Page 55 of Miss Belief

His words were laced with disgust. If I’d ever had any doubt how he’d feel about me stripping, it was now obvious. “So let’s rewind to your ex. What did she want?”

“She told me she’d been set up. That she didn’t actually perform the deed.”

“You think your brother set it up?”

“No doubt about it. He basically admitted he did it to save me. But it doesn’t change the fact she wanted to.”

I was quiet, absorbing his words.

“Can I tell you something I haven’t ever said to anyone before?” he asked.

“Of course.”

“I don’t remember the last time I was truly happy with Vanessa.”

Holy. Shit. It wasn’t a declaration he was no longer in love with her, but it was a start. “What makes you say that?”

“Hindsight, I guess. I’m seeing her in a different light now. Anyhow, she did the usual: ‘I want you back, I’m jealous, you proved your point by bringing a date, I’ll wait for you, we have so many years invested.’”

Acid crawled up my throat. “What did you say in return?”

“Not much. I just wanted to leave.”

Disappointment washed over me. So he hadn’t told her he was done. He hadn’t told her he no longer loved her. He hadn’t slammed the door in her face. “Then you ran into Chance?”

“Yes, unfortunately. It pisses me off that he feels he’s saved me. I won’t give him the satisfaction of agreeing.”

“Sounds to me like you could be tempted to get back together with Vanessa just in order to spite your brother.”

“What? No.”

“If she didn’t make you happy and she was the type to cheat on you, I would hope you would’ve eventually realized it on your own.”

He was quiet for a full minute, making me wonder what he was thinking.

“The thing is I don’t know if I would have. I was blinded by this concept of investment. My thinking was I couldn’t quit now when I had so many years invested. When I moved to Dubai, it was the first time I’d initiated the breakup. Every other separation had been her choice.”

“How did breaking up with her feel?”

“Frankly, it was empowering. I’d finally made a choice for myself.”

“Because she’d always held the power in the relationship?”

“Basically. It was on her terms more often than not. Yet the moment she flew to Dubai and promised she’d come live there with me, I took her back.”

“Do you think you’re angrier over the way things came to an end rather than the fact they ended? Maybe you’re not ready to move on because it would mean you have to let go of your anger toward your brother. Almost like, on some level, you can’t admit your brother cheating with your fiancée could turn out to be a good thing.”

“I never thought of it that way.”

We were both silent for a couple minutes. Then he killed any romance I could have been wishing for in one sentence.

“It means a lot to have a friend here with me to talk to about this stuff. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He turned over, facing away from me. “Good night.”

“Good night.”