Page 5 of Resisting my Roommate

At the realization, something inside me snaps. It’s like a dam breaking. All the nervousness, doubt, and fear comes rushing out in a torrent of uncontrollable laughter.

Carson and Maia whip their heads toward me, their eyes wide with a mixture of shock and embarrassment.

“Abbey. Shit.” Carson’s face instantly turns a sickly shade of white as he scrambles to cover himself before advancing toward me. “This isn’t what it looks like?—”

I hold up a hand to stop him from coming any closer. “Oh, it’s exactly what it looks like.” I shake my head. “What a fucking cliché.”

Spinning from them, I hurry toward the bridal suite, locking myself inside so I can gather my things without interruption.

“Abbey, please!” Carson begs, the desperation and urgency in his voice echoing off the walls. “Let’s talk about this. No need to jump to conclusions. There’s a perfectly good explanation for what you thought you saw.” He bangs on the door, frantically jiggling the locked knob.

“He’s right. It’s not what you think,” Maia chimes in, her own voice laced with anxiety, most likely over the prospect of her husband finding out.

Or worse, their boss.

I hope he finds out and fires them both, considering Carson is technically her superior.

“I’m sure thereisa good explanation.” I sling my bag over my shoulder and open the door, pinning them with a glare. “I’m guessing it’s the same reason you’ve been working late these past few months, too. It explains all the times the two of you disappeared during a party, claiming you needed to discuss something work-related. In a way, I guess it wasn’t that far off.” I smirk at the woman I thought to be a close friend and confidant. “Pretending he’s any good in bed can be a lot of work.”

My words leave both of them momentarily speechless, and I spin, hurrying down the hallway and into the main dining room. The waitstaff watch with curiosity as I pass them, but I don’t care.

All I do care about is getting as far away from this place as possible.

With my keys clutched in my hand, I dash to my SUV and climb behind the wheel, stuffing the layers of my skirt in around me.

“Where are you going?” Carson calls after me.

“Away from here,” I shout back. “And you.”

“Think about the guests,” he begs in a last-ditch effort as I’m about to shut the door. “There are important people here. Higher ups at my firm who are expecting us to get married. What am I supposed to tell them?”

I level him with a cold, hard stare. “You should’ve thought of that before you decided to fuck your co-worker. Yourmarriedco-worker. Does Joshua know?”

“He…” His uneasy gaze flicks between me and a few curious guests lingering nearby. Then he leans closer, his voice turning low and threatening. “You can’t do this, Abbey. Youneedme. Don’t forget. I’ve been paying all the bills.”

“I’ll survive,” I declare firmly.

Not giving him the chance to say anything else, I slam the door shut and throw the car into drive, tossing the ring out the window as I speed away.

CHAPTER THREE

ABBEY

Taylor Swift’s voice blares from the speakers, and I sing along at the top of my lungs to “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”. It seems like the perfect anthem for the day I’ve had.

I have no idea where I am or where I’m going. I can’t worry about that right now, though. If I do, reality might come crashing back down on me. I’m not ready to face that just yet.

Instead, I do what I have been since I sped away from Carson a few hours ago —drive aimlessly while listening to a curated playlist of breakup songs to scream in the car, continuing to ignore Carson’s frequent calls and texts demanding I return and go through with our planned wedding.

I wish I could say I’m upset he hasn’t been faithful.

I’m not.

As horrible as it sounds, I’m more upset about all the plans for my future going up in smoke. I had an idea of what my life would look like by the time I turned thirty —a husband, a house, kids.

A place to belong.

Now I have to start all over again from scratch.

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