She left that loser in a dust cloud

Heart in his hand, chin on the ground

Cried her last tear for that clown

She can see a little clearer now

She said, "Oh, oh I gotta go and find me"

Oh, oh she found the strength to break free

Brooke Davis opened her eyes and studied her surroundings like she did every morning. She had been in New York for a little over two years and every morning she still had to remind herself this was her new life. Her bedroom was now a light brown color with all matching décor instead of the cream colors she had for many years in her past life. She stretched her limbs and smiled when she felt the arm around her waist tighten. She turned around in his arms and smiled as she traced her fingers along his face.

He had been a surprise to her. When she had left Tree Hill the last thing she ever wanted was to get into another relationship. She had left there completely heartbroken, but still in love with Lucas. It had been hard for her to admit that things with Lucas were over. They had promised eachother forever and although their forever had only lasted ten years, there would always be a part of her that belonged to Lucas. She had gone out one evening with some of her business partners and a chance meeting led her to Julian.

He was a really nice man and he had been patient with her with every aspect of their relationship. He knew about her past and helped her work through all of her issues. He did little things like bringing home a flower or making her favorite meal at random times. No one had done those types of things for her in a few years and she loved it. She slowly adjusted from feelings of friendship to being in love with him. They had been nothing but friends for the first year she was in New York and last year it became a real relationship.

Julian loved his work but it never came before their relationship. Brooke had even insisted he take certain jobs that he was reluctant on taking because of her. He gave in when they made arrangements to spent weekends together, either in New York or Los Angeles. He was passionate, gentle, kind and always made her laugh. At first she had compared their relationship to the one she shared with Lucas, but realized that they were both different, but equally good.

The first time she made love with Julian she had cried. It wasn't that he was a bad lover; in fact it was quite the opposite. He had been the first person since Lucas that she had, had any type of physical relationship with and that scared her. That was the night that she realized that Julian owned the rest of her heart that didn't belong to Lucas. The way that he looked at her reminded her of what being in love really meant—what it meant for a man to really love you.

Flashback:

They had just gotten finished making love for the first time and Julian propped himself above her, not collapsing his weight on her. He used one hand to brush the strands of hair that had framed her face and kissed her lips softly. "You are so amazing Brooke. I…I love you so much it hurts sometimes," he said and watched the tears well up in her eyes. "Brooke what's wrong? Did I do something," he whispered.

The first tear fell from her eye and Julian wiped it with the pads of his fingers. "She brought her hand up and stroked the top of the hand cupping her face. "No…you are…you're wonderful and I just realized,"s he said and paused. She saw how nervous Julian looked at the way she left that sentence. A small smile formed on her face. "I just realized how much I am in love with you right now." The smile that appeared on his face was one that she would never forget.

Brooke would not lie. There hadn't been a day that passed by that she did not think of Lucas or Brandon. She always wondered and hoped that wherever Lucas was that he was happy. Things hadn't ended the way she ever imagined but she had tried to forget the bitter breakup of the marriage. They were both under so much stress and although she never wanted it, she came to terms that sometimes people just fall out of love. She was never the type of person to force someone to stay when they didn't have feelings, not after her upbringing. She never wanted to be miserable or force someone into a life that they would be miserable in. But regardless, she hoped that wherever Lucas was or whomever that he was with that he was happy. Underneath everything she still had a bit of bitter feelings for the way he treated her in the end but he did blame her after all. That was why she couldn't bring herself to visit Tree Hill. If she ever came face to face with Lucas she knew she would be angry and hurt.

It was what she truly wanted and it was what she knew that her son would want. Brandon loved his parents and they equally adored him. He would not want to see his parents living a life where they despised one another or stayed together because they thought it was what he would want. Brandon was a happy go lucky child and always wanted whoever was around him to be happy. When she found herself falling in love with Julian she realized that part of the reason was that she knew her son would love him. Brandon would love Julian and he would want Brooke to be happy.

