Page 67 of Control

My body jerked back, my brows pulling together. “When did I ever say anything that would give you the indication that I’d be calling you?”

She sighed, her shoulders falling. “Look, I saw you. I know you saw me weeks ago. And I understand that after I did what I did, you needed to do something to get back at me. I get it. But I’m willing to forgive you for that.”

“I’m not asking you for forgiveness. I didn’t do anything wrong. You’re the one who cheated.”

Nodding, Evangeline returned, “I know, Ty. But I love you, and I know you love me. What we have is good. We shouldn’t throw that away for one mistake.”

I wondered if I was imagining this, if I was making it all up. Alana aside, it wasn’t possible this woman could actually believe I’d ever consider getting back together with her.

“First of all, you and I don’t have anything. Whatever we had was gone months before it officially ended between us. It was gone when you chose to spend your free time with another man. You threw it away, and honestly, it was the best thing you could have done. I’ve moved on, and I’m much happier.”

A look of uncertainty and fear washed over her. She laughed nervously. “Ty, you don’t mean that. I can make it up to you; I want to fix this. Joel is gone. He left.”

“And you thought you could come crawling back to me?” I fired back. “You need to leave.”

I moved to close the door, but Evangeline slapped her palm against it to stop it. “Please,” she begged. “We can get it back. I know we can. You and I belong together.”

“No, we don’t.”

“But—” She stopped speaking, her attention shifting behind me. I didn’t have to turn around to know that Alana had appeared. Evangeline diverted her gaze to me again and rasped, “You… you moved on.”

“I tried to tell you that.”

She shook her head, disbelief and hurt marring her expression. “Ty,” she whispered. “You can’t do this. We have to work it out.”

“There’s nothing to work out, Evangeline. I’ve moved on, and I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life.”

Her lips parted in shock. “You don’t mean that. You’re just hurt by what I did. I know I was wrong. I made a mistake. You have to forgive me. We have to move past it.”

I let out a frustrated sigh. “I have moved on. I’m happy. Now, you need to leave and do the same.”

“Ty, please,” she begged.

“Stop it,” I ordered. “You’re embarrassing yourself. We’re done. What we had is over. I’m with someone else now, and she means everything to me. You and I will never be anything ever again.”

Evangeline didn’t respond, but she also didn’t leave.

“Goodbye, Evangeline.”

“Ty, this is a mistake,” she rasped.

“I’m sorry you feel that way. Have a good night.”

I closed the door, locked it, and turned around. Alana was staring at me, a mix of concern and something else in her features. Recognizing how uncomfortable that must have been for her, I asked, “Are you okay?”

She didn’t respond, forcing something to twist in my gut.

“Alana, baby, please say something,” I pleaded with her.

“Are you really the happiest you’ve ever been in your life?”

Relief settled inside me, the tension easing out of my frame. I took slow, deliberate steps toward her. When I stopped inchesaway, I lifted a hand to the side of her face and cupped her cheek. Stroking my thumb over the skin there, I spoke softly. “Yes, Alana. You have made me the happiest I’ve ever been in my life. You were so unexpected, but you are undeniably perfect for me.”

Her eyes were shining, unshed tears filling them. “Are you serious?”

“I would never joke about this.”

Alana lifted her hand to my face. She dragged her thumb along my bottom lip. “You should know that you mean everything to me, too.”

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