Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Since the kitchen is near the foyer, he must hear the door creak open because his gaze lands on me, and his thrusts come to a standstill, his eyes opening comically wide.
“Well,” I say, trying not to let my emotions show through, “I hope once you’re done, you plan to wipe down the kitchen. It’s not very sanitary to fuck where you eat.”
The woman’s face whips around, and that’s when I notice she’s not just any woman...
“Phoebe,” I gasp, my gaze locking with my old roommate.
When I moved to London, I wanted to live near where my mom had loved to go for walks, but the only available flat had two bedrooms, and since I only needed one, I rented it out. Phoebe answered the ad and moved in, and we became roommates—and eventually best friends—living together until I moved in with John.
“Paige.” She stands and scrambles to get her clothes on.
When we spoke last week, she told me that she and her boyfriend had broken up and she was seeing someone else.
“Please,” I tell them both curtly, “don’t get dressed on my account.” I force a smile onto my face. “But tell me this.” I look at Phoebe. “Is this the new man you’re seeing?”
“We wanted to tell you,” she cries.
“Let me guess,” I say dryly. “You didn’t mean for it to happen, but John was missing me and lonely, and you were heartbroken and in need of comforting, and one thing led to another.”
I cackle humorlessly, fully aware that I’m ten seconds from losing my shit. To think I flew in early to try and salvage our relationship. What a joke. “Well, you can have him. Because if he can cheat on me, who’s to say he won’t do it to you? And as far as our friendship goes, it’s over.”
“Paige, please,” Phoebe whines.
“Please, what?” I snap. “Please forgive you?”
I glance back and forth between her and John. While their betrayal hurts, for some reason, I also feel a huge sense of relief. Like the stress of our unsteady relationship no longer weighs on me. I wanted to marry this man, create a life with him, and thankfully, he showed me who he really is—a cheater and a liar—before I could do anything I would regret.
He’s never once put me first, and even at the end of our relationship, instead of breaking up with me before moving on, he put himself first. And the same goes for Phoebe. She didn’t once think about how this would hurt me. How it would affect our friendship. They both only cared about themselves—and I guess each other. But neither one of them cared about me.
I open my mouth to say something, but I close it because there’s nothing to be said. I knew John and I were on shaky ground, but I would have never thought in a million years he would hook up with one of my friends. We went on double dates. John played poker with her boyfriend on Wednesday nights. But what’s done is done, and now, it’s time to move forward ...alone.
As I turn to leave, John calls out my name and rushes over to me. “Wait, please,” he says, grabbing ahold of my wrist. “I’m sorry. You know I love you.”
“You’re sorry? What are you sorry for? Cheating on me with one of my good friends or for getting caught?” I pull my wrist out of his grasp. “Your sorry means nothing, and the fact that you can tell me you love me after fucking another woman speaks volumes about your character.”
I don’t know why, but in this moment, the words my mom wrote to me before she passed away come back to me: The magic doesn’t lie. I felt the magic the day I met your father and again when you were born. And I feel it every day that I spend with you both.
“What you and I had wasn’t magical,” I tell John, the truth of my words hitting me in the gut. “It was nothing more than an illusion.”
I glance at Phoebe, who’s standing there with her arms around her and tears sliding down her face.
“Good luck,” is all I say before I drag my luggage out the door and slam it closed behind me, ready to move forward with my life.
I snag a cab and take it to the hotel where the wedding is taking place since I have nowhere else to go. And it’s not until I’m standing at the check-in counter and being told they’re booked solid so I can’t check in until my scheduled check-in date that I finally lose it.
I have nowhere to go.
John cheated on me with my friend because I wasn’t enough for him to be faithful. Did I not love him enough? Give him enough attention? Was it because I refused to move to London?