Page 23 of Of Heather and Thistle
That split-second of hesitation was all she needed to know the truth.
Heather’s breath hitched, her voice barely above a whisper. “Oh my God.“
He exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Look, it’s not like that. Ivy thought—”
“—Don’t you dare say that she thought I needed help,” Heather cut him off with her voice rising. “Because of this?This is worse than help! It’s humiliation!”
Sam stepped back, his hands raised as if to calm her.
“Ivy just wanted to give you a push. She thought maybe if you went out and had a little fun…”
Heather’s laugh was bitterly sharp.
“Stop sugarcoating it. What was the deal? …you’d take me out… play nice… and then—what? Get a gold star for effort?”
Sam flinched at her words, but after a moment of silence, he blurted out, “You want the truth? Ivy said if I took you out…”
He hesitated.
“She’d sleep with me.”
The silence snapped. And so did she.
Heather stood frozen, her pulse roaring in her ears. The warmth of Sam’s home, the soft flicker of the fire, the way he picked up the expensive tab—it all felt like a cruel joke now.
She thought she might be sick. Ivy had betrayed her. Her gaze flickered over Sam. Searching. Desperate to find something—anything—that wasn’t a lie. But there was nothing. Merely hesitation. Only regret. It was just… too late to fix it.
She let out a shaky breath, stepping back.
“Wow…” she murmured. Her voice was hollow, the word empty—devoid of the anger clawing at her chest. The sick feeling threatened to pull her under, the same way it always had. The same way it had every time she bit her tongue, swallowed the hurt, let someone else decide who she was. But not this time. This time, the weight didn’t sink her—it ignited her.
Her jaw tightened, breath quickening as the fire roared to life. She thought:You know what? No! —Fuck this.
She lifted her chin with dignity and in a voice that was no longer hollow—no longer small— she shouted:
“So is this some trade-off, Sam? …take out pathetic Heather and get rewarded with Ivy? …did you evenplanon following through, or was I just a box to check off your to-do list before you get to have Ivy?”
Sam’s jaw tightened, his eyes flashing—not with cruelty, but with frustration, like he wanted to deny it and couldn’t.
“It’s not like that,” he said quickly, his tone almost pleading.
He closed his eyes briefly as though trying to summon the courage to respond. “Ivy might’ve promised me that, but Heather, I swear—after tonight, after being with you—”
“—Stop,” she cut him off, her voice breaking. “Just stop! Don’t try to turn this into some epiphany! You didn’t ask me out because you like me; you did it because you were chasing her. And now, I’m supposed to believe you suddenly care?”
Sam’s face crumpled with regret.
“Heather, I messed up, okay? I didn’t think it through. But tonight… tonight was real for me.”
Heather shook her head and took another step back, her voice quieter. “No, Sam. It was just convenient for you.”
Sam reached out to her once more.
“Don’t!” she said sharply, her voice cracking again as the betrayal and humiliation bubbled over. “You know the worst part? For a second, I actually believed you! I thought maybe—just maybe—you were different… but in the end, you were just another guy waiting for Ivy to pick you.”
Sam flinched.
