Three Years in My Fiancé's Brother's Bed novel Chapter 2

Maya had no idea how she got out of the club.

The rain came down in sheets and hammered at her skin, yet she felt none of it. Only the conversation from that room kept looping in her head.

Just hearing Valerie's name made her whole body tremble. She couldn't understand why Valerie still refused to let her go when she had moved overseas. She seemed bent on grinding her into the dirt.

It had started with something as petty as a campus beauty contest. Someone posted a candid shot of Maya without makeup, and it ended up outshining Valerie's retouched entry.

When Valerie got wind of it, she and her friends cornered Maya in the restroom, ganged up on her, and shoved her head into a toilet.

When Maya wouldn't kneel and apologize, the next three years became a living hell.

They hit her, jabbed her with needles, and hid tacks in her shoes. They turned the entire class against her, tanked her part-time gigs, and spread filthy rumors.

Valerie even sent rich guys to pursue Maya, plotting to bait her with money and then toss her aside.

However, Valerie's scheme failed. By the time junior year came and Valerie left to study overseas, Maya was still unbroken.

But by then, she was drowning in depression and had started hurting herself.

That was when Cole appeared.

He was nothing like the other rich guys who sized her up like a trophy and tried to buy her off with credit cards.

His gaze was warm and sincere, and he actually listened to her.

When he learned that her grandmother, Belinda Malone, needed long-term medication, he didn't look down on her. Instead, he helped in quiet, thoughtful ways that she could accept.

He found her internships and part-time jobs. He always sat with her at a convenience store after her shift, splitting a quick dinner and giving her a light tap on the head. "Maya, that was tough. You did great."

When Belinda fell ill while Maya was out of town, Cole rushed her to the hospital and stayed by her bedside for a whole day and night.

By the time Maya hurried back, Cole was dead on his feet, yet he still smiled. "Belinda's stable. Don't run yourself into the ground."

Her heart kept saying, "He's the one. Try to trust him. No matter how it ends, cherish the time you have with him now."

For a long while, Cole treated Maya with care, even standing up to his family to be with her.

Just then, Carter's scornful voice echoed in her mind. "How dumb could she be? Did she really think the Hales would let a nobody marry in? We just hired a couple of actors, staged a little fight, and she fell for it."

"She's so dumb. She missed every tell for three years."

"She's so dumb. She still thinks Cole is devoted to her."

"She's so dumb. So dumb. So dumb..."

Maya stumbled and crashed to the ground, her tears mixing with the cold rain.

"Maya, you really are too dumb," she said to herself.

She suddenly tipped her head back and laughed like a madwoman, letting the rain smack her face mercilessly.

Just then, her phone rang. It was Belinda's caregiver.

"Maya, come quick! Your grandma's not going to hold on!"

A sharp ringing filled Maya's ears, and her mind went completely blank. Her knees buckled, but muscle memory kicked in, carrying her to the curb where she threw up a hand to flag down a ride.

Cars blasted past with their hazards strobing and horns blaring.

Just as she braced to run to the hospital, a Range Rover braked beside her.

The composed and clean-cut driver leaned over and asked where she was going.

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