Like a painted wild mustang

Flyin' out across the open range

Finally gets to live her life that way

No fear, no fences, nobody—no reins

She threw a quick glance to the clock beside the bed and realized that she would have to get up for work shortly. She loved her company. After her divorce she buried herself in her work—expanding the stores and the clothing line. She had even brought herself to create a children's line that was now doing really well. Her family was always her first priority but now that it was gone she was able to fully commit to her business. She glanced at her finger and saw the beautiful, sparkly ring that adorned her finger and smiled. Soon she would be getting married again and starting a family so her business would take a back seat, but deep down she was happy about that.

Being successful and watching your ideas grow into reality is a dream come true. Having a family is the same way but in a whole different way. If given the choice she would change it all to be a stay a home mother and wife. Personal happiness trumped everything else in her book. She didn't want to grow old alone or never get the chance to have children or watch her grandchildren play. That was always something that was more important than anything else. That was one thing that she loved about Lucas because he had felt the same way at one point. Julian had now taken that spot and he was on the same page as her. The both of them didn't have to work if they didn't want to and he had already told her when they had a baby that he wanted them both to take a long break. They both got eachother and she had never met anyone who understood her as well as he did and vice versa.

Brooke had also seen a lot more of her mother now that she was back in New York. No matter how much she had hurt Brooke, all that Brooke knew was that was her mother. She gave her life and in a way Brooke felt like she owed it to Victoria to allow her to be a part of her business. The past year had been funny because they had actually started getting along and spending more time with eachother. Victoria adored Julian—something that never happened with Lucas. The feeling was mutual between the two because Lucas hated how she treated Brooke and Victoria never felt like he was good enough for her daughter. It was ironic because Julian reminded Brooke of her father in some ways, except he actually loved her. At least now she was starting to have some type of bond with her mother that she had never experienced. Like it or not, most kids will never admit it but they want to be accepted by their parents.

Brooke sighed deeply and brushed the thoughts from her mind. The life she had now was exactly what she wanted so it was no use to keep thinking of the past. She gently placed a kiss to Julian's lips and crawled out of bed to head into a shower and start her day.

Call him crazy but here was Lucas Scott sitting in the lobby of Clothes over Bros at 7am and waiting on his ex-wife to arrive. He had spoken to the secretary at the building entrance and knew she would be in the office today because she had a few meetings to attend. He knew that he would have to be out of her sight when she arrived because she would find some way to avert herself from him. He had to be able to catch her by surprise otherwise he would never get the chance to say what he so desperately wanted to her. He was never the type of guy to get nervous but right now his palms were sweating, his foot was twitching and he was giving himself a headache with the entire wording he had to say floating through his head.

He glanced at the clock on the wall that told him it was quarter to eight and then at the front door. His heart leapt in his chest when he saw her walking towards the entrance. If it was even possible she was more beautiful than ever. She wore a fitted gray pantsuit and her hair was half up in a clip. Her sunglasses were far too big for her face and she carried her bag on her left arm. He watched as she made her way into the building and lifted the glasses off of her face. The sun hit her hand just right because he caught glimpse of the ring on her finger and his heart sank in his chest. She really did belong to another man now. He almost gave up but when he saw her smile and wave good morning to the staff he knew why he was here. He could not take another day of not having her in his life. Her smile was the one thing that brightened his day no matter what worries were on his shoulder.

He tried to remember the last time he made her genuinely smile and he couldn't remember. He didn't remember Brooke smiling in the last five months of their marriage once and he felt his heart break even more. When did he forget that she wasn't happy and how could he not know that he was hurting her? He watched her enter the elevator and waited for it to stop. He saw the numbers indicating that she got off on the twentieth floor and made his way into the elevator moments later.

