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“Hey.” Garrett’s tone was too kind. His finger rested beneath her chin, and he tilted her gaze to his. “Talk to me.”
“I’m afraid you’ll think less of me if I do.”
“I doubt that.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”
“Why don’t you let me decide?” He got off the rolling chair and sat beside her. “Maybe if you don’t look at me, you’ll feel more comfortable.” He took her hand, the black ink intricately woven into a skull staring back at her. He squeezed her hand, and the gesture was the comfort she needed.
“Last year, I met a guy. Isn’t that how it always starts? Anyway. He was older, a businessman, really well off. He showered me with all these gifts and made me feel like I was special. We were together for six months. I thought I loved him. Thought we were going to get married and live this happy life.”
“Let me guess. He wasn’t the man you thought he was.”
She met his eyes and shook her head. “How I didn’t realize… He was always away on business, but I just assumed rich businessmen traveled a lot, so I never thought much about it. But the truth was when he wasn’t with me, he was with his wife of almost twenty years and their kids. He had a family, a house with a white picket fence, and a fucking dog. Here I was thinking I’d met the man of my dreams, but all I was to him was a side piece who meant nothing. He even tried to pay me off to keep quiet.” She scoffed at the memory of him holding his checkbook and telling her to name her number. No number he could have ever written would have made her feel less cheap than she did at that moment.
“He’s an idiot,” Garrett said, and she appreciated his matter-of-fact tone, but she didn’t believe him.
“If anyone is an idiot, it’s me.”
“He used you, lied, and deceived you. You did nothing wrong.”
“I thought that.” Tears halted the words, and she inhaled, searching desperately for what was left of her strength. “But then trolls descended. Turns out his wife is a fitness influencer.”
“What the fuck is that?”
She laughed. For someone their age, he really was clueless. She had been surprised he had no social media presence and only a website. The fact that he’d become as big as he did showed it was based purely on his talent and skill level.
“She’s a personal trainer who created a brand on social media, sharing exercises, tips, and meal plans. She’s top tier. Huge following. When she found out her husband was cheating on her, she blasted me on social media, made it out to sound like I knew he was married, and I pursued him. After that the gates opened. My comment feed was filled with vile comments calling me every name under the sun. Whore, slut, bitch, home wrecker, and because I’m curvier and not a gym rat like her, they called me fat, a pig.”
She never wanted to fall victim to someone body shaming her, and had always embraced her curves, but when the relentless comments wouldn’t cease, she wondered if they were right.
“People found out where I worked and showed up just to call me a slut or a whore. My car was vandalized. My house. All because I opened my heart and fell in love with the wrong guy. But all these things they say about me… they’re not true. I had no idea he was married. He lied to me, and now he’s the victim and I’m the harlot who seduced him.”
“Fucking hell,” Garrett muttered. “This is exactly why I don’t have social media. People are nuts. These people don’t know the story, they don’t know you, and I bet they don’t even know her, yet they attack you and take her word as law.”
“To them, she’s on a pedestal.”
“And what about the asshole?”
“Oh, he’s working on his marriage. They’re in couples therapy, which they’re documenting on a new social media account where he’s admitted my seduction blinded him, as if he wasn’t the one who pursued me.”
“Asshole.”
“Pretty much.”
“And why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“It’s my personal life. I didn’t think I had to.”
“It’s affecting your professional life, though.”
Her eyes dropped to her hands, and she fidgeted with the hem of her tank top, picking at a loose string that didn’t exist.
His big hand took hers again, and unable to resist, she looked at him. “I’m not here to judge you. There’s nothing to judge. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Have you filed police reports? These people are harassing you. Maybe if you did something about it, they’ll stay away.”
