Page 92 of The Best Book Boyfriend
“She said she’d get me fired if I didn’t leave you.”
“What?” I almost feel sorry for him, but I catch that feeling fast and mentally bat it away. We do not feel sorry for liars and cheats in this house.
“She threatened me. I had no choice.”
“You had a choice to not cheat on me. And then you lost your job, anyway, am I right?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you realise how pathetic this sounds?”
“I don’t know what you want me to say.” Jesus, he is such a twat.
“Adam, I know you’ve split up with her. I saw you on Tinder. Unless you’re cheating on her, too?”
“I ended it. I realised I shouldn’t have left you.”
“You finally realised that after a year, did you? That doesn’t really explain the whole online dating thing, does it? You think you can just walk back in here and act like nothing happened? Like nothing has changed.” He scoffs, looking cocky and dismissive, and I just stand there, heart pounding, face fuming.
“Wait, what areyoudoing on Tinder?” he laughs.
“What?” It’s far from funny. I know what he really means. Who would want me? “Was I supposed to just sit around here waiting for you to come back? Do you really think I’m that much of a doormat? Actually, don’t answer that, because I probably was that much of a doormat when you left. But you’re not the same person I fell in love with, Adam. And I’m not the same person you left.” I’m Wonder Woman now, standing with my hands on my hips, taking up space in my own bloody house that he is nothing but a stain on. “I don’t want you back. You can’t come back.”
“You’re forgetting something, babe.” I used to love that nickname. Now it makes me want to punch him in the face and throw him off a bridge. “This is my house, too.”
Even though I knew this moment would come, it’s a slap in the face. I remember something Megan taught me a while ago and take a slow deep breath to avoid screaming. I’ve got to get this next bit right without crumbling into hysterics.
“Adam. You haven’t paid a penny of the mortgage since you left. I’ve paid all the bills myself.”
“My name is still on the deeds.”There we go.A dick move from a dick guy.
“I’ll buy you out.” He lifts his head and I realise that for the first time since he got here, he’s actually looking at me. I’ve put every penny from my Instagram income in savings since he left and thank God. “I don’t want to talk about this right now, but I’ll call the solicitor on Monday and speak to you through them. I’ve got the money, I’ll buy your half.”
He’s genuinely speechless.
“Look, it’s time for you to go.” I motion for him to get up and he stands and walks out of the room, which tells me everything I need to know. He didn’t really want to come back. He doesn’t really want me. He just hasn’t got anywhere else to go.
I follow him through to the front door, where he’s pulling his shoes back on. When he opens the door to leave, I take a deep breath, summoning the strength to say my final piece.
“Adam.”
“Yeah,” he pauses, half in, half out of my house, my life.
“You haven’t even said sorry.”
“What?”
“The actual words ‘I am sorry’have never come out of your mouth, not even once. I am sorry for cheating on you. I’m sorry for breaking your heart. I’m sorry for leaving you alone. It’s like you never even cared about me.”
He stares at the floor. Even when I’m asking for it, he still can’t even say it.
“If you’d come back six months ago, maybe even three months ago, you’d have found me so sad and pathetic I probably would have taken you back. You were the only person who’d ever had my heart, and you smashed it to pieces, and I still loved you even despite that. But I’ve recently realised I deserve so much better than you.”
“What changed?”
“I met Luke.” And with that, I close the door in his face.
I expect to burst into tears. Heavy and shaky, months of tension pulling my body down as I flop onto the sofa and wait for tears to come. Except the sofa is warm, and I realise my face is in the same spot where Adam just had his bum. Repulsed, I leap up and the only sound is laughter. I roll with it, letting my feelings escape my body faster than I can process them. From the kitchen I hear the radio playing some song about being free and I consider it a gift from the universe.
