Page 17 of Wild Ever After
“You said you loved me,” I whisper, voice hoarse. When he doesn’t reply, I add, “Please? I will lose everything.”
“Jade, it’s just a job.”
“Not to me.” My eyes pop open. He knows what my career means to me. It will give me the stability and independence that I have craved since I was little.
He runs a hand over his perfectly styled hair. “Can’t they issue some sort of statement and call it good? Engagements end all the time.”
“Is that what’s happening?” I swallow the lump in my throat. “Are we really breaking up?”
“Do you even want to be with me? Really?” he asks incredulously, brows raised.
“Of course, I do. I’ve spent months planning this wedding.”
“You didn’t answer the question, Jade. Forget the wedding, do you want to be withme?” He taps his chest. “We had fun in the beginning and then we moved in together, and…” His sentence trails off. “Let’s face it, neither of us saw it going this far.”
“That’s not true.” I cross one arm at my waist, as if I can protect myself from the blow he’s dealing.
He lets his hand fall. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I’m not just in North Dakota visiting. I’ve decided to move back home.”
“To North Dakota?” In all the time we’ve dated, not once has he mentioned wanting to go back to his home state to live.
“Yeah. I applied for a job a few weeks ago and they flew me out for an interview yesterday.”
“Weeks ago?” Anger makes my voice shrill. “When were you going to tell me?”
He sighs. “It gives us a clean break. We can both figure out what it is we really want.”
“A clean break? Maybe for you. What am I supposed to tell people? My boss is expecting us to get married. Married!”
“I don’t know.” He waves his hand dismissively. “Tell them whatever you want. That’s what you’ve been doing all along, right?”
I’m fuming and stunned. Hot tears prick the back of my eyes. I will absolutely not let him see me cry. “That’s not fair. You agreed to this and now you’re making it out like you never wanted this.”
Like he never wanted me.
“I did. You’re right. But at least I stopped it before we made a huge mistake.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to stop the tears. It hurts worse than I’d like to admit, hearing him call our almost marriage a huge mistake.
He walks through what I assume is his parents’ house. Pictures in ornate frames hang on a wall behind him. “The apartment is paid for through the end of the month. You can have any of the furniture you want. I took everything I wanted with me.”
Great. I’ll be homeless, but at least I’ll have a used couch that reminds me of him every time I sit on it. How can he be so callous about all of this? Twelve months and it’s like it meant nothing.
When I still don’t speak, he adds, “I’m sure you’re going to write about this, but if you could leave my name out of it, I would appreciate it.”
I huff a laugh.
“You owe me that much,” he says.
I swipe at a tear the second it defies me and slides out the corner of my eye. Like I’d want anyone to know about this. It shows how little he really knows me.
“I’m sorry it had to end like this.”
“Yeah, I bet,” I mutter.
“Bye, Jade.”
When he ends the call, I finally let myself cry. It’s over. I can’t believe it.
