Victoria's POVIt had been about a month since I had my little talk with caleb. I was worried about him. I had never seen him look so downtrodden before and it made me hate Brianna even more. No one deserved to have their spirits broken like that. I asked Tom if he had spoken with Caleb lately but he hadn’t. Caleb had apparently isolated himself from everyone.I also asked Eric if he had checked in on Caleb and the answer that I got from him wasn’t reassuring either. Eric was convinced that his brother was depressed. He had gone up to phoenix to visit him two weeks ago because he was worried that Caleb was not returning phone calls.When he got there, Caleb's house was a mess which was very concerning. He had always been a clean freak so the act that his house was messy was obviously a reflection of his mental state.I talked to Sam about the whole thing because I felt guilty and partly responsible for the part that I played in everything that happened.If I had never mentioned the pr
Caleb's POVVictoria was calling me. I had to check my caller ID twice just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. It was actually her! I was so confused. She was the last person that I expected to call me.I had received several calls over the past month but I had not answered many of them. Dad had eventually stopped calling. Eric had even come up to see me once but the person who was most concerned was Brianna. I had stopped talking to her completely.She blew my phone up, leaving multiple voicemails and texts demanding that I tell her what was wrong. She even threatened that she would come over once but I told her that I was tied up at work. I imagined how frustrated she must have been and almost felt sorry for her but she was the reason I was in this mess in the first place.I felt horrible, broken even. It had started to sink in that I may be losing the love of my life. Life with Brianna had definitely not been a bed of roses but the thought of being alone was more than I could bea
Victoria's POVEverything in my life was going so well, I had to pinch myself just to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming. It had been a week since I reached out to Caleb. As much as I was upset that he hadn’t responded yet, everything else went great afterward. It was almost as if talking to him had triggered a stroke of good luck.I reached out to the Miller’s to inquire if we were still on. They were still visiting family in Texas so as much as I wanted to have this meeting face-to-face, I had to settle for being content with a phone call. This time I talked to Mr. Miller. He was so sweet and just as supportive as his wife. Something about him reminded me of my late grandfather and I felt an overwhelming amount of fondness for him.“Look at you Victoria. All grown up and running a business. I’m so proud of you!” I started tearing up at the validation.“Thank you, Mister Miller. So are we still on? Can I rent your store?” I asked not disguising the excitement in my voice.I had signed
Caleb's POV“I can’t deal with you right now!” Brianna said as she stomped to the bedroom.The next thing I heard was the door banging. I sighed and sat down on the couch. It had been two weeks since I confronted her or as I preferred to think of it, two weeks since she somehow managed to turn me into the bad guy in a fight she had managed to manipulate me and get herself out of trouble once again.The worst part was that this time I knew and I resented her for it. I also resented myself for just going along with it even though I knew I was being played. I had tried to bring up the conversation again over the phone but Bree managed to steer the conversation in a completely different direction.It was honestly kind of impressive. She went back to Los Angeles the day after I confronted her.I had spent the one day that we were together comforting her and assuring her that I wouldn’t leave her. When she finally calmed down, she pulled me down by my neck and kissed me. I knew it was anot
Victoria's POVThings between Aaron and I were progressing pretty quickly but I wouldn’t change a thing. I decided to have coffee with him two days before the Anniversary party. I found myself having free evenings. I had finished preparing all my buttercream and meringue and the pasties that I had just baked needed to cool off before I could do anything to them. I worked up my nerve and called him. He picked up just as I was about to hang up.“Hi, Aaron. It’s Victoria from The Cookie Jar.”“Hi Victoria from the cookie jar,” he said.That managed to get a smile from me.“How are you?” I asked awkwardly.I was not used to leading a conversation. “I’m good now. I was starting to think that you would never call and I was low-key freaking out about it. I’m so glad you did,” he said.It surprised me how honest he was about his feelings. It wasn’t something I was used to.“Sorry, I didn’t call earlier. I've been so busy preparing for the party, I haven’t really had much time for anything
Caleb's POV “Room for one please,” I said to the receptionist at the Talarachi Hotel on Boulevard Drive. I felt disoriented and completely out of it. My heart was broken. I couldn’t believe Brianna had actually cheated on me. “You don’t know that for sure,” a part of me tried to reason. Technically I had no confirmation that Brianna had actually cheated on me apart from the guilty look on her face but deep down I knew. I felt betrayed. Even though all the signs pointed against it, I had still decided to give her the benefit of the doubt but she had thrown that in my face. “Sir? Excuse me sir?” the receptionist said snapping me back to reality. I hadn’t even realized I had zoned out. “I asked how many nights you’ll be staying with us?” he asked. “Two nights,” I replied. I thought of flying back to Arizona but I didn’t have the strength in me. I just wanted to lie down and sleep. Hopefully when I woke up all of this would have been a dream. A twisted, sick dream. “Wonderful. I
Victoria's POV I was sitting on Alice's comfortable couch, my legs tucked under me, trying to focus on the movie we were watching. It was a Friday night and we were supposed to go out but none of us felt like it. The once balmy evenings were becoming crisp and cool, and the air held a distinct chill. It was a clear sign that autumn was giving way to winter, and the transition was unmistakable. People walking around the town had noticed the colder breeze blowing through the streets, and they had started wrapping themselves up in their jackets or scarves to keep warm. We didn’t feel like dealing with the elements so we decided to have a movie night at Alice’s, a tradition that was very near and dear to my heart, but with wine. We decided to go with one of my favorites, ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’. Julia Roberts' performance in that movie was absolutely genius. I was so excited to watch it but my mind kept drifting to Aaron. He had asked me to be his girlfriend earlier that day, and I w
Caleb's POVAs I drove back to Phoenix, I kept playing the conversation that Victoria and I had just had over and over again in my mind. When I walked into our house, I hadn’t expected to find her there. She looked great! Her skin was glowing and despite the huge streak of flour that she had somehow managed to get on her face, she looked beautiful. I was surprised at the amount of compassion that she had shown me. She was right, I deserved better. If this was happening to any of my loved ones I would not stop until they got out of the toxic relationship they were in. Why couldn’t I maintain the same standards for myself?I was going to break up with Brianna.It’s what I needed to do. the moment that I realised that I was filled with a sense of calm. All the turmoil that had plagued my mind was suddenly silenced. I knew I was making the right decision.I pulled over at the side of the road to make a call. She picked up almost immediately.“Hello, my love!” Brianna said excitedly.Thr