Page 14 of Christmas Hearts

I look over her shoulder, and I see something that makes me shrivel back into myself. My wedding picture. I scramble to get away from Ana. She's still in a daze, but after a few minutes, when she realizes I'm as far away as possible from her, she gets up from the sofa and pulls down her dress.

"I think you should go, Ana."

"What just happened?"

"Just go. I'll call you.

Her confused face breaks my heart into a million pieces, but for the first time, I'm wondering if I'm doing the right thing, moving on from the woman I once loved.

Chapter 6

Ana Maria

Idon't know what happened this afternoon with Justin, but he went from hot to cold in less than sixty seconds. I know he doesn't want to talk about it, but I need to find out the truth. I call Mrs. Hoffer and tell her I need to have an important conversation with her son and ask if she’ll take Daisy.

That's really not my call to make because I'm not her stepmother just yet, but I need some answers, and for that, we need privacy. I knock on Justin's door and wait for him to open it. When he does, he's surprised to see me. No shit. You can't pull away from me like that and think I'm going to take it sitting down.

"We need to talk."

"I…"

"Please. If we're going to make this work, we need to be honest with one another."

He looks defeated and opens the door wide for me to come inside. I enter and take my coat off. He's got his fireplace going and it feels cozy and warm in here. I walk to the living room and sit down on the couch. I'm hoping he sits next to me, but he just paces across the floor before me.

"What happened this afternoon, Justin?"

"I don't think we should do this fake marriage thing anymore."

"What? But you were so gung-ho about it."

After more pacing I try and reach for his hand to pull him to me. He pulls away and finally flops down on an armchair close by.

"You looked so beautiful after you came. Your eyes were glazed, and you looked totally enchanted. I did that to you. But then…"

His hands become fists, and he keeps opening and closing them as if he's not in control anymore.

"You might not like what I'm about to say."

"Honesty and openness, remember? It's the only way we can do this."

"I don't know that I can go through with it anymore."

"What changed?"

I see tears falling from his eyes, and he quickly covers his face with his hands.

"I saw my wedding picture. It was on the table behind you, and I just…I cheated on my wife."

I get up and sit on the coffee table in front of him.

"You know that's not true. You loved her. You still do. You did nothing wrong."

"I've never thought ahead to what life might look like with someone else. So many feelings have come up after I saw that photograph. I feel like the lowest scum on the earth."

"I think you're being too hard on yourself. Things are moving quickly, though. Maybe we should slow down?"

"I don't know…"

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