Page 11 of Played By the Fool

I snort.

“But I’m not your girlfriend, I’m your fiancée,” Kali turns and looks at me. “I was coming here to talk to you. I heard something from the ladies that work in the bakery. Have you been seeing John?”

I take a deep breath. “I was. But I had no idea he was with you. And after meeting you the other night, I cut everything off. I’m sorry. If I had known about you, I never would’ve been with him. He played both of us for fools.”

Kali nods. “Thank you for being honest with me. I knew something was going on, but I didn’t know what. This last year, he would come home to see me, but he never let me come back with him. I wasn’t allowed to visit either. I thought maybe he was seeing someone else, but I didn’t want to believe that. We’ve been together since high school. When he said he was moving here to Starlight Bay, I supported him. The plan was for me to join him next year. I wanted to finish school first and it was easier for me to live at home while I did that.”

I feel so bacd for Kali. She’s lost more than me. What John did to me was nothing compared to what he did to her. She had her whole life planned with him. What an asshole. How could he do that to her?

“I’m so sorry. I wish I could go back and change everything,” I say to Kali.

“None of this is your fault. This is all on the asshole who played both of us.”

“Baby, you’ve got this all wrong,” John stutters out.

“Which part? The part where you lied to me? Or are you saying Emilia is lying?”

“All of it. I haven’t been with her, she’s crazy. I was just in here telling her she needs to leave me alone.”

“You’re a fucking asshole. And you need to get out of my restaurant,” I snap at him.

I can take a lot of shit. But to stand here and listen to him imply I’m a stalker and say I’m crazy? That’s more than I can take. And he’s trying to act like Kali is stupid, I don’t like that either. I may not know her well, but she deserves better than him. We both do. I’m just glad I found out sooner than later.

“You can’t talk to me like that. You’re nothing but a lowly waitress in a weird pizza joint.”

Ciarán steps forward and gets in John’s face.

“Walk away. Now. Don’t open your mouth and don’t ever speak to my Emilia again.”

Ciarán

No man should speak to a woman the way John is speaking to Emilia. Especially to my woman. He lied and cheated on both women. And is now he’s blaming Emilia for his shit. Fuck that.

John just looks at all of us and walks out the door.

“Do you need a place to stay?” Emilia asks Kali.

“It’s okay, I can get a room at the hotel. But thank you.”

“You don’t need a hotel, I have an extra room at my place. You shouldn’t be alone.”

“Thank you for not lying to me. I’ve loved that man for so long that I probably would’ve believed him if you had said there was nothing going on.”

“I wish I had known about you from the start. I never would’ve dated him at all.”

“Did you ever go to his apartment?” Kali asks.

“Only a few times. He never really wanted me there. Now I know why. I’m sorry this happened.”

Listening to the two women talk makes me sad. They’ve both been put in this situation because of a choice some asshole made.

“Why don’t we take a walk to John’s place and you can grab your stuff. I’ll go with you,” I say to them.

“You don’t have to do that,” Emilia says.

“I want to. Besides, you owe me a midnight walk.” I wink and take her hand.

We all help Emilia and Frank close up Starlight Pi. Then head out to help Kali get her things from John’s place. It’s nice out tonight, the sky is clear and the stars are bright and twinkling.

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