STILL IN LOVE“I'm glad to hear it”, said Brian. “If you'll excuse me”.With that, he walked over to the backstage door. He was determined to see Brandy, and Ross had held him up long enough.He could hear the sound of television through her door, it sounded like a cartoon and you could hear her laughing loudly at it. He Knocked several times before she heard him. “Come in, She shouted once she finally heard his knocking. “Ohh, it's you. Hello”.She walked over and gave him a huge bear hug.She squeezed him so hard he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He said eventually. “Are you trying to kill me?” It took him a moment or two to disentangle himself from her grip.“You never change, do you?” He said, his words full of affection.He always spoke to her with the affection of an older brother talking to his favorite sister. Annoyed, Brandy pounded him on the chest.Always hoped that Brandy would stay as innocent as a child, but that was never going to be the case.Uncle Sam had already to

CHAOS Brian smiled at her but did not comment.The shop manager returned in short order with a Gray scarf draped across his arms. “Go on, Brian, Laura said. “Try it on and see what you think”.She lifted her hand, but the manager turned and held the scarf out of reach. “What?” She asked. “ Aren't you going to let us see it before we buy it?” The manager replied. “You've already seen and handled the other one.Isn't that enough?Except for the color, the two scarves are identical. Come up to the register and I'll get you checked out”.He smiled arrogantly. “They Caused the most trouble”, he thought. “They really need to put their grubby hands all over a genuine branded cashmere scarf.The rich ladies who come in here just point at what they want, pay the bill and leave without any fuss”. Laura's eyes flashed with anger. “Is that how you do business?” She asked. “If you don't try on clothing.How will you know if you like it or not?Maybe we won't like the feel of it.But we won't know until

JELOUSYRoss shoved him aside. “You want me to give you another chance? “If I keep providing protection for you and your store, how am I going to explain that to Mr. Maxwell when he finds out? it's best for you to just shut the whole store down at this point, otherwise, next time He comes here, he's going to be offended that you're still here, and then you don't want to offend Mr. Maxwell”. He said to the manager. “I'd laugh if anyone else said that. But if it's what Ross thinks is best that would only mean I'm done for it wasn't easy to get to this point. I thought with Ross providing protection, I could do whatever I wanted. I never thought I would offend someone that even Ross is afraid of”. Ross just looked down at him, “Let me give you one last piece of advice”. He said, “try to be a good person from now on if you know what is good for you”After leaving them all, Laura was in no mood to continue their day out, so she and Brian got in the car to head home.Laura was clearly p

THE FIRST CRACKThe night grew quieter, but inside the house, the tension hadn’t faded. It only deepened.Upstairs, Samantha remained by the door for a long time, her back pressed against it as if she needed its support to stay standing. Her breathing was uneven, her chest rising and falling rapidly.She didn’t move.Didn’t wipe her tears.Didn’t even try to calm down.Because no matter how hard she tried, her thoughts kept returning to one thing.Brian.“…Who are you?” she whispered again, her voice breaking.Her mind replayed everything that had happened over the past few weeks.The sudden changes.The strange confidence.The way people who used to look down on him now avoided him… or feared him.Even Ross.She clearly remembered the way Ross looked at him earlier. That wasn’t respect. That was fear.Real fear.Samantha slowly clenched her fists.“That’s not normal…” she muttered.Her heart tightened painfully.For five years, she had believed she understood the man she married. Eve