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He freezes. “What are you talking about?”
“Don’t try to deny it, Ethan. I saw the photo of Sybil hidden in your nightstand.”
“You went through my stuff?” He says, incredulous.
When he says it like that, it sounds worse than it is. I think any woman in my situation probably would’ve snooped just a little. But that’s not the point, the point is he led me to believe that he wanted me for me. And that was a bold-faced lie. “I did and it was wrong but I’m sure glad I did it anyway. You know all about wrong, don’t you Ethan?”
“You’re not Sybil.”
I laugh. “You don’t even know me,” I argue. “Name one thing about me that has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I clearly look like I could be mistaken for Sybil.”
He doesn’t say a word, proving my point.
I throw my hands up. “Whatever, I don’t care, you were good in bed, but now it’s over and we never have to see each other again.”
“Is that what you want?” His voice is boiling over with anger. “I’ll admit that when I first met you I hated you because of how you looked and who you reminded me of, but mostly I hated you because my father was meddling in my private life.”
“Oh, is that all? Poor fucking baby.”
“And,” he goes on, stepping in close, “I hated you because I was attracted to you and so was my brother. You’re too young for us, and yeah, you do look like my ex. And how sick was that? I wasn’t with Sybil anymore, we were done, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you and it was confusing. And it pissed me the hell off that Coop liked you too.”
Again. Poor baby.
I roll my eyes and grab the handle of my suitcase, prepared to walk away from this, from him, forever.
“But that changed.” His voice drops. “I like you for you. I never would’ve slept with you otherwise. Why do you think I took so long to come around to it?”
“Oh,” I scoff. “So is that why you didn’t want to kiss me at first? Is that why you won’t call what we did making love? Or maybe it’s why you chartered for us to get off the island two days before we actually needed to leave?” His face shutters down, all emotion hidden behind the same mask I’ve seen all summer. “You don’t actually have feelings for me, you have feelings for Sybil. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t still keep her picture in your nightstand.” My voice cracks on her name and my heart splits in two.
I hate this.
I hate this so much.
I just want to run and hide and be anywhere but here. But I also want to throw myself into his arms, to kiss him, to forgive him, to let him use me because he can’t have her.
But I owe it to myself to be strong.
“It’s okay,” I add. “Really. I’m not in love with you. You’re not in love with me. It was just sex. It was good, but now it’s over.”
He winces and steps back. Quiet for too long, the moment stretching like a ticking bomb. “Maybe you’re right,” he says coolly. “Maybe I never wanted you. Maybe I wanted her and couldn’t admit it to myself.”
His words are brutal, and so I do the only thing I can. I lie. I lie because I’m hurting, because I have to get back at him, because I want the last word. “And I never wanted you. I wanted Cooper. So I guess we both got second best.”
His face flames and I can’t bear to look at him for another second. That was uncalled for, but so is everything he did to me. I’m so heartbroken, so angry, that I can’t stand to be in his presence.
“Goodbye, Ethan.” I turn on my heels and strut away, heading into the private airport terminal.
“Goodbye, Juliet,” he says to my back.
I almost flip around to tell him not to call me that but I don’t. Let me call me whatever he wants, it doesn’t matter. It’s not real. I’m not his Juliet and he sure as fuck isn’t my Romeo.
Inside the terminal there’s a man with a sign that has my name on it, and maybe it makes me spineless, but I go to that man and let him take me to the hotel that Ethan paid for. I don’t feel bad using the hired car or checking into the fancy hotel. Ethan owes me, because not only did he take my virginity, he took my heart.
He took it because I was stupidly willing to give it. And then he didn’t just break it, he decimated it.
As soon as I reach my room, I eat the most expensive room service dinner I can manage and crawl into the fluffy bed, attempting to sleep. But I can’t. Because I’m so angry. Because I can’t stop crying. Because I can’t believe what a fool I’ve been.
I had access to Ethan’s bedroom for months. Why didn’t I snoop earlier? I could’ve found the picture of Sybil and learned the truth before I gave myself over to him. I never would’ve gone to bed with Ethan if I’d known that the real reason I was there was because I bear a striking resemblance to the ex-girlfriend that he’s been pining over.
