Page 6 of Ever After

“Thanks for the seat.” I slump down in the chair, still scrolling on my phone. Everything is so expensive at the last minute. I don’t know where to stay that’ll eliminate the chance of running into Aiden. There are a lot of other cities I can go to and stay in. Why should I be doing this? Aiden is the one who put us into this mess. He should have to find somewhere else to stay. I can’t even stand to talk to him right now to tell him to leave the room. The more I look, the more frustrated I get. I slam my phone down. Images of Aiden and that girl run through my mind on repeat. I feel the guy staring at me, so I meet his eyes.

“What are you staring at?”

He looks a little taken aback. “Sorry, I just... are you okay? I’m Jay, by the way.”

Despite not being in the mood to start a conversation with a stranger, I did take his seat. I mutter, “I’m Lilah.”

“Beautiful name.” He grins, and I can’t help but notice he has an amazing smile. It makes me angry. I should hate all men right now. I should hate all of their stupid smiles. I give him a slight smile and look back at the live band that is on the stage playing.

A few minutes pass by, and I still notice him staring at me. I turn and look over at him. “Can I help you?” I ask, getting more annoyed.

He clears his voice and asks, “Are you waiting for your husband? I can move over?”

I squint my eyebrows, confused. “No.” Why would he ask that?

“Did you travel alone to Hawaii?” he asks.

Hesitant to answer, I say “No.” Now this is really getting weird. Is he a human trafficker? No, he wouldn’t be a human trafficker picking someone up in a well-established place. I should leave. This is the last thing I need.

“I was wondering because I see you’re wearing a wedding ring,” he says, looking down at my left hand that is laying on my lap.

Why is he even asking these questions? I pull my wedding ring off and throw it in my purse. I don’t want to wear this thing. It represents nothing it’s supposed to represent.

“I came here with my husband, but about an hour ago I walked in on him fucking someone else in our hotel room.” I gasp. Oh god, why did I blurt that out? “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I blurted that out.” He’s going to think I’m fucking crazy.

He looks over at me with a concerned look. “Don’t be sorry. That’s a hard situation. I couldn’t imagine coming here and finding my wife doing that. Are you okay?”

“Honestly, I think I’m in shock right now. Not sure what to think or do. I left all my stuff in the hotel room and came here. You don’t want to hear this on your vacation. I’m sorry. Ugh. Sorry. I don’t know why I keep saying sorry.”

He lets out a quick chuckle. “You don’t have to be sorry for anything. I understand some of what you’re going through. I’m supposed to be here with my now ex-fiancée. This was supposed to be our honeymoon trip.”

Now I feel even worse that I’ve been such a bitch to him. He’s going through a hard time too. “Oh really? What happened? I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. It’s none of my business.” I want to put my head in my hands and forget any of this is happening.

“The day of our wedding, I found out she was sleeping with one of my best friends. He was a groomsman in our wedding.”

My eyes grow wide. “That’s awful.”

“It is. I wish I found out sooner. After all the money we spent on the wedding and this honeymoon…well, it would’ve saved me a lot.”

I try to take a sip of my drink, but realize I’m out.

“Do you want another drink?” he asks, motioning to my empty glass.

“Yes, thank you. This is going to be a long night. Might as well enjoy it.” I shouldn’t have more shots at this point. I’m getting pretty drunk. Jay asks the waiter for another mojito for me, and as he’s asking the waiter, I realize how handsome he is. He has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a nice tan on him. Both of his arms have tattooed sleeves on them. He’s dressed very simple, in a black T-shirt and shorts and some white sneakers.

I’m pulled out of my thoughts when I feel my phone vibrate. I grab it off the table. “Shit,” I mumble to myself. It’s Aiden. I turn my phone off and shove it in my purse. Fuck him, he can worry for once.

“So, if you came to your honeymoon, did your ex come, too?” I question.

He finishes the last gulp of his beer and looks over at me. “No. This was going to be a surprise. She didn’t know about it.”

This honeymoon was to surprise her, and she gave him the worst surprise instead. How can people treat their significant others like this? I look over at him as he twirls his empty beer bottle in circles.

“Did you come alone, then?”

“Yes, I wanted a trip to myself after everything. I thought maybe it’d clear my mind.”

“I get that. I was thinking of leaving and going back home, but why should I? I’m already here.” I shrug. “When did you get here?”

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