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“How long have you wanted to get rid of me?”
“What do you mean?” His confused expression didn't sway me.
“You know it's funny how I dedicated most of my time to helping….” I trailed. It was my job to help her. But fuck it, I sacrificed to be here… to remain here.
“How long have I been an unnecessary burden?”
Realization crossed his eyes.
“Since the fight with Dad or since you fucked me?”
“Evie, no. It was never that.” He took a step forward.
I shook my head. “Then what was it?”
“Please just listen–”
“You treated me like trash. Still, I looked past your flaws. I understood the burdens of your past and even shared in them. And this… this is what I get in return?”
“I promise you, it wasn't that. I was—”
“I stayed, Ethan,” my voice broke. I couldn't hold back my emotions… the words.
“I stayed for Sophie. I stayed because I loved you.”
With the back of my palms, I wiped my tears.
“I should have expected nothing less from a self-centered prick like you.”
My jaw clenched, the energy in me slowly draining.
There were still words to be said but they refused to come out.
I didn't deserve this. Any of this mess.
Dad was right. And I was a fool for thinking Ethan could be a better person.
“I quit.”
forty-one
Ethan
The last time I felt a pain in my chest was in college. It was a muscle strain from going to hard at the gym.
I would take painkillers and after a while, the pain would subside.
But this pain was different. It was deeper than any muscle strain. It was stronger than the alleviating power of any painkiller.
I stared at the door she slammed shut, the harsh echo ricocheting through the space.
“I stayed because I loved you.”
“I should have expected nothing less from a self-centered prick like you.”
Her words echoed louder in my head before settling in my heart, each one knifing the walls of my chest.
Her hurt expression mocked me. It taunted me… made me realize what I’d finally lost.
