Page 76 of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

He remembers that? Don’t drink on an empty stomach was what I learned that night.

‘Tristan used to cheat on me. A lot. I don’t know why but I always gave him another chance. He was really good at saying the right things to make that happen.’

Dax drops his gaze towards the ground. ‘Why did you stay with him, Hols?’

I shrug my shoulders. ‘After a while, I thought it was all I was worth. He had a way with words that meant he could charm me into doing what he wanted.’

‘That’s called manipulation.’

‘I know. I see it now, but then I didn’t. The day Tristan and I broke up, Victoria went radio silent. Wouldn’t respond to texts, calls, emails, nothing. Once I got here, she blocked me on all social media, and I don’t know if River told you this part, but I’d found an engagement ring a month or so before we split up. The night he dumped me, I actually thought he was going to propose. But uh – the ring wasn’t for me.’

‘God,’ he says, gently touching my back. ‘River said something like that, but I was hoping he was wrong. I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that, you know that, right?’

I lift my shoulders like I’m not sure. Because I’m not.

‘Victoria texted me earlier today and kind of confirmed it was for her, but isn’t ready to talk about it.’ I roll my eyes. ‘Like she gets to make the rules when I’m the one they broke.’

This gets Dax’s full attention. ‘You feel broken?’

‘Yeah,’ I admit.

‘I kind of want to kill him now.’

‘You and me both.’

‘Hols, Tristan is a narcissist who gave up control by letting you go, and he’s now regretting it. Don’t let him do it via text. Whatever he’s saying, I’msurehe’s lying.’

‘He called you a fuck-boy chump,’ I tell him, thinking back on the texts I’ve already deleted.

Dax bursts out a laugh. ‘I’d rather be that thanProfessorFuck-boy Chump.’

‘You’renotthat,’ I say. ‘You’re the complete opposite.’

19

DAX

Moments Later…

‘If you know I’m not those things, you should know that whatever he says about you isn’t true either.’

She’s now picking nail polish off her freshly manicured nails. I have to say something to make her feel better. Something to remind her she’s worth more than this.

‘Do you, uh, remember that time you got dumped at prom? What was that asshole’s name?’

I swear I have a point here. I’m not just bringing up guys breaking her heart to hurt her.

‘Justin McCarthy,’ she says. ‘I actually just thought about him.’

‘What reminded you of him?’

She bites her bottom lip. ‘You, actually.’

‘Me?’ Shit. I don’t want to remind her of that turd.

‘When you brought me flowers earlier this week, it got me thinking about all the times men have brought me flowers. Every time, besides you, it was always someone getting ready to let me down. Justin was one of them. Why do you remember that?’

‘I think I remember that night differently than you do. I saw a girl who felt like her universe fell out from underneath her and all I wanted to do was fix it for you. But I was barely sixteen, and fixing women’s problems wasn’t my specialty. I gave it a hell of a shot, though.’

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