Page 9 of He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

‘Hollyn!’

Heads turn as the surrounding diners definitely hear what I’m now hearing.

‘You’re acting like a broken-hearted teenager.’

‘Am I?’ I ask, throwing my purse strap over my shoulder. ‘I guess this won’t surprise you then…’ I pick up his plate and dump it onto his lap, giving it a good shake, so I don’t waste any. After all, it’s not cheap. ‘Eight years, Tristan. You wastedeightyears of my life.’ I grab my plate and do the same.

‘Hollyn!’ he roars this time as he stands, allowing the food to drop onto the floor at his feet. Now that’s a waste.

The server practically runs to our table. ‘Is there a problem?’

Tristan growls something unintelligible as he storms from the table towards the bathrooms.

‘No problem at all,’ I say to her. ‘Don’t mind him. He’s got zero table manners. A real animal in a designer suit.’ I laugh, but it surfaces as more Cruella de Vil than Sleeping Beauty.

‘I’m gonna need a bottle of your most expensive champagne to go. And an entire chocolate cheesecake. I don’t even care if they’re individual slices pieced together to form an entire cake, just make it happen?’

Whoam I right now? I can’t eat an entire cake!

The server grimaces as she looks at the mess I’ve just made, but eventually, she nods.

‘Wait,’ I call as she walks away. ‘Make that three bottles?’ Might as well make it count.

‘Sure.’ She nods, her eyes wide.

‘I apologize for ruining your evening,’ I announce to the room of diners all here for an atmosphere Tristan has most definitely ruined. ‘He’s… uh – moved on and proposed to someone else after stealing nearly a decade of my life.’ I do a curtsey for reasons I’m not sure of and walk away from the scene towards the front of the restaurant to pick up my newly placed to-go order.

‘Charge everything to this.’ I hand her Tristan’s credit card. The card he loaned me this morning when I told him I was buying a new dress for tonight.How about a dress on me, he suggested. How could I possibly refuse that? I thought I was purchasing the outfit I’d be going home engaged in. Apparently, he knew it was the dress I’d be flying home in. A consolation prize for him being the jerk of a decade.

‘Actually, charge every order in the house tonight to it. He’s a very giving person.’

‘Sure…’ she says, hesitation in her voice.

‘And run it through the shredder when you’re done as well. He’s a real security freak.’

She nods as one of her fellow servers hands me a box filled with three bottles of champagne and an entire chocolate cheesecake. Dinner is served.

‘If he by chance asks questions, answer them all with these three paltry words and let him know they’re absolutely from me.Go.To.Hell.’ I smile sweetly, or maybe insanely; it’s hard to tell at this point.

‘Yes, ma’am.’

And with that, I put on the brave face of a woman who’s just been dumped and exit the restaurant into a world I no longer know.

* * *

Twenty Minutes Later…

I’m sitting on the steps to my building, the box of food sitting next to me. I pull my phone from my bag, redialing Victoria’s number, but this time it doesn’t even ring; it just goes straight to voicemail. I hang up and type out a text.

Where are you? Kind of having the worst day ever.

If I ignored her like she is me, she’d be livid. Where the hell is she?

I look around the street at random people meandering by, living life, and probably not feeling as if they wished they could disappear like I do.

I gotta call my brother. He’ll be so thrilled. I dial his number and lift the phone to my ear, my hand shaking. Emotions are quickly surfacing.

Don’t lose it now, Hols. You can hold it together for a few more minutes.

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