Page 26 of Breakaway

“You think we got married?” I nod, and she only snorts louder. “Roman, that’s absolutely ridiculous. I broke up with Travis because I realized he was going to propose to me. I’m not ready for marriage; I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready. There’s no way I would’ve agreed to get married, even if I was drunk as shit.”

Something flashes in my head, a fleeting memory. But no matter how hard I try to catch it, it’s gone. The only thing I’m sure about is that I heard her talking about not being ready for marriage.

Leaning back in my chair, I put an open palm to the top of my head, barely listening to Nevaeh’s rambling. She goes on andon about her ex, about how she got sick when she saw the ring. Grabbing her purse, she takes her phone out and starts looking for something.

Suddenly, she shuts up; her face becomes pale. My heart drops to my feet, beating loudly.

“What is it?” I ask.

With trembling hands, she puts her phone on the table and pushes it toward me. I look down, gaping at a picture of a marriage license with our names. My mouth becomes dry, and I swallow with difficulty.

“I need a moment.” The words rush out as I jump to my feet. Without waiting for Nevaeh to respond, I dash out of the restaurant, desperate for fresh air…because I truly feel like I’m suffocating.

Eto pizdets?5.

1 ??? ?? ?????? — What the hell?

2 ????? (cuss word) — Fuck

3 ??????? (cuss word). — Awesome.

4 ????? (cuss word). — Fuck.

5 ??? ?????? (cuss word). — It’s a nightmare.

Chapter 11

Of All People

NEVAEH

My gaze is gluedto the black screen of my phone. My chest painfully constricts any time I take a breath. This is a joke. That’s the only explanation I can find for the picture on my phone. It doesn’t make any sense, dammit!

Pressing my palms to my face, I silently scream, cursing myself. Turns out my mother was right about me. I’m a stupid girl who never thinks about the consequences of her actions, making mistake after mistake and always getting into trouble. Apparently, getting too drunk and almost being taken advantage of by Sam wasn’t enough. To top it off, I needed to go and get married to a guy who wants nothing to do with me.

Just fucking perfect.

I lower my palms from my face and scan the restaurant. It’s packed with groups of friends and a few couples; the clattering of cutlery, the clinking of glasses, laughs and chatter fill the space. Biting my bottom lip, I rap my fingers on the table. The first thing I need to do is figure out my next steps. Or maybeournext steps, since I’m clearly not alone in this.

Glancing out the window, I realize that Roman is nowhere in sight. I lean forward, almost pressing my forehead to the glass, and still nothing. Where is the damned man?

The waitress nods when I wave my hand to get her attention and ask for the bill. My foot taps a nervous rhythm on the floor as I wait for her return. My aggravation grows, not allowing me to calm down. From a state of total disbelief, I’m heading straight to extremely annoyed.

Pulling my phone out of my purse, I launch Photos again. If I took a picture of the marriage license, shouldn’t I have also taken a picture of the chapel? Of anything that would help me piece together what happened last night? I was so stunned to see the first picture, I didn’t even check to see what else there is.

I zoom in on a selfie of Roman and me in front of a wall full of flowers. By how dilated my pupils are and how glossy my stare is, I’m surprised I was still standing, let alone saying “I do.” There’s text above the flowers, the name of the place. I quickly find the address in Google Maps. It’s a twenty-minute walk from here, and it’s exactly where I’m going to go next.

As I step outside the restaurant, my gaze wanders around in hopes of seeing Roman. No luck.Well, screw him. I’m going alone then. He’s already been on my last nerve with his mood swings and how relieved he sounded when I told him nothing happened between us. I swear he makes me feel like the ugliest monster to ever walk the earth…and I’m so over it.

With my phone in hand, I stalk away from the restaurant, checking the directions as I go. So many people pass by, but I don’t pay any attention to their chatter. The thoughts swirling in my head become worse and worse with each second. My desire to cry is huge, but I push it down as far as I can. I’ll have time for that later. Now, I need to deal with this marriage thing.

“Nevaeh?”

Roman’s voice startles me for a second, and I glance over my shoulder to see him running after me. Then I remember how he walked out of the restaurant and never came back. Straighteningmy shoulders, I speed up and ignore his voice calling my name again.

“Nevaeh!”

Fingers curl around my elbow, halting me in my tracks. Roman stops next to me, not looking out of breath or even remotely worried. His mask is on again, and that tiny glimpse of his real emotions I saw at the restaurant is long gone.

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