Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 59236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 197(@300wpm)
“Obviously. She wouldn’t let it go,” Madison said. “What did you do?”
“I told her to back off, that I’m sorry I hurt her. That I wished things were different, but we couldn’t be together. She was a great person and deserved someone better, that kind of thing.”
“You lied,” she said flatly.
“What?”
“You don’t wish things were different, do you? Did you really think she was great and deserved better or did you just want to make her go away without feeling like you were the bad guy?”
“Both, I guess. I tried ignoring her, refusing to see or speak to her. Then she started sending me stuff, teddy bears, chocolates, flowers, presents.”
“Presents?”
“Silk boxers, stuff like that.”
“Oh, so sexualized personal items.”
“And the selfies. She sent me so many nudes. I only opened the first two and got the idea what she was trying to do. I delete them as soon as I get them. It makes me cringe when my text alert goes off because I’m thinking it could be another one.”
“She’s terrorized you all this time?”
“I wouldn’t call it that.”
“I would.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Think about it. If I came to you and said the same thing. My ex from last year kept coming to my door and in my shop and sent me crotchless panties and unwanted dick pics, what would you say to me?”
“That’s different,” I said stubbornly.
“How? Because she isn’t going to be able to jump out at you in a parking garage and overpower you? If she had a weapon she could, Noah. This is serious. Every bit as serious as if the roles were reversed and it were a man stalking me. What do your brothers say?”
“I took Leo’s advice early on. I called her boss and told him that she was harassing me and wouldn’t leave me alone. That I didn’t want to get police involved and damage her reputation and that of the design firm where she worked.”
“Okay, what happened?”
“She got fired. Showed up at my door crying that I’d taken away everything in her life that mattered to her, and she was going to be homeless, and it was my fault. She had no place to go because she’d never be able to pay her rent doing freelance and she didn’t know what to do. She said she would just go to a shelter.”
“Wow, she is dramatic.”
“She was overwrought. She was convincing. I was afraid she’d do something to hurt herself.”
“Oh God, you did not let her stay with you, did you? Please say you didn’t.”
“I didn’t. No. I just gave her money, wrote her a check to cover her for a month so she could pay her rent and find a job.”
“That was probably a bad idea.”
“Yeah, I get that now. I felt guilty because all this was because she couldn’t get over me. I’d broken her heart and now got her fired. I felt awful about it.”
“But it’s not your fault that she was obsessed or your fault that she acted like you were on a campaign to destroy her when you were trying to get someone in her life, an authority figure, to check her wild behavior. Did she have, like, a therapist?”
“I tried that too. I said I’d pay for therapy. She said she’d go to couples therapy with me to work out our issues, but I refused because we’re not a couple. I don’t know if I had gone with her maybe things would’ve turned out better.”
“Stop, this is not your fault,” Madison insisted, holding my hand. “You’re trying to survive a terrible situation. Sure, I want her to get help but that doesn’t excuse how she’s invaded your privacy and made you feel hunted.”
“I know that’s true, but it looks like I’m the one with the power in the situation and she’s the one being hurt and mistreated by a man who didn’t want her anymore and tossed her aside.”
“Even if you did toss her aside, which I doubt, that doesn’t mean you deserve to be harassed.”
“She calls and texts in the middle of the night, too. Four in the morning, stuff like that.”
“Sleep deprivation is a form of torture,” she pointed out. “Olivia is waging a full-scale war on you to wear you down. The poor-me brokenhearted routine, the needy, helpless thing, and then playing on your guilt.”
“I’m sure she is. Ethan said I should call the police next time.”
“Next time what?”
“She came to the office today and acted like it was our anniversary. I didn’t call security because I wanted to avoid a scene. It wouldn’t do me any good with the partners if I look like I have a crazy girlfriend whose outbursts I can’t control. I walked her out. In the elevator her coat fell open, and she wasn’t wearing much. This was some weird seduction she had planned, I guess.”