Page 43 of Chance of Romance
“No. It went very, very badly.” She spoke slowly as if trying to ease into treacherous territory. “I guess what I’m trying to say is…my theory that people become most upset about what they’re guilty of…” She paused, searching his expression, before finally saying, “Well, that might apply to Olivia too with her jealousy issues.”
He read between the lines. “You mean her jealousy and accusations are because she’s guilty of cheating on me?”
“Yes,” she said softly. Her eyes were big and sympathetic. “I went to her office, and she was with a man in her private bathroom. They came out half undressed, obviously having hooked up. She as much as admitted—”
“That’s enough.” He stood and walked a few steps away. Could this be right? Olivia was cheating on him after all the fuss she’d made over him having relationships, even friendly ones, with other women? Olivia was the one who had reached out to him. Why would she do that if she was already in a relationship?
Sabrina spoke up. “There’s more you should know.”
He shook his head. “I’ll call her, figure out what’s what, and then you can have some champagne with me. Help yourself to the fridge if you’re hungry.”
He was heading for the stairs to call Olivia in privacy when Sabrina called out urgently, “She was using you to put pressure on her boyfriend, Anil, not to go through with his arranged marriage, but he’s still going through with it. I’m not sure if you were her plan B, or she hoped to marry you to rub it in his face. Maybe both.”
He closed his eyes for a moment. Here he’d been thinking they had something real when he’d been played. If what Sabrina said was true. He needed to talk to Olivia and hear it directly from her. He held up a hand in acknowledgment to Sabrina and continued upstairs to the master bedroom, closed the door for privacy, and called Olivia.
“Hello,” she purred. “Can’t wait to see you tonight. It’s been so long.”
“Olivia, Sabrina told me everything. You’re with Anil, using me to force his hand and make him not go through with an arranged marriage. He’s still going to marry this other person. Please tell me if this is true.”
“I ended it, I swear. I was a fool to be with him. You’re my future.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Dammit. He couldn’t believe he’d let it get this far with her. He’d been ready to leave his family and friends behind and move cross-country to solidify their relationship when there was no relationship. He’d let their past connection in college weigh too heavily on their future.
“Logan, please, you and I never explicitly said we were exclusive.”
“Then why the hell were you freaking out that I might be with Sabrina!” He exhaled sharply. “This is over. Goodbye, Olivia.” He disconnected, beyond aggravated. Then he deleted Olivia’s contact info from his phone. A small vengeance.
He stood there for a minute, letting himself cool down before heading downstairs. He found Sabrina in the kitchen, washing some green grapes. He waited for her to turn the water off before saying, “Hey.”
She whirled. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He lifted his palms. “I ended it with her.”
She set the grapes on some paper towels and dried her hands. “I’m so sorry. I know you were hoping things would go very differently.”
He pressed his lips together, still pissed he’d been so fooled by Olivia. “Yeah, well.”
Sabrina spoke in a gentle, soothing tone. “I just couldn’t let you move forward not knowing what she was about.”
He nodded. “Thanks, you saved me from a huge mistake. Want to get drunk?”
