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“Scarlett?”
A cold, empty room answered us.
Turning on the light, I hurried inside and came to a stop in the lounge, then I headed straight for the bedroom. The doors of the closet were still open and empty. There wasn’t a single sign for her except one thing.
The dress I had bought her was draped on the bed, wrapped safely in its dust sheet.
She had left it behind.
A lump formed in my throat as I stared at it and an unexpected heat prickled behind my eyes. Turning back to the lounge, Sebastian’s head was down staring at his phone.
“Seb?” Walking forward, I stopped a foot away as he lifted his head, his face grim.
“She emailed me.”
My heart lifted. I dared to hope. “And?”
“She said—.” His voice caught in his throat. “She said she will honor the signed contract between us, but only until the end of term. After that…”
My pulse pounded violently behind my eyes. “After that?” I prompted again, not sure I even wanted to hear the rest.
“After that, we can all go to hell. She doesn’t want to see or hear from any of us ever again. Take that to Toby you asshole.”
Sebastian’s mouth wavered and my legs gave way. Sinking into the couch, my heart shattered.
We fucked up.
And now… Scarlett was gone.
30
SCARLETT
Reality was dull.
Returning home to Half Bank and leaving the city behind hadn’t been as hard as turning up on Lily’s doorstep at 6 in the morning and collapsing into my arms. I cried my heart out, pouring all my pain and betrayal onto my friend’s shoulder and then several bottles of wine.
By late afternoon, I didn’t feel any better, but I thanked Lily for caring for me and dragged myself home to my empty cottage. A cottage that was now one hundred percent mine.
Letting myself in, I was greeted by the stench of old take-out food and a mess left behind by Shane. Two days later, I realized Shane had stolen several of my ornaments and all the cash from the holiday bottle that lived above the fridge. But I couldn’t bring myself to care.
I was heartbroken.
The coldness in my cottage matched the coldness in my heart. Every time the passing numbness faded, I was struck by how stupid I had been. How easily I had been taken in by three gorgeous men so far out of my league. What a fool I was to think that they were genuinely interested in me, to follow those feelings of love and embarrass myself by giving them roses.
What a lark that must have been for them to stand there and hide their smiles while I carried on completely clueless.
I was nothing to them.
Nothing more than a ploy to help Toby weasel me out of the Estate.
And it hurt.
The crippling ache in my chest refused to fade, making sleep impossible. Restless sleep filled with my mistakes and a pain I couldn’t run from, not even in the safety of my own bed.
A bed that Shane had cheated on me in.
Suddenly, the cottage was the last thing on earth that I wanted. It was now a terrible reminder of Shane’s infidelity and the betrayal of Lucas, Sebastian, and Danny.
