Page 73 of Third Time Lucky

Lucy’s lips curl into a slight, confident smile, her resolve and disdain for this cockroach intensifying by the second.

‘You’ve chosen a pervert, Luce. He stood there and watched. That’s sick. I thought you had better taste.’

Her eyes flash with fury at Brandon’s words, but she remains calm and collected, determined not to show how deeply he’s hurt her. ‘You do realize I despise you, right? I purposely chose to be here with Asher – someone who actually behaves like a real man,’ she declares, then suddenly spins to face me with a saccharine smile. ‘By the way, that’s a refreshing change. Thank you.’

I nod and return a tight, measured smile, ignoring the prying eyes of Brandon.

Her head snaps back to him. ‘Why are you even here? The unspoken rule for couples left at the altar is silence and distance. If you run into one another, you walk away without words. Yet, here you stand. So, are you lost? Or just profoundly stupid?’

Ouch. Damn. This woman is absolutely incredible.

Brandon’s expression shifts dramatically, from swaggering confidence to stunned, with a hint of hurt. Bullseye.

I doubt she spent much time in their relationship speaking to him this bluntly. Which only makes him a bigger asshole in my book. She was good to him – I’d stake everything on it – yet he likely betrayed her repeatedly.

‘Relax, I was just having some fun with ya,’ he insists, forcing out a laugh that rings false, a pitiful mask of deceit. ‘I saw you from across the street and thought I’d drop by and say hello,’ he purrs, his voice dripping with insincere sweetness as if they’re old friends.

‘Next time, don’t,’ Lucy shoots back.

‘You don’t even want to know that I’m engaged?’

With that unwanted proclamation, he thrusts his phone toward me, then her, flaunting a picture of a woman with a ring that glistens with malicious intent. Lucy’s gasp of horror is a dagger to the heart. She’s stunned silent, like a statue.

Uh-oh.

‘Now you can move on and know you didn’t destroy me. Closure, I thought we could use some. So, there ya go. I’m off the market.’

The woman at the table next to me gasps in disbelief at his brazen words. I agree. Shit. This dude is a bigger fucking moron than I thought.

I glance at Lucy, her hands clenched into fists as she averts her gaze my way, unable to even look at him. I’ve got a feeling she’s at a crossroads, deciding this man’s fate. Will she choose life or death?

I impulsively stand, just in case she hits him like she did at the alter. Which, I’m totally on board with if that’s her move, but I don’t think the coffee shop will approve. I’d hate to have this girl banned from her favorite coffee house and hauled off to jail for assaulting a prick who deserves to be buried alive.

But she raises a calm hand, calling me off silently. As I sit back down, she turns to Brandon, her hands now clasped in front of her.

‘Well, congratulations,’ she says with a tight smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. ‘How classy of you to recycle the same ring, she must feel like a true second-hand princess. I do hope your new victim has taken the necessary precautions to keep you in line – microchip, tracking device, or at the very least, a leash. Considering you tend to stray.’

Brandon releases an exaggerated sigh, rolling his eyes with dismissive arrogance. He glances at me, scoffing, ‘She thinks she’s funny.’

‘She’s brilliant,’ I reply.

‘Can I see you—’ Suddenly, Lucy’s hand clamps onto his bicep with a grip that likely bites into his skin. ‘Over here,’ she commands, dragging him a few feet away, just inside the edge of my hearing.

I take a sip of my coffee, scanning the shop, when I suddenly feel the weight of eyes staring back at me.

‘It’s all good,’ I say, nonchalantly to their audience. ‘He needs closure or something. I don’t think she’ll murder him right here.’ I shrug, lifting my palms as if hopeful.

Lucy inhales sharply, her breaths deliberate, as the electric tension gradually unwinds. ‘I want you to listen without words. Got it?’

He nods once.

‘I don’t forgive you,’ she declares, her voice edged with a steely resolve, as if she’s rehearsed this moment a thousand times. ‘Unfortunately, I did truly love you, and now I’m convinced more than ever that you never felt the same. Honestly, it’s a little freeing because I’ve been ready to let my heart out of mourning, and I think your idiotic words have finally sparked that liberation. So, thank you.’

That was so grown-up. I’m proud of her. Not sure what my reaction would have been if this was me, but according to Aaron it’d likely be silence.

She takes a breath, dropping her shoulders and relaxing her clasped hands. A slight sweet smile crosses her face, and she continues.

‘I wish you nothing but the absolute worst. May your mattress become a torture device for your spine. May your water heater become your daily nemesis, scalding your pathetic manhood with every shower you take. May you accidentally wash your hair with Nair. And if this girl is truly the one for you, I hope you treat her the way she deserves, have the perfect life, and then she cheats.’

---