AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“One word: Trevor.”
He rolled his eyes. “Trevor was a one-time thing. I didn’t mean it.”
“Cheating is cheating, Andrew,” she said, exhausted with this conversation. “Why won’t you just admit you’re gay.”
His eyes darted around in sheer panic. “Shh! Keep your voice down.” He stepped closer, invading her personal space. “I amnotgay. I think our honeymoon is proof enough of that.”
Yes, in the Riviera, they’d had plenty of sex. It wasn’t earth-shattering, but it wasn’t terrible. They’d had some fun, but that was as short-lived as their courtship, and then he’d gone off to tend to his own wants and needs with little regard to her.
“Fine, you’re bi.”
“I’m as straight as an arrow,” he argued.
Vivian sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. They weren’t getting anywhere with this. “Look, Andrew, if you want to lie to yourself, go ahead. But don’t ask me to participate in the lie with you. That isn’t fair to me, just like it isn’t fair to anyone else to have to live that way.”
He closed his mouth, appearing contrite, but no longer able to form an argument. Because he knew she was right.
She continued. “I don’t hate you, Andrew, but I think you have a lot of stuff to sort out. And that doesn’t include me. I’ve moved on with my life, and you should, too. I just hope you realize that, whatever you choose to do with it, you don’t have to do it by anyone else’s standards. If you want to be with Trevor—”
“We’re not together,” he said through clenched teeth.
“Then whomever. But if that’s where you find your happiness, that’s okay. You don’t have to be ashamed of your choices. You just have to own them.”
He stood there, the muscle in his jaw ticking and his hands clenched into fists at his sides, staring her down in such a way that Vivian began to reconsider if she was in danger after all. That was her cue to leave.
“I hope you find what you’re looking for,” she offered and carefully stepped around him. She wasn’t going to continue sticking around arguing with him. She’d said all she needed to say, and she’d stood firm and made herself clear. If Andrew didn’t get it now, then he never would.
But that was no longer her problem.
A twinge of sadness for the way things had transpired between them struck her as Vivian pulled away, leaving Andrew standing alone in the middle of the sidewalk. But she couldn’t dwell on the past any longer. It was all behind her now, and with the papers signed, she could officially move on without worry.
When she reached her parents’ apartment building, she parked in the guest space and rode the elevator to the fourteenth floor, letting herself inside like she used to do when she actually lived there.
The apartment was quiet, except for the faint sound of a vacuum running somewhere down the west wing. She went east, where the guest room was located and closed herself inside.
Decorated in pale blues and whites, it had an ultra-modern, ultra-clean, ultra-everything feel to it that wasn’t exactly comfortable but wasn’t uncomfortable either. She was afraid to get anything dirty, it was so pristine, but she walked across the carpet in her shoes anyway and laid down on the bed, allowing her make-up covered face to touch the duvet.
What a day. What a week. She was tired, not just physically but mentally.
To make matters worse, all she kept thinking about was Nash and Gretta and how nice it would be to share a cup of iced tea out on the porch while they watched the sun set and commented on the workers’ physiques.
Her time on the farm had been so short-lived, it felt almost like a dream.
Thinking of Gretta and missing…everything, Vivian dug her cell phone out of her clutch and dialed her friend’s number.
“Hello?”
“Gretta, hey,” Vivian greeted, unsure of her welcome.
“Oh hi, dear. How are ya? Enjoyin’ the city life?”
Staring at the ceiling, Vivian directed all of her nervous energy to her feet, which dangled over the edge of the bed, twisting and wiggling nonstop. “It’s okay. Just signed those papers.”
“Ah, so the jerk wasn’t lying after all.”
“There’s a first time for everything,” Vivian quipped, and they both laughed.
“How’s the family? Getting along okay?”
