quickly.

'You got married?' I whispered, trying to hide the disappointment in my voice.

'Not yet. Troy needed time.' She said, a wave of relief washing over me as she said so. No. I couldn't be thinking like that. I told him to go. He's not mine. He deserves a better life than I could give him. 'I assumed that time wasn't for him though.'

'What do you-'

'It was for you. Time for you to recover, time for you to decide whether you wanted him.' She said, a hint of sadness in her voice. I decided I wasn't scared of this woman, only scared of what she had to say to me.

'Oh...' I mumbled.

'Do you know how shit it is? He was my fiancée. We grew up together, we've known we were going to get married since we were teenagers. I fell in love with him.' Tears were in her eyes as she spoke. 'And after all that, he left me for someone who he'd known for two weeks.'

'Laila, I'm truly sorry.' I whispered. I couldn't imagine what she was going through at that time, she must have felt awful. Guilt consumed me as I thought about how hurt she must have been.

'He tried so hard to call off the wedding the first time round. You should have seen how hard he fought our parents. He must really love you.' She scoffed as she said the last sentence. 'Our parents aren't going to let it happen again, Jenny. This time next week, we will be getting married.'

'I...' I couldn't find the words to say. I didn't want Troy to get married. Even though I told him over and over again, even though I didn't want to be a burden to him, part of me longed to call him mine.

'I'm nobody's second best.' She said bitterly. 'I don't want to marry a man who is in love with another woman. But I don't exactly have a choice in the matter if I don't want my family to lose everything.'

'Why are you telling me this?' I whispered, tears forming in my eyes.

'Because I love Troy.' She held back a sob. 'And I don't want him trapped in a marriage where he's longing for you. Troy never told me what you needed him for, but I know you've been through some shit. And I know you needed time to think about things before considering being with Troy. But time is running out, the wedding is next week. I can't be left at the alter again, the humiliation will kill me.'

'I don't know what you want me to do.'

'I want you to figure out your feelings. I want you to tell Troy how you feel. Either be with him or end things forever and let him be with me. Whatever you're going through right now, I need you to put that aside and make up your mind. And soon.'

'I don't know...'

'Well, figure it out Jenny. Time is running out, if he marries me it will be too late. I love him and I want what's best for him. I don't know if being with you is what's best for him; and god knows I wished being with me was best for him. But I know for sure, he doesn't deserve false hope. He deserves an answer or closure.'

'Laila...' I shook my head. 'I never meant to...'

'I know, Jenny. And now I've met you, I get why he fell for you. But time is running out.'

'What... what will happen if you don't get married? He said there would be consequences.'

'When we all signed the contract, we agreed the wedding would go ahead. If not the family who backed out had to give a proportion of their wealth to the other family. I don't know the exact figures, but it's hefty, and could be life changing.'

'I don't want to ruin his life any more than I already have.' I cried. 'I don't want to be a needy basket case. I want him to be happy.'

'You're not a basket case Jenny, and I should never have said that when I knew you could hear me. It was wrong of me. I was wrong.'

'No you weren't. My life was a mess, I was falling apart. I've only just got out of there, I have only just started to get better. I have no idea if I'll ever be better enough to give Troy what he needs, what he deserves.'

'Do you love him?' She whispered to me. I stared at her with wide eyes. 'Don't worry about me, tell me the truth, do you love him?'

'I... I...' her question sent my head spinning. We barely knew each other, it had been two weeks, only a handful of meetings. I was vulnerable, emotionally and physically, and he was there for me. Was that gratitude or love? Nonetheless we had a connection, an undeniable one. He did so much for me, put so much at risk for me. Did I love him? 'I do.'

'Troy deserves love. And you can give him that.' She whispered. 'Forget everything else. If you love each other, the rest you can work out together.'

'I don't want to ruin him.' I sobbed. Laila then did the last thing I expected and pulled me into a hug.

'There's a loophole in the contract.' She whispered. 'If both parties and their families mutually agree to pull out, the contract will be void.'

'Would they do that?' I pulled away to look her in the eyes.

'I can try to convince them. It was near impossible before and will be even harder now. But I can try.' There was something in the tone of Laila's voice that suggested she was holding back on something, yet I didn't question it.

'You would do that?' I said surprised. She loved this man, and she could keep him to herself, yet she offered him an out.

'If you love them, let them go, right?' She smiled sadly. 'If you go to him... If you choose to be with him, I'll do what I can to make sure Troy doesn't get any financial backlash. I couldn't do that before, not knowing you, and not knowing if it was reciprocated. I didn't want to lose Troy to someone who couldn't love him back, I didn't want him to lose everything because of unrequited love. But now I know... I know you could be happy together. I won't stand in the way. Even if it makes it hard to... you know what, never mind. You need to talk to Troy.'

'You're the kindest person I ever met.' I whispered. 'You deserve all the happiness in the world.'

'And I'll find it one day. But you need to seize your happiness before it's too late, okay?'

Laila hugged me softly before turning and walking away. Her clicking heels echoed in my mind as I stared after her, in shock and overwhelmed by emotion.