"Morning Rachel," she smiled at her assistant. Well more like her best friend in New York. They had met when Brooke came here and instantly clicked. Rachel was in need of a job and Brooke needed a secretary so Rachel got hired right away. "I'm running late but when my eight o'clock gets here just send him in. I'm expecting him so no need to keep him waiting," she said as she hurried into her office and placed her bag on the table. No sooner had she started removing the paperwork, Rachel beeped in and told her that her eight o'clock was on the way in. She also added that he was incredibly sexy and she would love for Brooke to set her up. She laughed at her friends antics as she was preparing.

She had her back to the door but she heard it open. She just had to find this one piece of paper. "Sorry I'm running a bit behind but come on in," she said as she rummaged through her bag. She heard the door close and knew he was there when she smelled his cologne. Her head started to hurt and she breathed through her nose. She had to remind herself that Lucas wasn't the only one who wore that scent and that he wasn't in New York. She stood up straight, grabbed the papers from her bag, plastered on her fake smile and turned around. She was so surprised that she dropped the papers in her hand and took a step back. "Lucas," she barely whispered.

"Hi Brooke," he said shyly and gave her a small smile.

"W…what…what are you doing here Lucas," she finally managed out.

"That's the thing Brooke," he said as he brought his left hand to her face and brushed the hair that had fallen in her eyes back.

Brooke noticed the wedding band before his hand even reached her face. She felt a ping in her chest but tried to ignore it. Lucas was a good-looking guy and who was she to judge. She had a three-carat ring adorning her finger from another man. She stepped back from his touch. It had taken her so long to forget how soft his hands were. "What do you want Lucas," she asked with a coldness she didn't realize she had in her. She started to feel really angry with him for being here. She didn't want him here. Why was he here trying to be nice to her when he had been so cold to her prior? He had never tried to contact her and here he was now!

He reached for her left hand and was able to grab it. He brought it up in between them. "I think congratulations are in order," he said with a look in his eye that didn't go un-noticed by Brooke. It almost looked like it hurt him to say it and when he looked at the ring he got this angry look to his face.

"Thanks. I can say the same for you," she said as she twisted his hand in her own and exposed his wedding band. And she wasn't going to lie. She knew it and she knew that Lucas knew that hurt her. She had no right to be hurt because she was marrying another man but she never thought she would have to face him again. Before she could stop it from happening every image of the last time that they had spoken came to her and she ripped her hand from his. She fought back the tears and looked him dead in the eye. "You need to leave Lucas," she said with as much anger as she could.

She says, "It's kinda nice to hear myself laugh"

She's gonna do a lot more of that

She's makin' plans and makin' tracks

She said, "Oh, oh I gotta go and find me"

Oh, oh she found the strength to break free

He was defiant. Of course he would tell her "NO." That smug son of a bitch always had to have the last word. He hadn't broken her enough, now he was going to stand in HER office and tell her he wasn't leaving.

"I'm serious Lucas I want you to leave. You should not be here, you should not have come here." She watched him curiously as he removed the band from his finger and held it out for her. "Thanks for the gesture but I don't need to see your ring from another woman," she said as she brought her ring up in front of her and waved it in his face. "I have one of my own now too, from my fiancé."

Okay so I know that I suck for leaving it off right there but there is a method to my madness. I have certain tracks planned out for certain chapters so I had to end it. There will be another UD next week to finish it off. Okay so I have to say thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! 30 reviews for 2 chapters! That is amazing! You guys are so awesome…think I can get ten..maybe fifteen more? It would rock my world! And if there is any suggestions or criticisms feel free to let me know! I do love Brucas!

Now just a few things. There are currently two stories that I think deserve reading and so many more reviews than they have so please go and do that. Price You Have To Pay and Time to Start Again. I promise you that you won't be disappointed…Both authors have all amazing stories that you will love—so give them reviews and let them know how wonderful they are!

I am also working on a new story that should be up shortly. Let me know if you like it and if I should continue or not with it. It'll be the same time frame for updating as this one…at least once a week (mostly on the weekend).