Page 77 of King of Pride

“She hasn't. Not once. If she wanted you to apologize, she would've asked for it. Instead, she's telling you she wants nothing to do with you. That means you need to accept reality. You're history to her.”

Ivan's expression remained tense and agitated.

“You just don't understand.”

His voice dropped, almost as though he were trying to convince himself.

“She loves me. You don't understand how love works. How can she just move on? It's not like she had someone else waiting for her. I'm the man she's loved all this time. It's impossible for her to suddenly stop caring about me.”

He shook his head firmly.

“Trust me. She still loves me. She's just pretending. She's trying to make me jealous.”

Terrence finally lost his patience.

“See, this is your fucking problem!”

He finished his drink and slammed the glass onto the counter.

“She doesn’t want you anymore! How many times does she have to reject you before you get it? What the hell are you going to do now? Get down on your knees and propose to her again?”

Ivan went completely still.

Then something changed in his expression.

A determined look slowly appeared in his eyes.

He pushed himself to his feet, swaying slightly from the alcohol.

“Yeah.”

Terrence frowned.

Ivan pointed toward the door as though he'd just figured everything out.

“She wants me to propose to her.”

“What?”

“I canceled the wedding because of this fight between us.” Ivan nodded to himself, his words becoming increasingly convinced as the alcohol blurred his judgment. “That's the problem. I need to fix things with her first. I'll propose to her again. Then we'll get the wedding sorted out.”

A crooked smile appeared on his face.

“That'll fix everything. Once she realizes we're getting married, she'll stop this nonsense.”

He stumbled toward the exit.

“It's that simple.”

“Ivan!” Terrence shouted after him. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Ivan didn't stop.

He staggered out of the bar, leaving Terrence staring after him in complete disbelief.

Terrence dragged a hand down his face and let out a long, frustrated breath.

“Unbelievable.”