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Many award presentations later, it’s time for dancing. A lady at the table beats me to it and grabs Chris for a dance. He mutters a sorry to me and asks if I'd be okay with it. I nod.
I soon get bored of the business chatter around me and head out for fresh air. The room is brilliantly decorated with several attractive pieces. As I marvel at the swirling mass of linen, I bump into someone.
Great! None other than Peter himself.
"Oh, hey!" he says, a grin spreading across his face.
"Hi," I reply tersely and try to move past him.
"Won't you say hi to my friends, babe?" He holds me back as I make to leave.
Babe? Babe? The nerve of this man. I turn back and look him square in his eyes.
"First of all, I'm not your babe." I pause. "Peter, we're done. Very much done." I say and turn to his friends, looking uncomfortable by his side. "I hope you're having a great time, guys. See you around."
"Your dress looks nice," Peter continues, unrelenting.
"Thanks."
"Are you looking for a d—"
"Where’s your girl, Peter? Shouldn't she be somewhere around? Or is she lurking, ready to make a scene here too? Get people asking why two women are fighting…" I’m on a roll and he quickly cuts me short, nods an excuse to his friends, and pulls me away.
"Let me go! What are you doing?"
"I'm just trying to be nice. Why are you being so stuck up?"
"Are you bloody kidding me? Stuck up? I got a drink thrown in my face by some girl because of you, and you think I'm the one who’s stuck up."
"Well, you did call her a bitch first."
"And she interrupted my conversation with you."
"Fine, I'm sorry about that." He lays a hand on my arm, and I shove it off quickly.
"And why are you not with her? Trouble in paradise, huh?"
"Why do you care? Are you jealous?" he fires back. I huff, throwing all caution to the wind.
Before I think better of it, I spit with as much venom as I can muster, "I can't be jealous about letting go of someone who might be complicit in murder." It's been on my mind since, but I just can't be too sure. I'm sure it's my spite making me spill my thoughts.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" His face darkens immediately,his voice equally dark. He pulls me farther into a secluded corner.
"What? Do you think I didn't see her with Sheila's bracelet? I know it's Sheila's because I've seen it on her before and it's quite an exclusive piece."
"Shut up!" He hushes me angrily. "Why would you even think like that? Just because our relationship didn't work out doesn't mean I'm a criminal." I roll my eyes.
"Look, fine," he continues. "I should’ve probably mentioned this at some point but Sheila and I were an item some months back. It was well before you and I started dating. The bracelet was one of the things I gave her as a gift but she returned it before her death."
"Hold on…she died just a few weeks after we started dating. Does that mean you both still had something going on while you were actively trying to ask me out?"
"What? No, not at all… I’d never do that. Why do you keep making me look like some sort of bad guy?"
"Well, you dumped me most unceremoniously."
"But why would you think I'm that shady?"
"You can't blame me now, can you? Your shady calls? The sudden end to our nights?..."
