FALLING FOR MY EX'S CEO BROTHER

~SCARLET~

"I got it! I got the role!" I shout into the phone unable to contain my excitement. "I am going to play Isabelle in the World's Apart movie!"

"Oh my God, Scar! This is huge!" My fiance, Ian, responds matching my excitement.

"I know, I can't believe it! I just got off the call, babe. My hands haven't even stopped shaking!" I add amidst tears. "I can't believe that they chose me!"

"I believe it!" Ian counters. "I knew you would get it! You are so good, you have been practicing ever since before I met you and you dedicated your whole life towards it. They would have been crazy not to take you!"

I laugh and half cry, trying to wipe my tears. World's Apart has been my favorite romance book since I discovered it at nineteen and being a part of the movie is a dream come true. The first person I think about calling with the exciting news is my fiance.

Ian and I have been together for two years and our wedding is set to be right after New Year celebrations. Besides being the love of my life, he has played a huge role towards this achievement and there is no one I can be more grateful to than him.

"Thank you for believing in me all these years."

"Of course. That's what boyfriend's do, right?" I chuckle as a huge blush sweeps across my face. He is too sweet! Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve him.

"We should celebrate this!"

"Definitely!" he agrees and my eyes light up with joy. "Babe, I have to go now but I'll see you in an hour."

"Alright, I love you."

I smile as I place the phone back on the table but I remain in that bubble a while longer. My life is so perfect now. What more could I possibly want?

Celebrating, right?

I snap out of the bubble and quickly head to the kitchen. Ian will be home in an hour and I need to get everything ready to kickstart our night. I know what 'celebrating' means... Dinner, drinks, s*x... There is no particular order of how these activities will occur but just the thought of the last part sends ripples of excitement through my entire core. I have missed him!

At the far end of our pantry stands a bottle of wine. We have saved it for a year for a special occasion. Of course today is special so I grab it and set it on ice before proceeding to prepare dinner. Two minutes into it however, a thought occurs to me.

Why waste time cooking while we could just eat out and bring the celebration home later? It has been a while since we did that. Ian will definitely love it.

I shower quickly and dress up in a bodycon dress and heels. He bought the dress for me during his last business trip to China a week ago, and I have been dying to wear it to surprise him. It articulates my curves in all the right places, from my perfectly sculpted hips to my sumptuous cleavage. I stand in front of my dressing mirror and smile. Irresistible!

One look at me, he will be drooling. Maybe the celebration will start right in his office.

I chuckle at the naughty thought and then head out.

I arrive at the Celtex Corporation where Ian works as a General Manager several minutes later. His office is located on the third floor. Since I know my way around the place, I only acknowledged the receptionist at the lobby and then take the elevator to the third floor.

My heart skips in anticipation as the elevator doors slide open. I step out and head straight forward, the clinking sound of my heels disappearing into the background as I paint an image of Ian at the forefront of my thoughts. I can't help but giggle at the thought of his reaction.

It is the first time coming here without calling him. I am nervous but excited at the same time. At his door, I take in a generous breath and knock. There is no answer. Figuring that maybe he is busy putting everything in line for the next day, I turn the handle and push the door open, a smile plastered on my face.

His chair is empty.

"Ian?" I call out and step in fully. "I couldn't wait much longer so I decided to come by and we—"

The words die on my lips as my eyes land on the scene across the room.

Ian sits on the office couch, his fingers digging into a woman's thighs who is straddled on his lap, naked from the waist downward. My eyes rise from his hands to his face in intervals. For several seconds, time seems to cease to exist. My hand slips from the door and my knees buckle. I feet dizzy and sick to the stomach.

"Scarlett!" he exclaims in surprise the moment he notices me. "What are you doing here?"

The woman scrambles out of his hold and quickly lowers her skirt before turning around. The moment she does, my mouth drops in shock.

"Your assistant! What the f*ck Ian!" I exclaim in anger. "How could you do this to me?"

"Scarlett, listen." He zips up his pants and reaches towards me. "I'm... I'm s—"

"Don't touch me you moron!" I step back staring at him in disgust. "How dare you do this to me?"

"I didn't mean to, Scar! It just happened."

"Your d*ck just happened to slip inside her? Is that it?" I ask in anger combined with sarcasm. "Our wedding is supposed to be in five weeks!"

"I know! Don't you think I know that!" Ian snaps for the first time since I met him.

His eyes hold something alright, but it isn't remorse or guilt. He runs his hand through his hair, an action he does whenever he is nervous about something. My heart throbs intensely and my guts sour, sending an awful taste to my mouth.

A stray tear falls out of my eyes as he faces me again. My stomach drops and my chest tightens. This isn't good at all.

"Why?" My voice is soft and edged with uncertainty. "Why did you do it?"

"Listen, Scarlett. I can't do this."

"What do you mean?" My lips shiver and I force myself to remain still. "You can't marry me or you can't be in a relationship with me?"

"Both," he states. "I can't do both."

Chills run through my veins and a wave of dizziness sweeps over me. I feel the world spin around me and for a moment, I try to speak but no words come out. I stare at him in shock, the man who I had imagined a beautiful future with looks at me like I mean nothing to him.

"No... This— you don't mean it!" I manage with difficulty. "You can't —"

"I'm not in love with you anymore Scarlett!" Ian shouts making me jump. "There, you have it! It's over!"

The words knock the wind out of me and a silent gasp escapes. I almost hear my heart shatter in pain. I can't believe he just said that. Did those words really come out of his mouth? For several seconds, I stand there staring at him, wishing that he will take the words back but he just looks at me with not even a pinch of remorse. His eyes are hollow and dark. Where did the warmth I saw in them disappear to?

"Why did you propose then? Why did you wait until I caught you cheating to tell me this! Would you have told me if I hadn't walked in on you?" My pain turns into anger, unable to look at him and not want to strangle him. He isn't even sorry! Who is this guy?

"I didn't know how to tell you," he states but his voice holds no remorse. "I'm glad you finally found out. I'm sorry it is this way but we are over, Scarlett."

"Finally?" I scoff and shake my head in disbelief. My hand locates the engagement ring on my finger. I roll my fingers around it slowly as his words ring over and over in my head. In the next minute, I rip it off and throw it at him.

"F*ck you Ian! You are going to regret doing this to me!"

I bang his office door loudly and storm away. Somehow, I managed to get to the rooftop of the building before I lose control. I stagger and ram into a wall. Tears blur my sight and my heart races wildly. My chest hardens as the painful truth catches up with me.

Three years of planning our future together are gone just like that!

How can one be so happy in one minute and their world blown into pieces in the next? He looked at me in the eyes and ended this as if the last two years were nothing? Like the wedding we were planning to have didn't matter. Had he even loved me at all?

I slip down the wall as sobs tear through me. I can't wrap my head around what just happened. How can he stand there and say all that without feeling even a twinge of guilt?

My life was over. Everything I had planned out with him is done just like that. What am I supposed to do now? I feel dead inside. I'm an empty shell void of everything I was an hour ago. What's the difference betwee