Page 78 of Seeing You

How was it possible for things to be this awkward when they hadn’t even discussed anything yet?

With her mug in hand, she faced him, leaning against the counter. “We need to talk, Marcus.”

You’re damn right we do, he inwardly seethed.

“I agree,” he said instead. He held out a chair for her, but she shook her head.

Neither spoke for several long moments, but just when he was about to comment on it, she spoke.

“I can’t do this anymore,” she said flatly. “In the beginning, it was fine because it was going to be temporary. We said our goodbyes and I was okay with it. But then you kept coming back. At first, I loved it; I loved the spontaneous visits and the fun we were having. It was everything we used to have and so much more.”

“But…?”

“But…nothing’s changed. This still won’t work, and the longer we drag this out, the harder it’s getting on me. I…I want more! I want a husband and kids and a dog and then grandkids…I want what everyone else I know has! And the more we just keep fooling around, the more my life is passing me by.”

He saw the tears running down her cheeks, and his anger began to recede. Until…

“This is where my heart is. This town. This house. This is where I need to be. I don’t want to live anywhere else. Ican’tlive anywhere else. Just like it is for you. So…we need to let this go so I can move on. I’m sorry.”

She put her mug down on the counter before wrapping her arms around her middle.

“May I say something now?” he carefully asked.

She nodded.

Slowly, he reached for the bank statement and held it up to her. “You’re a fucking millionaire?” he yelled. “I mean…how…when…? How is it even possible? You’re living in a small house in this tiny, hick town when you could live anywhere in the damn world! Why would you choose this life? You’re standing here talking about how youneedto be here, youcan’tlive anywhere else…and it’s all lies! Worse, it’s bullshit! Why wouldn’t you tell me?”

The sad look and the tears almost instantly disappeared, replaced by shock and then annoyance. “Because it’s none of your damn business!” she yelled back, all signs of the brokenhearted woman gone. Reaching out, she snatched the statement from his hands. “And how dare you go through my personal papers! Who the hell do you think you are?”

“I’m the man you’ve been sleeping with for the last two months! The man you almost married! The man who’s still in love with you!”

Her eyes went wide.“What?!”

“Not that it matters because love means trust, and you didn’t trust me enough to tell me what was really going on in your life! You act like you’re just this poor, overworked baker who has to take care of her family and is always so put upon, when the truth is you don’t have to work another day in your damn life!” He snorted with disgust. “I’m just…I know what kind of money you had when you left me, and we all know you haven’t been working in finance since we broke up, so how…?”

She held up her hand. “First of all, you don’t know a damn thing. Yes, you knew what kind of money I had when I left you, but I never reallyleftworking in finance. I just do it for myself now. I know how to invest and when to sell. I worked at several banks over the years, but I hated it. That’s when I turned to baking. As for why I didn’t tell you, it’s because this wasn’t real, Marcus! This relationship wasn’t an actual relationship! Wewere messing around and getting each other out of our systems! You weren’t going to stay, and I wasn’t going to leave, so why would I tell you about my personal financial situation? And for the record, buddy, you haven’t told me about yours either! You don’t see me pointing any fingers!”

“That’s…it’s not…I mean…”

“I have never in mylifehad to show my bank statement to a man I was sleeping with,” she said with a sneer. “And I’d never ask anyone to show me theirs.” Pushing away from the counter, she stormed into the living room to pace. “You’ve got nerve. You waltz back into my life after insulting me, accusing me of having a child and keeping it from you, generally being a total jackass, and then seducing me all over again! And me, like an idiot, I fell for it!”

Things were getting a little out of hand now…

“Help me understand why you’re living this way! We had a luxurious place back in D.C.! You used to talk about how much better it was than any place you’d ever lived and how you wouldn’t want to go back! And now you can seriously live anywhere you want, and you still chose this! On top of that, I don’t get how you could do this on your own—especially after quitting your job—well, jobs, in banking and finance!”

Shaking her head, she continued to pace. “For such a smart guy, you are incredibly closed minded.” She finally came to a stop and faced him. “Just because I didn’t want a career in high finance doesn’t mean all that information just fell out of my head or I was stupid enough not to invest the money I already had. So I dabbled a bit and built my portfolio. Once I wasn’t doing it because I had to or because it was my job, I actually enjoyed it. I spend several hours a week on it and I’m enjoying watching my nest egg grow. It’s as simple as that. Are you telling me you don’t do this sort of thing for yourself? Because if you even try, I’ll callyou out on it. You’re too greedy not to be socking as much money away as you possibly can.”

“Now we’re resorting to name-calling? Really?”

She shrugged. “What did you expect? I walk into my own home and find out you’ve been snooping and then you throw accusations at me! Did you expect me to fall into your arms and thank you?”

Raking a hand through his hair, it was suddenly his turn to pace. “Honestly, I don’t know what I expected. I thought you were doing worse after you left me. Secretly, I kind of enjoyed thinking that because I wanted you to have some regrets about leaving me.”

“That’s twisted, Marcus. Even for you.”

“Is it? Because most people want their exes to be miserable and think that breaking up was a mistake. But that’s not the point here!”

“No, the point is that you saw numbers on a page…”

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