Page 33 of Love or Leave

Cara shrugged. "Why didn't you just break up with her?"

"I did after, and I told her the truth. But to be honest…"

Cara grew impatient. "What?"

He let out a sigh. "It was the other way around, to me. Being with Sara made me feel like I was cheating on my wife."

Okay… That was…

Super fucked up.

But she couldn't really judge. She'd never been told on Valentine's Day by her husband that he wanted a divorce only to have him show back up later and want to be with her.

It was kinda hard to wrap her mind around it.

"I never wanted any of this," he said. "The divorce, the cheating. I'm just… fucked."

Before she could respond, their phones pinged again with a response from Max in the group chat, saying he was on his way to Chelsea's.

Antonio’s eyelids dropped and he squeezed his eyes shut.

"We'll lie," she said, already planning an excuse as she stepped toward the door.

She appreciated his honesty—with her, at least. And no one was perfect. He told her the truth and was clearly remorseful, so she decided not to hate him forever. But she could see why Max didn't trust him.

It would be nearly impossible to trust him after something like that.

Antonio finally looked up and followed her. "I'm sorry I'm asking you to do this, but Max is—"

"It's fine," she said, cutting him off as she typed in the group chat. "I'm going to hold up my end of the bargain."

eight

Antonio climbed the stone steps to Monroe Manor and walked in. He felt odd walking into Chelsea's house, but she'd asked him to in the group chat when he'd said he was on his way, so he did.

His mind was still reeling from the last few hours with Cara.

He and Cara had messaged the group saying they were on their way and tried to time it right, so they'd arrive ten minutes apart. She hadn't seemed all too happy about lying, but there was no way he was going to explain to Max that he'd used his little sister as a fake date because his wife had a new boyfriend.

And that he liked it.

And had the best night in forever, playing in a card tournament with her at a nerdy gaming cafe.

And that he wished he could see her again.

God, his life was so fucked up.

The only thing that was going well was his new group of friends. Who he was now lying to.

He shook his head as he took off his shoes and started into the house, promising himself that he would do better. No more lies. No more schemes.

He kept walking through the huge old house but didn't see anyone. "Hello?"

"Back here!" Adam called from somewhere in the depths of the gigantic manor.

He started toward the light and sound, past a fancy little sitting room and an enormous wood staircase. He'd expected the huge old house to feel cold, but he'd been wrong.

Ben's toys and the smell of vanilla filled the rooms, and the vintage movie posters on the walls were a cool touch.

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