AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Keep the door open, Nancy. We’re okay,” I tell her, and her shoulders square back as she glares daggers at the man dropping his ass into a chair. Her lips thin and I wonder if she’s going to call for him to be escorted out anyway, but she turns without a word and leaves my office.
My attention falls back to the person I’ve been actively avoiding. It hurts a little less to see him in person. It doesn’t feel like a gaping hole inside my chest.
I cock my head to the side. “What are you doing here, Jared?”
His jaw clicks as he grinds his teeth back and forth. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you.”
“I would think blocking your number made it obvious enough that I don’t want to talk to you,” I say.
He sighs, folding his hands into his lap. The flash of the black studded cufflinks has me biting down on my tongue. I’m not sure if he wore them on purpose, trying to coax a reaction out of me, or if he’s oblivious to the gifts I’ve given to him over the years. I bought those for his first birthday that we were together in our house. If you look close enough within, you would see the constellations of the night we became official.
“You’re not giving me a chance to explain myself, Jen? Don’t you think I deserve the chance after everything we’ve been through?” he says, and I almost laugh at his earnest tone.
I sit up straighter. “Did you fuck my sister?”
“Yes, but—”
“And did you propose to her when I found out and left you?”
“Jen. It’s not that simple—”
I laugh now. “Seems pretty black and white to me. You fucked, you got caught, you got dumped, and you leeched yourself onto the next available pussy.”
Jared flinches. He’s always hated when I cuss. My heart is beating wildly, and I try to calm my breathing to not give away the anger coursing through me. I haven’t been ready to confront him head-on like this. Hell, I’m not sure if I will ever be ready.
“It was a mistake, Jen. I didn’t want to propose, but you know how your mother is.”
I know exactly how my mother is, but that’s still a pathetic excuse. I’m disgusted that he’s refusing to take any responsibility for what he’s done.
“A mistake? I went to work, realized I forgot my laptop, and in the twenty minutes since I left and turned around… you had my sister in our bed with your cock buried inside her. That’s not a mistake. That was planned, and honestly, I don’t even care to know for how long.”
He shakes his head. “She was just there. I don’t care about her.”
“Okay, then break off the engagement and move on.”
His eyes gleam, looking up at me with a strange hopefulness. “If I call off the wedding, will you give us another chance?”
My mouth drops open. “No! I said to call it off if you don’t care about her. God, Jared. There is nothing you could say or do that would ever make me want to get back with you.”
He stands, the quick motion startling me. His palms slap onto the desk as he leans over it towards me. “Ten years, Jen. You’re just going to throw it all away without thinking?”
I stand, pushing him off my desk. He steps back, pulling at his sleeves and lapels to straighten his jacket.
“I’m just saying. We grew up together, had our firsts together. It’s not something insignificant,” he continues.
It hurts to hear a reminder of how much time I spent with such a selfish person. I blow out a shaky breath and roll my eyes, keeping the tears of anger at bay.
Then I clear the emotion off of my face and stare at the man I used to love. “I’m not throwing away anything. You did. The minute you cheated, you destroyed everything that was us. So no, Jared. I’m not giving up or throwing away anything because there’s nothing to save. You lit our relationship on fire and then pissed on its ashes.”
His jaw flexes, his color paling. “I think we could work—”
“Oh my god. You haven’t even apologized. You can’t own up to what you’ve done!” I scream, then let out a bitter and empty laugh. My arms fling to the side in frustration.
“Is that what you want? I can—”
I lick my lips and interrupt him again. “I slept with someone else.”
Jared stiffens, blinking at me as his mouth opens and closes twice before he breathes out. “What?”
