‘This guy is a dick,’ Lydia states.
‘Excuse me?’ Ollie asks, turning to her.
Jemima hiccups.
Tim rubs her back again.
‘Ollie, tell Alec the truth,’ I say, gently.
‘That is the truth.’
Any illusion I had of Ollie, any wonderful memory, all shatters in that moment.
This is not the guy I remember.
Except maybe it is. Maybe it always was.
Maybe, young and insecure, I trusted Ollie. Maybe he was perfect for me then. Perhaps I was happy to let someone take control of me, guide me, talk to me like I was nothing, because I felt like I was nothing.
My rose-tinted glasses lay shattered on the floor.
‘If you don’t tell Alec the truth, then I can’t be the one to marry you, Ollie. I’m sorry, I can’t.’
Ollie’s face falls, his hand running through his hair. ‘Will, c’mon.’
‘No, Ol. It’s not fair.’
Alec dabs at his mouth with his napkin, clearing his throat. ‘I’m sorry to interject here, but I feel like I have every right to.’
‘Damn right you do,’ Lydia says, before sipping her wine.
My eyes flicker to the three nudists at our table, to Sam besides me. This gorgeous, warm restaurant is going to be the scene of disaster, and it’s all because of me.
‘Ollie and I were together. He was my everything.’
I don’t look at Alec, but his intake of breath is enough to make me grip Sam’s hand tighter. Sam gives me a reassuring squeeze. My ears ring, drowning out the rest of the restaurant. For all I know, the world has stopped.
‘Together.’
His tone is dull, and I finally meet his eye. It’s the least I can do. Ollie falls back into his chair, head in his hands.
‘Alec…’ he begins, but Alec reaches for him.
‘Ol, I want to hear this from somebody. If you’re not going to tell me the truth then Will can.’
Ollie shakes his head, exhaling. ‘Yeah, fine.’ He waves his hand. ‘Fine. All right? Yeah, Will’s my ex. But that’s all he is.’
Wow. There it is.
An ex. Someone to discard.
Alec moves closer to Ollie, meeting his eye.
‘Did you love him?’
It comes out in a whisper. We all hear it. We all have the decency to look away.
‘No.’ Ollie says.
