Page 16 of Poison's Promise

“Fine,” she says, her voice icy. “You want the ugly truth? I’ll give it to you. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She takes a step closer, her eyes boring into mine. “That night, I went to a party. I drank too much and started feeling sick. The next thing I know, I’m waking up in the morning with my dress ripped and my panties gone. And then I get a text from you saying we’re done, and your number is out of service.”

My mind reels as I process her words. This isn’t what Rachel told me. Not even close.

“Why would Rachel lie about this?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Why don’t you ask her?” Polly replies bitterly. “All I know is she had it out for me. Maybe she saw an opportunity and took it.”

“Polly, I—” I’m at a loss for words. Everything I thought I knew has been turned upside down.

“Save it, Asher,” she says, turning away. “I can’t do this right now.”

“Wait,” I plead, grabbing her arm. “Just... please. I need to understand.”

“Understand what exactly?” She whirls around, her eyes filled with pain. “That you believed someone else over me? That you abandoned me when I needed you most?”

“Polly, I’m sorry,” I say, my voice breaking. “I should have been there for you. I should have trusted you would never do something like that to me.”

“Yeah, you should have,” she agrees, pulling her arm free. “But you didn’t. And now we have to live with that.”

“Can we just... talk?” I ask, desperate to make things right. “Please.”

She hesitates, then nods reluctantly. “Fine. But not here. Let’s go somewhere more private. I don’t want anyone eavesdropping on us.”

“Okay,” I agree, leading the way to a quiet room backstage.

Once inside, I close the door behind us, feeling the weight of everything that’s happened between us pressing down on me.

“Talk,” she says, leaning against the wall, arms crossed again. “I’m listening and this is the best opportunity you’re ever gonna get.”

“Polly, I never wanted to hurt you,” I begin, trying to find the right words. “When Rachel told me what she saw, I felt like my world was falling apart. I didn’t know how to deal with it.”

“Not knowing how to deal with it doesn’t excuse what you did,” she replies coldly. “You left me, Asher. Without a word.”

“I know,” I admit, shame washing over me. “And if it makes a difference, I’ve always regretted how I ended our relationship.”

“Regret doesn’t change anything,” she says, her voice softer now. “It doesn’t undo the past.”

“Maybe not,” I agree, stepping closer. “But maybe we can start over. Try to fix what’s broken.”

“Start over?” She looks at me skeptically. “After everything that's happened, you really think we can just start over?”

“Yes,” I say firmly. “Because I still care about you, Polly, and I think you still care about me too. And knowing what happened, I know how wrong I was. I want to fix this. I want to make it better.”

“You’re right,” she admits after a long pause. “I do care about you, Ash. If I’m being honest with myself, I never stopped loving you. But it’s going to take more than words to fix this.”

“Then I’ll do whatever it takes,” I promise, reaching out to take her hand. “Just give me a chance.”

Polly laughs, but it’s not because she’s amused. “There’s no way in hell I’d ever give you another chance to break my heart again. It was a one time deal, Ash.”

“Polly...” I whisper, but the words die on my lips.

My mind races, struggling to process everything I’m learning tonight.

My heart pounds as memories of that night flood back, distorted and twisted by years of misunderstanding.

“Do you have any idea what it’s like?” Polly’s voice breaks, but she holds my gaze with a fierce intensity. “To be violated and then abandoned by the person you thought loved you?”

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