Ruined By My Brother's Best Friend (by Silverwriter) novel Chapter 2

Chapter 2
°°Four Years Later°°
“Arabella?!” I forced my head up from my tablet to find my best friend barging into our shared office frantically, her brown eyes wide with obvious surprise.
I raised my brows. “Sierra? I thought you went on your lunch break. Didn’t get something to eat?”
She ignored my question and rushed towards me nervously. “Forget about food, girl. I swear you need to see the news!”
Without another word, she grabbed the TV remote from her desk and stabbed the buttons hastily until her favourite celebrity gossip channel popped up. I rolled my eyes and turned back to my tablet, eager to finish up the edits for the magazine before I ended up in another meeting with HR.
“Arabella… It’s… It’s true,” Sierra said after some time, her voice suddenly empathetic and weak.
I furrowed my brows and looked towards her only to find her staring hard at the screen, a piece of her blonde bob stuck in her face. I considered ignoring her and going back to work because Sierra had always been obsessed with celebrity gossip, but the way she was acting felt different, so I peeked at the TV.
It took a few seconds for me to connect the text with the pictures and then the face. His face.
My world suddenly stopped. I thought I could feel my heart beating, but the pain in it said otherwise. Even if the words “Alvise Valerio IS Engaged” hadn’t been plastered on the screen, I would still have recognized that cold face anywhere.
“Arabella…”
I felt a hand wrap around my shoulders, and then I tensed even more.
“I’m sorry. I… I shouldn’t have let you see this yet,” Sierra whispered, her hands pulling me tighter into a hug.
I blinked twice and then cleared my throat. “It’s fine. Why are you getting weird?” I asked, surprised by my calm tone.
“Girl, drop the act. It’s not fine. Are you okay? Alvise is fking engaged. How did that even happen?” she snapped.
“I don’t know, Sierra,” I said quietly. “I assume he asked and she said yes.”
Sierra released my shoulders and stepped in front of me, crouching down till she was eye level, her long dress sweeping the floor.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded frantically even though my chest felt tight. “I’m fine. Now, let’s finish up our work before you-know-who causes a scene.”
Sierra sighed. “I’m sorry. I got the pop-up on my feed and assumed it was fake, so I decided to confirm. I hoped it wasn’t true. This is messed up.”
A smile pulled on my lips, and I squeezed her hand on my thigh. We had practically grown up together and knew each other’s deepest secrets. Well, most, because I still hadn’t told her all about that night.
“I know, I know, and it’s cool, okay? I wish him the best.”
My best friend frowned. “You wish him the best? Are you crazy? What actually happened that night? Because I feel like I’m in a fever dream. You wouldn’t even call his name…”
“Just stop it, okay?” I cut her off. “Nothing happened. Let’s just get back to…”
“It’s been four years, Arabella. Four years! And you’ve treated that night like a taboo. Why?”
My voice faltered as I tried to keep calm. “I already told you what happened…”
“And I don’t think that’s it. You said you kissed him, then he politely declined and asked you to go home. But why have you refused to talk about him or to him?” she asked, worry evident in her voice and eyes.
“He moved, remember?”
“Arabella, you know what I’m talking about…”
Sierra was cut off by someone walking into the office, heels clicking loudly against the marble floor. I groaned inwardly and forced a professional smile despite the pain in my chest and the annoyance brewing from the new presence. I didn’t need to look up to know it was Leah, the assistant chief editor and, quite literally, a pain in the ass.
“I assumed your lazy tendencies were getting better, but of course, that’s never true,” Leah said, her tone firm. I looked up to find her glowering at us in her blue suit and high ponytail.
“The edit is not due for another hour and a half, Leah. I suppose you’re absolutely aware,” Sierra shot back nonchalantly, rising to her feet and walking to her desk.
Leah scoffed. “You are watching some gossip news and conversing on paid time. I don’t think you’ll have the work ready.”
I rolled my eyes, tired of the bickering and everything in general. “Then you can come for this pep talk when we fail to deliver. Till then, give us time to work,” I snapped impatiently.
She eyed me warily and attempted to retort something but stopped, probably surprised I had answered her today. I usually ignored her.
“It better be ready,” she mumbled before walking out.
Sierra attempted to speak, but I raised my hand. “Please, not now. We’ll talk about it some other time,” I told her.
She nodded in understanding and then turned on her computer. I hesitantly turned back to the TV to see his face still on the screen as two ladies and a man seemed to be talking about the engagement. Beside his picture was a blonde model who appeared to be Russian from her name. Tatiana Ivanov.
I tried to pretend she wasn’t beautiful, but I couldn’t. Her plump lips, pretty nose, and striking features were undeniable.
My phone ringing snapped me out of my thoughts, and I picked up immediately when I noticed it was my brother.
“Archie,” I mumbled.
“Little girl. Still at work?” he asked, his tired voice telling me he was probably overworking himself.
“Yup. What’s up?” I questioned nervously because he never called me during work hours.
“Our engagement party is next week,” he said coolly. “You’re still coming, right?”
I let out a tense breath. My brother had proposed to his girlfriend, Francesca, but he suspected that I didn’t like her. It was not far from the truth because I actually hated her. The thought of her made me uncomfortable, and it had everything to do with what she did that night.
“Yes, I am,” I said because I didn’t want to let him down again.
“Thank you, Arabella.” He released a loud breath. “Finally, we’re all going to be together like old times.”
I frowned, confused. “What do you mean by ‘we’?”
Archie chuckled, obviously excited.
“Alvise agreed to come.”