Page 44 of Cruel Hero

Tiffany

My first heartbreak over a boy was in the seventh grade, and it felt like the world was ending. His name was Ethan, and he had this habit of tucking his baseball cap backward and grinning at me during recess. I thought we were destined to be together until he asked my friend Sarah to the school dance instead. I cried for a week, hiding under my covers and listening to Olivia’s attempts to console me with ice cream and sage advice I was too young to fully understand.

She sat on the edge of my bed, her dark hair falling over her shoulders as she handed me a spoon and a pint of mint chocolate chip. “Boys are idiots, Tiff. Especially at this age. Ethan’s clueless. You’re too good for him anyway.”

I sniffled and took a bite of ice cream. “You really think so?”

“I know so,” she replied, ruffling my hair. “One day, you’ll meet someone who deserves you. And when you do, Ethan will be nothing but a stupid childhood memory.”

Somewhere along the way, our relationship changed. Perhaps it was when she secretly got engaged to Alexander or when Adrien. Either way, I stopped confiding in her about what was happening in my life. It was a mixture of fear and shame that kept me from opening up to her.

But now, I need to fix it.

“Wait for me in the car,” I tell Luis after we collect two suitcases worth of belongings from my apartment and arrive at the Millhouse Gallery.

I want some privacy, and Luis’s hulking shadow constantly looming over me is suffocating.

“Dream on,” Luis retorts as the driver parks outside the gallery.

“I liked you better when you didn’t talk.” I step out of the car. “At least then I could pretend that I had control over my actions.”

“It was your decision to get involved with Adrien.” Luis opens the gallery door for me. “That’s the last bit of free will you had.”

“Low blow. I thought you’d enjoy watching me suffer.”

“I’m a gentleman. I’d never like to see a lady in distress.”

The gallery is bustling with activity since the current exhibit is about to end. Everything must be packed up by the end of the day to make room for new pieces.

I immediately spot Olivia in the middle of a heated discussion with Cassandra.

“Can you at least wait for me by the entrance? I promise it won’t take long,” I tell Luis and not waiting for his response, I walk over to my sister.

Olivia turns around. “Tiffany? What are you doing here?”

I greet Olivia and Cassandra with a kiss on each cheek. “I haven’t seen you two in a few days, and I wanted to check in.”

“Where have you been? I stopped by your place yesterday evening, but it was empty,” Olivia says.

I give her a reassuring smile. “Work took over my life for a little while there.”

My sister gives me a knowing look, not buying my excuse. “Work, huh? Is that what you’re calling it these days?”

“Looks like someone had a wild weekend,” Cassandra says, eyeing me up and down. “You owe me a drink or two for dealing with your sister. She wanted to call the police the moment her call went to your voice messages. I had to calm her down and convince her that you were just busy with work.” She lifts her eyebrows, a sly grin on her face. “Or getting busy with Lucas.”

“I said a million times that Lucas and I are just friends.”

Olivia and Cassandra exchange a look.

“Sure, you are friends,” Cassandra says. “That’s why he’s been spending so much time with you lately, right?”

I roll my eyes. “Don’t you have anything to do? You’re both horribly annoying with your constant matchmaking.”

“We’re just concerned about you, Tiff. You’ve been MIA for two days and haven’t even bothered to let me know you’re okay. We thought maybe Lucas had something to do with this.”

I sigh; after all, I wanted to be more truthful.

“Okay, fine. I may have spent the weekend with someone.”

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