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He steers me away from the party, searching hallways until he finds an empty massage room. He slams the door behind us, and paces, hand raking through his short hair.
“Austin—” I start, nervous.
“Do you want to tell me what thefuckis going on?”
I startle at his harsh tone. “Hey—”
“Because some stranger just informed me that my girlfriend isn’t who I thought she was,” Austin continues, his anger clearly rising. “In fact, she’s been pretending all along!”
“No,” I try to argue. “It’s not like that. Please, I can explain.”
Austin pauses, waiting.
“Everything I’ve told you about myself is true,” I start, my heart beating wildly in my chest. He’s mad right now, but I can fix this, right?
I have to fix this.
“My name is Jennifer Walker, just not the Jenn Walker you meant to call in for the interview,” I explain. “I have a background in marketing, all that’s true. I didn’t even realize about the mix-up until I got here, and then, well, you whisked me off for the interview!” I exclaim. “I never intended to take the job, but you wouldn’t take no for an answer. You showed up at my apartment, you said my qualifications didn’t matter, you only cared about the things I’d been pitching you in person!”
“So why didn’t you tell me then?” Austin demands. “Hell, I probably would have laughed it off and said it was serendipity, that I found the perfect candidate this way.”
“I should have,” I admit, aching with regret.
If I’d chosen differently, if I’d been brave enough to admit the truth from the start.
If, if, if….
“But I wanted the job so badly,” I continue. “My old boss spread rumors, and nobody else was hiring me, I thought I could just wait a little while, until I’d proven myself. I had no idea thatthiswould happen. Us.”
I watch him anxiously, hoping that even after this revelation, there can still be an ‘us’.
But Austin shakes his head, stormy. “I can’t believe you’d keep something like that from me. You lied, right from the start. How am I supposed to trust anything you’ve said?”
“Because I didn’t lie about anything else!” I can hear how flimsy my excuses sound, but I can’t help it. I can feel him slipping away, and I can’t face that, not now. “I may have let you believe something about my resume that wasn’t true, but that’s all. Every moment we’ve shared, everything I’ve told you, it’s been me. I’ve beenme!”
“And who are you, really?” Austin demands, his eyes cold. “Because the Jenn I knew was trustworthy, she didn’t play games. That Jenn would never lie to me, not like this. But I guess the woman I’ve been falling in love with doesn’t even exist.”
I reel back.He was falling in love with me?
Was. Past tense.
“Austin—” I blurt.
“No.” he growls. “You know what? We’re not doing this. It’s done.”
He turns on his heel, and strides out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
And then he’s gone.
Just like that. The best man I’ve ever known walks away without looking back.
My heart breaks. I stumble out of the room after him, tears flooding my eyes. My hands shake as I try to get my phone and text Millie. The launch party is still in full swing, but I need to get out of here.
But—thank goodness—she uses her best friend radar to find me through the crowd. Millie doesn’t have to ask what happened. It’s written all over my weeping face.
“Come on,” she says softly, steering me to the exit. “Let’s get you home.”
But it doesn’t matter where I go, it’s already too late.
It’s over.
