Chapter 5：I'm Done with Men

Brittany’s POV

Before turning the door handle, I took one last look at Alexander. He was still asleep, his beautiful, peaceful face making my heart clench over and over again.

Even if this was just a one-night stand for him, it meant everything to me. For the first time in my life, I felt worshipped and adored. Now knowing it was all a lie, I felt sick.

I opened the door as quietly as possible, slipped through the hallway, and walked out the same way I'd come in last night, keeping my head down. Several people stared at me curiously, but no one said anything as I stepped outside into the cool morning air.

The walk to the bus station felt like a march of shame. Every step reminded me of how stupid I'd been, how easily I'd fallen for a married man's lies. The humid mountain air clung to my skin, making everything feel sticky and uncomfortable.

At the station, I checked the schedule posted on the wall. I pulled out my phone to check the time and realized it had been off since last night. The moment I powered it on, it started buzzing like crazy.

Text after text flooded in, along with notifications for 73 missed calls. I didn't even know it was possible for someone to make 73 calls in one night.

Most of the texts were full of anger and demands. Some begged me to come back. No apologies though. No real apologies.

'Where the fuck are you?'

'Answer your goddamn phone!'

'Brittany, this is ridiculous. Come back to the hotel.'

'Baby, I'm sorry. Please just talk to me.'

'I've been driving around all night looking for you.'

I was exhausted from always being manipulated, from feeling like shit about myself. Alexander... I thought he was trustworthy, decent. I felt it in my gut. I genuinely believed he was good for me, but that was just another lie.

Maybe I was just terrible at judging character. I should focus on myself for a while, take a break from Lorenzo and all men. At least until I figured out how to make better choices for myself.

Looking at the time, I realized the bus wouldn't arrive for about eight minutes. The station wasn't open yet, so I figured you bought tickets directly from the driver. I started digging through my bag for my wallet when a horn honking pulled my attention back to the road.

"Brittany!" Lorenzo shouted, pulling his car to the curb and jumping out to run toward me. "Where the fuck have you been? I've been looking for you all night!"

I rolled my eyes furiously and crossed my arms. "None of your damn business. We're done, Lorenzo. Get lost."

The moment the words left my mouth, my first instinct was fear that Lorenzo would somehow know about my one-night stand. I felt guilty as hell, even though he was the cheating bastard.

"We're done? Stop being dramatic and get in the car, Brittany."

Lorenzo came over and grabbed my arm without asking. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice anything different about me.

Looking back, Lorenzo really was pretty fucking stupid. Too stupid to figure any of this out. Now I realized he didn't actually give a shit about me, because all his begging for forgiveness was fake. He didn't care one bit where I'd spent the night or whether I had nowhere to go...

Men are all the same. Not worth trusting. The thought made my heart ache.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, asshole. We're over. I don't want to argue about it, so just leave." I was completely fed up.

"Brittany," Lorenzo dropped to his knees in front of me. "You don't mean that."

"I do mean it," I glared down at him. I was always dealing with his bullshit, and now I felt humiliated for giving in to Alexander, for being so easily manipulated by another cheating man.

My heart felt like it was breaking. But I wasn't going to lie about this. Thinking about how Alexander used me hurt more than knowing my relationship with my boyfriend of two years was completely over.

Lorenzo sighed deeply and shook his head.

"If you're waiting for the bus, there aren't any running right now. At least let me drive you home."

Perfect. Alexander could have told me that last night, but he was too busy trying to trick me into bed, making me believe he might actually care about me when he had a family waiting for him at home.

So why did he offer to take me to his place then?

That was probably part of the scam too. He made me feel like he liked me enough to refuse to take a stranger home, then convinced me to go to that office room instead, telling me the bus that would never come, knowing I'd be stuck waiting. What an elaborate fucking con...

My head was spinning. I couldn't make sense of any of this. I just wanted to go home and cry myself to sleep.

"Fine, but we're really broken up, Lorenzo. I just need a ride home."

A satisfied smile spread across his face. "Okay, get in the car and we can talk on the way."

I didn't argue. He could say whatever he wanted. I wasn't changing my mind. We were done, and I was done with men. All men.

Especially the sexy one I'd left snoring in that bar office.

Lorenzo opened the passenger door for me, and I slid in. For the next few hours, I tuned out his endless pleas and constant begging for me not to end our relationship.

I'd had enough. It was time to focus on myself. As we drove out of town, I got lost in my own thoughts and completely missed the bus pulling into the station...

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