novelraw Chapter 143: Like Mother Like Daughter
Chapter 143: Like Mother Like Daughter
Chapter 143: Like Mother Like Daughter
The weight of the previous night’s events still pressed heavily on Lyse. The terrifying encounter in the alleyway, the confusing emotions stirred by Brandon’s presence early in the morning, and the fragmented memories that continued to plague her – it was all too much.
She stayed hidden in her apartment, in the hopes that she would have some peace. But peace was not to be found. A sharp knock echoed through the apartment, shattering the fragile quiet. Lyse hesitated, a sense of foreboding settling in her stomach but after more insistent knocks, she cautiously approached the door and opened it to find Brooke standing there, her expression a mixture of anger and a strange, almost manic energy.
"Brooke?" Lyse asked, her voice laced with anger as she remembered what she had seen at the party.
Brooke pushed past her, entering the apartment without invitation. "We need to talk," she said, her voice sharp, her eyes fixed on Lyse.
Lyse closed the door, her brow furrowed. "About what?" she asked, "that fact that you were kissing my fiancé?"
Brooke turned to face her, her expression contorted with a mixture of jealousy and resentment. "No! My fiancé," she said, her voice dripping with venom.
Lyse’s confusion deepened. "Your fiancé?" she repeated, her voice barely a whisper. She could not understand what Brooke was getting at, sure she had lost her memory but she remembered clearly that Brandon had proposed to her.
"Yes, my fiancé," Brooke spat. "Brandon is going to marry me and not you."
Lyse stared at her, her mind reeling. "What do you mean? How could you even say that?"
"Brandon dumped you after you cheated on him with his own father." Brooke sneered.
Lyse staggered, her sight spinning from the absurd and shocking accusation. She could not comprehend what Brooke was implying and she shook her head.
"What are you talking about?" she asked, her voice laced with disbelief. "That is not true, I would never do that."
"Oh, it’s true," Brooke countered, her voice rising.
"You were sleeping with him. Behind Brandon’s back. You were cheating on him with his own father."
Lyse shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. "No," she said, her voice trembling. "That is simply not possible. You are just trying to hurt me by saying such a vicious lie."
"I’m just telling you the truth," Brooke said, her voice cold and hard. "You were having an affair with Levi Van Doren. Everyone knew it."
Brooke reached into her purse and pulled out a photograph, thrusting it towards Lyse. "Take a look," she said, her voice laced with a cruel satisfaction. "See for yourself."
Lyse hesitantly took the photograph, her hands trembling. Her breath caught in her throat as she took in the image. It was a picture of her, leaving a hotel room. The date on the photograph was clear: the day she was supposed to marry Brandon.
A wave of nausea washed over her. The image was undeniable. It was her, leaving a hotel room, looking disheveled and distraught. But she could not remember being there. She could not remember anything about that day, except for the vague, lingering feeling of betrayal. And it made very little sense because she would never cheat, much less with Brandon’s father.
"I... I don’t understand," she stammered, her voice barely audible.
"You understand perfectly," Brooke said, her voice sharp. "You were with Levi. You were sleeping with him on your wedding day. You broke Brandon’s heart."
Lyse stared at the photograph, her mind reeling. The image was so clear, so undeniable, yet it felt completely foreign to her. She could not reconcile the woman in the picture with the person she believed herself to be.
"No," she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. "This can’t be true."
"It is true," Brooke insisted, her voice cold and hard. "And now, Brandon and I are together. We are going to get married. He’s finally realized what a mistake he made with you."
The words hit Lyse like a physical blow. Brandon and Brooke? Together? The image of them kissing at the party flashed through her mind, the feeling of betrayal intensifying.
"You’re lying," she said, her voice trembling. "You’re just trying to hurt me. Why would Brandon still be telling me he loves me if all this is true?"
Brooke scowled at the thought of Brandon professing his love to Lyse but she straightened her shoulders and stared at Lyse.
"Don’t be stupid, he only did that out of pity." She said, "He was considerate about your illness and he did not want to cause you any distress. If you were a little sensible, you would have known something is amiss but you chose to bury your head in the sand."
"No no no no no..." Lyse muttered in disbelief.
"I don’t need to lie," Brooke continued, her voice laced with a cruel satisfaction. "The proof is right there." She gestured towards the photograph still clutched in Lyse’s hand.
Lyse stared at the picture, her mind a whirlwind of confusion and pain. The image was so clear, so real, yet it contradicted everything she thought she knew about herself. She felt lost, disoriented, adrift in a sea of fragmented memories and conflicting information.
"Why?" she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Why would I do something like that?"
Brooke shrugged, her expression nonchalant. "Because your mother is a home wrecking whore?" she said. "You were bound to repeat the same sins like she did against my mother, like mother like daughter."
The accusation felt like a knife twisting in Lyse’s gut. She felt a wave of shame wash over her, a deep, visceral feeling of disgust. She couldn’t believe that she could be capable of such a betrayal.
"I don’t believe you," she insisted, her voice trembling but firm. "I don’t believe any of this."
"Believe what you want," Brooke said, her voice cold and hard. "But the truth is, Brandon is with me now. And you are out of the picture. You can check the internet."
She turned and walked towards the door, pausing briefly before exiting. "I just thought you deserved to know the truth," she said, her voice laced with a cruel satisfaction. "Before you tried to weasel your way back into his life with your pitiful self."
Brooke left, leaving Lyse standing alone in her apartment, the photograph clutched tightly in her trembling hand. She felt lost, confused, utterly disoriented. She did not know what to believe anymore. The only thing she knew for certain was that her world had been shattered, and she didn’t know how to put the pieces back together. The seeds of doubt had been planted, and they were beginning to take root, poisoning her mind with confusion and despair.