Page 43 of Only Fate

“You definitely are.”

“Consider it more of anI’ll change my mind laterthing.”

“Please.” He clasps his pleading hands together. “Five minutes. That’s all.”

“Fine.” I check the time on my watch. “Five minutes, Adrian.”

“I know I saw my attorney come out here!” a woman yells, interrupting Adrian before he gets the chance to speak. “Essie!”

Brielle rounds the corner, storming toward us with Rhettbehind her. They must’ve been inside since I didn’t notice them on the patio. She halts, glancing around.

“There you are,” she shouts, her voice slurred. “Call the cops on Rhett for me.”

“Call the cops?” Rhett spits through his teeth. “I haven’t broken any laws.”

Brielle faces Rhett, shoving her finger so hard into his chest that she almost falls into him. “Stalking is against the law, asshole.”

“Stalking?” Rhett raises his voice. “I ain’t no stalker!”

“I’m so ready to get rid of these two,” Adrian grumbles next to me, rubbing his temples.

Our moment is gone as we watch Brielle and Rhett argue like two children.

Rhett is pissed Brielle is on a date with a guy he gave swirlies to in middle school. Brielle tells him it’s better than screwing the nanny.

They go back and forth until I say, “Come on, Brielle. I’ll take you home,” in exhaustion.

Adrian icily stares at Rhett.

I grab Brielle’s hand and refuse to look at him while we walk by.

Brielle sobs as I guide her away from Rhett and toward my car.

“He’s here to give me a hard time because I’m on a date,” she says as I help her into the passenger seat. She imitates Rhett’s voice, and I can’t help but laugh. “You’re a married woman. You shouldn’t be on a date. Even more embarrassing, my date left me in the middle of Rhett’s scene.”

“I’m sorry,” I tell her while backing out of my parking spot. “I wish I could say it’ll be over soon, but you have many years ahead of dealing with him.”

The car falls silent until she asks, “Are you having some kind of affair with Rhett’s lawyer?”

“No.”

“It seems you’re always alone together, and you two always seem stressed at the other’s presence.” She softens her voice. “Essie, I know what heartbreak looks like. I lived it day in and day out. Hell, Istilllive it, even after leaving Rhett.”

“We have history, sure, but that’s over now.”

She lays her hand on my arm. “You love him.”

I shake my head repeatedly. “I don’t.”

“And he loves you.” She pats my arm once before pulling away. “I could see that as a conflict of interest.”

Great. Another job lost because of Adrian.

“But I won’t because I know you have my best interests at heart.” Brielle slouches in her seat and wipes her face. “Words of advice from an almost-divorced woman: The heartbreak will never disappear. It will cling to you and sometimes suffocate you. You can put a Band-Aid on it, but there’s no cure.”

16

The Past

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