Chapter Seven

Chloe pushed the abused restroom door open slowly as she exited it after carefully composing her emotions again. She had expected her return to Salem to be hard, but not as hard as this. Belle, one of the most kind, caring, and accepting people she had ever met, now absolutely despised her!

"How horrible," Chloe voiced lowly as she began to round the corner from the restroom, "but expected. Belle thinks I hurt Brady and then gallivanted gaily around Europe, completely forgetting about him. That is so not the truth." She kept her eyes trained on the carpeting, using the view to help her completely regain control of her emotions.

"And then I told her to stay the hell away from us!" Belle announced furiously to Brady, who was listening to his sister describe her encounter with Chloe just minutes before in the restroom.

Brady had seen his sister leave the dining room in a determined huff after Chloe had followed Shawn's mother. He had been visiting his grandfather and Nicole at the time. When Belle hadn't returned to the room quickly enough for him, Brady had decided he had to know what was going on between the two of them and followed his sister. He ran into a still-livid Belle immediately in the small hallway near the restrooms.

He was about to answer Belle when an electric surge went through him, searing his raw emotions. He looked up from Belle curiously and saw Chloe come into view. He sucked his breath in deeply when she unconsciously started their way. She hadn't seen them yet because her sight was trained on the floor. Oh, lord, he thought on an inward sigh of despair as he got an up-close-and-personal look at Chloe without her knowledge. She's so damn beautiful! He gazed at her longingly, unaware that all of the soft, kind, loving feelings he couldn't get over were reflected in his eyes. Then, the knowledge of their past together kicked into his mind, for the moment killing any reflection of kind thoughts about Chloe Lane. And so cold, he added as icy fury began to roll through him and his eyes began to lose the warmth they shown in them when he first glimpsed Chloe.

Belle's back was towards the entrance of the restroom and Chloe, so she didn't see her as she continued heatedly with her tirade against her. She completely faced her brother as she added, shaking her finger wildly at Brady, "She won't bother us. I made sure of it. I told her exactly what we thought of her."

Brady carefully wiped all expression off of his face before Chloe noticed them, not wanting her to find any weakness or signs of caring on his face. She was still gazing down at the carpet. He wondered how she would react when she finally saw him.

"The "princess" will definitely leave us all alone," Belle continued with fury still evident in her voice, unaware of Brady's lack of attention as she continued her livid tirade. She was still riding high on the outrage of Chloe Lane coming back to Salem so inopportunely.

The "princess" in question finally heard Belle speak and looked up quickly in genuine surprise at hearing her name. She had expected Belle to be long into the dining room by now. Chloe's light control on her emotions nearly slipped when she saw who Belle was conversing with. Brady! Her heart sang loudly about five paces away from him as electricity shot through her whole system, shocking her with its vibrancy. He's here! And he looks so handsome, so much more mature, Chloe thought wildly until her eyes made contact with his for the first time in three years. Her eyes widened as she read the total lack of emotion in them. And that lack of emotion was aimed at her.

Brady continued to vaguely listen to Belle as he made eye contact with Chloe. Belle was still completely unaware of Chloe and their first contact as she continued with her tale of her support of Brady. Brady allowed his eyes to travel up and then down Chloe during Belle's one-person discussion.

She's stunning, he thought as he tuned Belle's well-meaning support out. The magazine pictures don't do her any justice. She makes a perfect princess. Elegant, beautiful, aloof, composed, cold. That last thought allowed him to infuse a falsely disinterested look on his face as he gazed at her, showing her that she didn't have anything that he could possibly want anymore. Which was a blatant lie, of course, but Brady would sooner die than admit to anyone, especially Chloe, the amazing hold she still had over him.

Chloe blushed when she correctly interrupted the disinterested look he sent her way. In all the time she had known Brady, he had never looked at her that disrespectfully. She froze in her tracks, not certain how to proceed. Brady and Belle were completely blocking the hallway. Do I greet them? she wondered crazily. Or just breeze by them, without acknowledging their presence?

Belle continued on to Brady, still blissfully unaware that the object of her anger was standing five paces behind her, "We are all here for you, Brady. Especially when you first see her again. I know it's going to be hard, but I'm here to help you through it. So will Mom and Dad."

Brady continued to meet Chloe's gaze as he answered Belle's concerns about him, letting Chloe become fully aware of his feelings for her. Brady sighed inwardly as he spoke the lie to Belle and to Chloe. "You don't have to worry about me, Tink. She doesn't mean a thing to me anymore." He meant those words only for Chloe.

NO! Chloe's heart cried out inwardly at Brady's response to Belle's inquiry. She knew that his response was calculated, to show her exactly what she meant to him now. Nothing, Chloe thought as she wondered when this pain would ever end. I mean nothing to him anymore.

Belle touched Brady's sleeve gently. Her hand cupped his strong bicep as she reiterated to him, "I love you so much, Brady. We all do. I don't want you to be hurt again. Memories of Chloe are painful enough. Now, we're going to have to see her again, in Salem."

Brady covered Belle's hand with his and pulled her into an embrace. Belle's face rested on his chest, aiming away from Chloe. Brady continued to look coolly and with disinterest at Chloe Lane as he said clearly, "You don't have to worry about me, Tink. I can take care of myself. Besides, I got over Chloe years ago. She really is nothing to me now but a memory." Blatant lie, Black, he thought again in disgust at himself, but necessary for the extenuating circumstances.

Chloe carefully kept the pain out of her eyes and off her face as she faced Brady's complete and total rejection. She was once again thankful for her horrendous childhood in the foster homes and the orphanage. She had learned a valuable skill: how to hide her emotions well.

Brady casually broke eye contact with Chloe for the first time since this scene in the hallway. He turned to Belle, clearly dismissing Chloe from his mind and his presence. "This is your night, Tink," he said as he cupped his little sister's face with his hand. "Nothing should spoil it. Let's head back to the table and our family to celebrate your engagement to Shawn."

Belle hugged Brady tightly again, still completely unaware of Chloe's presence a few feet away. "That is the best idea I have heard all night! Let's forget about this and have a wonderful evening!"

Brady smiled warmly at his sister. They started to walk away from Chloe. "Nearly two weeks, Belle. That's not a lot of time." Brady said as he began to inquire about Belle's wedding plans. He never once looked back at Chloe as he continued to discuss Belle's upcoming nuptials with her. Chloe never knew the powerful control Brady exhibited by not taking one last glance at her as he continued into the dining crowd, which is what his heart dictated for him to do.

"Brady has given me the "cut direct"," Chloe realized slowly as she watched the two walk away, listening to Belle excitedly expound on her wedding plans to Shawn. After three years in the European social scene, she knew that people received the cut direct when their presence meant nothing of importance to the person who gave it.

She leaned against the wall, seeking the solid physical strength of it. "Brady's always been good at saying what he means with simply a look," Chloe sighed as she saw the brother and sister disappear completely into the crowd of diners. "He truly wants nothing to do with me now." She smiled ruefully as she remembered her damn deal with DiMera. And that's the way it has to be, she thought in resignation. At least he's over you.

Chloe decided that she wanted more privacy to deal with the aftereffects of this encounter. She turned around and headed back to the restroom, knowing that she would have to summon all of her remaining energy to restore any semblance of composure over her first, initial contact with Brady Black.

She closed the bathroom door weakly after she entered it, grateful that the restroom was totally empty. "Well, at least our first meeting is over," Chloe whispered forlornly to herself as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. "It's got to get easier from here on out."