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“Wait just a second. Why are you pushing me away now?”
He opened his mouth and closed it. “Does it matter?”
“Yes. Yes it does.” She swallowed past the tears threatening to escape.
His jaw ticked. “I don’t see why it matters. Either way you’re leaving. Either way, you’re too busy to go to my sister’s wedding with me. Either way, we’re done.”
“Oh. My. God.” She leaned against the wall, unable to believe he was doing exactly what he said he wouldn’t do. “That’s what this is about. Me not being able to do some stupid little thing because of my work.”
His head snapped up and he stared at her, nostrils flared and anger spitting out of his eyes. “Excuse me? My sister’s wedding is not little or stupid. It’s important to me.”
“I know.” There she went again, ruining her words with feelings. Damn it. She held her hands out to him, but he stared at them disdainfully. “I didn’t mean it that way. I’m sorry.”
“But you did.” His shoulders deflated a little bit, but he quickly stood straight. “And, yeah, I am mad. Actually, I’m fucking pissed that you’re going to throw everything we had going for us away without even caring, just like you said you would, as soon as a part came up.”
“You’re the one ruining this.” She pointed a finger at him. “You’re the one being bitter and holding my success against me, just like all the other men. You lied to me. You’re not different.”
He clenched his hands into fists. “Yes. Because me wanting you at my sister’s wedding is so fucking awful?”
“Yes! Why is it so important to you that I go with you? Huh?”
“Because I fucking love you, that’s why!” He turned as if to walk away but then spun back to her, his face red and his eyes blazing. “I fucking love you, like an idiot, and you don’t even want to be with me.”
Morgan didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know how to feel.
But she knew hearing those words from him sent equal amounts of happiness and fear shooting to her core. She hadn’t wanted this. Hadn’t wanted love. He’d promised not to fall for her, and yet…here they were. “I…”
“Fuck me.” He covered his face with his hands and his voice came out flat. “Don’t say anything. I shouldn’t have said that. I…I didn’t even mean it.”
“That’s just…” fucked up, she added silently. So he went and threw that declaration out there, and he didn’t even mean it? What the hell was he playing at? “You’re right. You shouldn’t have.”
He squared his jaw. “Sorry.”
“I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to get me to give up my dream. To be your wife.” Part of her knew he wasn’t doing that, but he’d hit a trigger. And once it was cocked and loaded, it was hard to turn it off without firing. “You probably only said you loved me to get me to stay and be your personal sex slave. You didn’t even mean it, did you?”
“How could you be so fucking blind? I—” He took a step toward her, his face red, but then stopped. “You know what? You’re absolutely right. I’m a domineering asshole who wants nothing but to see you fail. You should take off the ring and run away, before I drag you down with me to the slums of fucking suburbia. Run off to Chicago.”
She froze, her whole body shaking. She couldn’t breathe. God, why couldn’t she breathe?
Was this what a panic attack felt like? “Maybe I will.”
“Fine.” He stared her down, not a hint of softness in his eyes. Certainly no love. “Go ahead.”
“I will.” With slippery fingers, she took the ring off and threw it at him. He let it drop to his feet, not even bothering to pick it up. That’s how much it meant to him. “Don’t come chasing me, begging me to come back.”
He inclined his head. “I already told you I wouldn’t. As a matter of fact, I’ll leave now. Good luck, Morgan.”
He turned on his heel and walked away from her.
The jerk walked away from her, before she could walk away from him. She watched him go, her fists tight at her sides, aching to chase after him and scream at him and hit him until everything made sense again. Until she knew what was right and what was wrong.
Until the aching hollowness in her chest went away.
Morgan turned around, picked her ring up off the floor and opened the door to their honeymoon suite. It looked so big now. So empty. And it was all his fault. She sank down on the mattress and covered her face. No. It wasn’t all his fault. She’d flown off the handle as soon as he’d expressed hurt over the fact that she’d forgotten his sister’s wedding. Was that really so unforgivable?
She flopped back on the bed and her elbow hit something hard. The TV came to life, and she heard her own voice, slurred and way too sloppy sounding. Unrecognizable, even.
“Marry me,” she slurred into the camera.
