Page 8 of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

‘I don’t understand.’ I look at him. ‘Whatisthis?’

He has an unfocused stare as he gazes at the items in my hand. ‘Hollyn, I think we’ve reached the end of our current situation.’

OK… even I’ll admit this proposal is not oozing with romance.

‘I’ve sold the apartment. We took a bit of a hit, but that’s your share.’

‘Yousoldthe apartment? Where will we live?’ I ask, glancing at the check. ‘Fifty-nine thousand dollars? And fifty cents?’ My voice raises with each word. He did not just give me a check for barely a third of what I paid,in cash, when we bought it seven years ago. Did he?

‘Tristan.’ I lower my chin. ‘I put my entire trust fund into that condo. My parents are still pissed. One hundred and fifty thousand, cash. Where’sthat?’

He shrugs, suddenly more interested in his wine than our conversation.

I glance through the papers and find a… plane ticket? SEA–PDX, one way, dated for tomorrow morning. This isn’t a proposal.

‘A one-way ticket home? Wait,what?’

‘We’re breaking up, Hols,’ he says flatly, void of all emotion. ‘I’ve moved on.’ He waves a hand my way as though I’m a fly, annoying him.

And the coaster is out of control. We’re no longer moving into the next bend. I’m free-falling down a drop by myself without a seatbelt.

‘I’m sorry,what?!’ I ask again, shaking my head, hoping to shake it right into understanding what the hell is going on. ‘I thought you were going to propose tonight.’

He burst out an awkward laugh. A few people seated around us glance over. ‘Propose?’ he asks, as if the word is poisonous. ‘What on earth would give you that idea?’

A shattering sound echoes through my head, causing me to look around for whomever just dropped their wine glass. But nobody in the room is reacting, so it must just be my heart.

‘I found a receipt for the ring.’ And not just any ring. A seventeen-thousand-dollar engagement ring. The receipt actually had the word ‘engagement’.

He closes his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb. The same move he does when he’s been caught doing something less than honest. Finally, his face softens, and he drops his hand to the table.

‘You’re going to make this harder than it needs to be, aren’t you?’

My jaw drops. ‘If asking what the hell you’re talking about is that, then I guess I am.’

He sighs heavily. ‘As I said, I’ve moved on.’

‘You’ve moved on?’ I repeat his words slowly, allowing them to sink into my head. He’s moved on? As in, to another woman? The nerve of this bastard. ‘The ring was for someoneelse?’

He lifts a single shoulder. ‘I’m sorry, Hols. But a proposal was never on the table for us. You’re not exactly marriage material.’

Not exactly marriage material? Jesus, Tristan, why don’t you tell me how you really feel?

‘You’re a bit immature for something as serious as marriage. Honestly, you were more my back-up plan. Fun for a while, but always the sweet good little girl who waited at home for me. I appreciated that. It’s always nice to come home to a bed that’s not empty, especially with someone as beautiful as you in it. But I’m over it, and now it’s time for me to move on.’

My heart pounds in my chest and head like an EDM song. IhateEDM. I shake my head, probably looking like a deer in the headlights, not knowing what to do or which way to flee.I was his back-up plan?Did he seriously wait eight freaking years to tell me this?

The server delivers the dishes we ordered, setting each plate in front of us. Damn it. Soggy. Now I’mreallymad.

‘You cheating bastard,’ I say, the panic from earlier quickly filling my chest like smoldering hot lava. It hurts like hell and is pissing me off like nothing else.

‘Let’s not get overly emotional,’ he says, motioning with his hands for me to calm down. ‘We’re in public.’

I nod, pulling my napkin from my lap and tossing it onto the table. Sweet, good little girl, eh? That’s about to change.

‘Youchose to do this in public, Tristan. Not me.’ I stand from the table, grab my wine glass, and toss the contents in his face. I don’t like rosé anyway.

Oh. I laugh to myself. I’ve never done that before, but it was liberating.

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