Prologue

Brooke slowly opened her eyes as she heard a ringing noise. She squinted as she realized there was sunshine shining through the room. Her head was pounding, and the ringing didn't help.

Still half-asleep, Brooke reached over to the side table for her phone, but she couldn't feel it. She wondered if she had accidently knocked it on the floor during the night.

As she glanced over her shoulder, she realized she wasn't alone in the bed. Her eyes went wide as she looked around the room. This time, she was alert.

She was in the wrong hotel room.

Not only she was in the wrong hotel room, but she had slept with the stranger.

"Oh my god," Brooke gasped in shock. She did her best not to wake the man as she went through the hotel room, gathering up her clothes that were thrown on the floor.

She kept hearing the ringing and realized it was coming from the man's cellphone.

Lucas.

Brooke remembered he had told her his name was Lucas.

That was the only thing she remembered about him at the moment. The rest of the night seemed a little fuzzy.

Brooke let his phone ring as she quickly put her clothes back on. She kept an eye on Lucas to make sure he was still sleeping. She grabbed her purse that was near the floor. She then quietly slipped out of the hotel room.

Where was she?

Brooke wasn't even sure if she was in the right hotel.

What happened last night?

She was able to find an elevator and hit the button for the lobby.

Brooke waited until the elevator began to move before she pulled out her cellphone. She had to call Rachel, and tell her to come and pick her up.

Rachel's phone went straight to voicemail.

"Just my luck," Brooke muttered as she hung up the phone.

The elevator reached the ground floor and Brooke approached the front desk, putting her phone safely in her purse.

The hotel clerk smiled at her. "Good morning, Mrs. Scott. What can I do for you?"

Brooke was about to give her a response when she caught her words. She gave her a polite smile in return. "I'm sorry. You must be mistaken. I'm not married."

The hotel clerk frowned. "I don't think I am. You and your husband were the last hotel guests I checked in before I signed out last night. You were the one who requested the honeymoon suite. You even showed me pictures on your phone."

Brooke's eyes went wide again as she felt the nightmare was continuing. She was lost for words as she pulled her phone back out.

She didn't even have to flip through her phone to find the evidence. The most recent photo was her and Lucas smiling happily at the camera, with her showing off a huge toy ring on her wedding ring finger.

Brooke stared at the photo, horrified. "This can't be happening," she whispered. "I can't be married."

She kept scrolling through the photos, but there was just more evidence of her night with Lucas Scott.

The memories of their fun night together slowly began to return to her.

Meeting Lucas at the bar.

Him buying her drinks.

Leaving the hotel to hit the nearest casino.

The list just went on.

Too long.

Brooke was overwhelmed with all of the photos that were on her phone and finally exited out of the photo gallery.

The hotel clerk's frown turned to concerned. "Is everything alright, Mrs. Scott?"

"I have to go," Brooke said absentmindedly. She left the counter as the hotel clerk was calling to get her attention.

Brooke tried to get her mind to focus as she tried to figure out her location. She didn't know Las Vegas that well, but she did recognize she was still on the Las Vegas Strip.

Las Vegas.

What made her think this birthday trip was a good idea?

According to her mother, Las Vegas was full of the wrong temptations. Then again, her mother never wanted her to go anywhere without supervision. Especially when it came to travel outside of Tree Hill.

Brooke had to beg to go to Las Vegas. She was turning twenty-one, and she wanted to make her birthday a special one.

This was anything but special. This was a living nightmare.

Now all she wanted to do was to get on a plane and go home.

First she had to hail a cab to get to the right hotel.

After she told the driver where she wanted to go, she grabbed her phone and tried calling Rachel again.

Brooke groaned in frustration as she heard the voicemail again. This was the one time she needed her friend, and she was unavailable.

As she threw her phone back into her purse, she noticed something that she didn't realize was in her purse before.

The huge toy ring that she was wearing in the photos.

As she looked at it, the memory of Lucas giving her the toy ring returned.

The toy ring was supposed to take place as an engagement ring since he couldn't give her a real one.

Brooke began to realize the possibility of getting married to Lucas was real.

Then again, maybe there was also a possibility they were just playing around. There was no actual proof they got married. There was just the photos on her phone, and the plastic ring. It didn't mean anything. It couldn't have. It was just one night together.

The cab driver's voice broke her out of her trance. "Miss, we're here," he said.

Brooke put the ring back in her purse. "Thank you," she said and paid him before she climbed out of the cab.

As she went through the entrance into the lobby, she noticed a big poster that made her heart drop.

Best-selling author Lucas Scott was in town for a book signing.

The same Lucas Scott she had just left in the hotel room.

Brooke hurried past the sign, trying not to look at the smiling face too much.

As soon as she arrived in her hotel room, she saw a figure leap at her and embraced her in a tight hug. She didn't know whether to be angry or relieved to hear Julian's voice. "Brooke, thank goodness you're okay." Julian pulled away from her, an angry look on his face. "Where the hell have you been? I was up all night looking everywhere for you. You're lucky I didn't call Victoria or my dad."

"What are you doing here?" Brooke asked, ignoring his questions. "Did Mother sent you?"

Julian gave her a sheepish grin. "Would you kill me if I said she did?"

As much as she wanted to be angry at him, she was happy to have her best friend there with her right now. "No," Brooke admitted as she embraced him another tight hug.

Julian could sense she needed some comfort right now. His voice became soft. "Are you alright? Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"I'll be better when we get home," Brooke told him as she noticed Rachel was in the room. She looked just as concerned for her as Julian did. Her anger towards Rachel for not answering her phone right away slowly disappeared for the moment. "I just want to get out of here." She was done with this trip.

The sooner she got out of Las Vegas, the better.

Julian nodded understandingly. "I'll get us the first flight out."