It was the first time that Brooke had been to such a high end store, which was why she had no idea why the place was so desolate. Save for the staff, there was no one else aside Mr Grayson and herself.
Considering she was in a wheelchair, the staff took her measurements, and picked out clothes based on her sizes.
"Ma'am, this colour would look nice on you."
"Here, this is our latest design, there are only five in the making as of now, and you'll be the second to own it."
"Ma'am, this is imported fabric..."
Brooke was overwhelmed with the choices presented to her at all sides, that she nearly fainted.
"Pack it all." Thane announced from where he sat, "We'll take everything."
"Everything? That's too much!" Brooke argued, but Thane saw otherwise.
"As an actress, you should have nothing but the best in your wardrobe, that's how you survive in the industry." He lectured from the sofa in the fitting room. "Invest in yourself a bit more."
Brooke wheeled herself over to him, she ignored the bit about her being an actress, and brought up the more sensitive matter. "You said I'd be meeting him today, but you took me shopping instead."
Thane replied, "That's in the afternoon."
"Then you should've just left me at home- I mean at your place. There was no reason to come out and spend all this money on someone like me." Her voice quieted as she spoke.
He raised a dissatisfied brow. "And what does that mean? What's wrong with you?" He asked sounding irritated.
Brooke felt like she had offended him somehow, but didn't understand why. Waving her hands nervously, she said, "It's just that a person who can't walk can't be beautiful in clothes. Clothes are meant to be shown off..." She said, quoting her husband.
Before Thane could interrogate her further, the manager came in holding a large black box. "Sir, the merchandise has arrived."
She set the box next to him, and slapped on a pair of gloves. Carefully, she opened the box to reveal a stunning black bag with rose gold hardware.
Brooke was a novice to fashion, but even she knew the designer.
"Pack it up for me." He announced, then went outside to make a phone call.
As the staff member packed the bag, Brooke could see her stealing glances at her. It made her uncomfortable, hence she forced herself to ask.
"Is there something you want to say to me?" She didn't mean to sound rude, she just wanted to know if there was a problem.
The manager looked here and there, searching for how far away Thane was, before blurting out. "This is you, isn't it?" She pulled out a picture of Brooke on her phone.
A cold chill ran down Brooke's spine. She had completely forgotten about the scandal, or better yet she had just managed to ignore it.
"I knew it!" She whispered loudly, Brooke braced herself to hear the absolute worse, but the manager surprised her when she said, "I just knew that actress was a drama queen."
"What?" Brooke asked in a daze. Wasn't this woman a fan of Cassie?
"Genius actress my foot! If it wasn't for her sponsor, no one would cast that C level woman. And look at this, the wound on her neck just won't heal up, who knows if she's applying makeup, right?" The woman continued her rant.
Brooke sheepishly asked, "You're not a fan?"
The manager's eyes nearly popped out the socket. "A fan? Please! That woman came here to shop a few days ago and tried on every single thing, but in the end she only bought one thing. I bet that most of her designers are sub standard."
"What? Can you really tell?" Brooke inquired, an idea forming in her head.
"Of course I can! Anyone working in this line of fashion can tell, but of course I'd need to see it in person. But if I could get a piece of her clothing, I could appraise it. Same goes for her bags." The manager insisted.
With a confident smile she boasted, "I've been in this business for over five years, there's no fake I can't detect."
Thane returned shortly and informed Brooke the time for her appointment with the divorce lawyer had been moved up. He had the manager help her change into one of the new clothes and had the staff pack the rest to the car.
Outside, Brooke noticed a car driving away as soon as they finished shopping. The car looked familiar, but it was gone too far for her to notice.
After everything had been packed, the staff bid them farewell, and they drove off towards the firm.
Inside the car, the tension hung in the air, Brooke could sense that Thane was still very much disgruntled, but she had no idea on how to bridge the gap with conversation.
"Here." Thane said, handing her a phone identical to his. "My number is in it, use it to call you once you're done, I'll have the driver pick you up."
'You won't be with me?' Brooke thought subconsciously, she didn't know why, but she wanted Thane next to her when she faced Ethan again.
Maybe he was really angry at her.
"I have an important appointment to get to. When I get back tonight, there's something important we need to discuss." He said to her, when they reached the firm.
The spare driver sitting in front went round to help Brooke get out of the car and wheel her tho and fro.
"Stay with her at all times, if anything bad happens, you will regret it." Thane warned calmly, yet his eyes were filled with intensity.
"Yes sir, I'll do my best to protect her." The spare driver, who Brooke suspected to be more than that said to him.
Thane left shortly to his important engagement, and Brooke was wheeled to the office where she'd finally have her divorce finalized.
Her heart felt heavy as her escort knocked on the door before pushing it open. She clutched tightly onto the phone on her laps as she got wheeled inside.
Sure enough, the first person her gaze landed on was her husband, he had his back turned to her so he didn't catch her yet. Not until the lawyer handling the case announced her presence.
"Thank you for joining us Mrs Halton, now we may officially begin the process." The lawyer announced, causing Ethan to pensively look over his shoulder at Brooke.
The moment their eyes meet, the nervousness in her melted into anger.
However, she didn't have time to dwell on that, not when Ethan came spiralling towards her with balled fists...
Author's Note: Hi guys, what are your thoughts on the story so far? Especially on Thane's personality.