Page 71 of Some Kinda Romance

“What? No. I⁠—”

“You have no idea what it was like living with him for so long,” I kept going, too angry, disappointed, and shocked to entertain his excuses. “Ethan tried to control me for the entire duration of our marriage. He made me feel like I was crazy for suspecting him of cheating. Until I finally found proof. Sometimes, he was so smart about his manipulations that I didn’t even realize what he was doing, and at others, he outright told me I was stupid and that I wouldn’t be anything without him.”

My chest was heaving at this point, bright red spots dancing in my field of vision. I was fifty percent sure that if I hadn’t been holding on to the door, I’d have been swaying. “He broke me down until there was nothing left. I was a shadow of myself for so damn long and it took everything I never even knew I had to claw myself out of that hole, and you just stood there, telling him to leave you out of it? I’m sorry, Dash. That’s just really not good enough.”

It wasn’t that I needed a big strong man to fight my battles for me. I’d been forged in fire and no matter what, I would always get through whatever life sent my way, but the fact of the matter was that I also didn’t need a partner who didn’t have any backbone.

I didn’t need someone else in my life to protect when the backlash came after Ethan did whatever he was going to do next. Moreover, I didn’t need someone I couldn’t trust to actually be there for me. If a relationship was a partnership, I didn’t have the energy for a good-times partner. One who enjoyed the sex and our time alone together, but who couldn’t buck up when shit got real.

Dash looked into my eyes as I ranted at him, searching them like he couldn’t understand the words that had come out of my mouth and was looking for some other clue, but he wasn’t going to get it from me.

“I didn’t know all of that, Serenity. I was just trying not to escalate⁠—”

I shook my head at him, then closed the door in his face, the disappointment weighing me down so much that I tossed the flowers on my kitchen counter. They were gorgeous, and I’d put them in a vase later, but just not right then.

Stumbling to the nearest couch, I collapsed on it, scrubbing my hands over my face and letting out a loud groan into my palms. Men suck.

I stayed there for a long time, pondering whether there was a future for me with Dash after all. Honestly, I didn’t know. At this point, it didn’t feel like it would be anything but a waste of time.

Another knock sounded at my door and my heart lurched, but I forced myself up and back across the room. Please, please don’t be Ethan. Or Dash.

Steeling myself for the probability of it being one of them, I glanced into the peephole and grinned, swinging the door open in the same motion. “Jules! What are you doing here? I thought you were on a date.”

“It was awful, so I ditched it and came here instead.” She looked me up and down before she frowned. “Why do you look like you were hit by a hurricane?”

“Long story,” I said as I stepped aside, waving her in and checking that neither man was lingering in the hallway before shutting the door behind her. “Tell me yours first. What made the date so awful?”

“The dude was a serious narcissist,” she said on an exaggerated sigh. “He also tried to order for me, and when I said I’d do it myself, he insisted. I left when he kept telling me how to eat the crap he’d ordered and exactly which drinks to pair it with.”

“Maybe he was trying to show off,” I suggested meekly. “On the other hand, it does sound like he has issues. Good on you for walking away.”

She chuckled, then took my hand and started dragging me toward my bedroom. “Since I’m already dressed and you look like you could use it, we’re going out for a few drinks. I’ll tell you all about Mr. Narcissist and you can tell me what on earth happened to you tonight.”

I groaned. “I really don’t feel like⁠—”

“Nope, we’re doing it.”

Once we got to my bedroom, I relented, knowing I’d probably feel better for getting out of the house. As I got dressed, I told her all the drama with Dash and Ethan, and she sympathized, proceeding to get me tipsy after we got to a bar nearby.

We drank, we bitched about the male species and their tendency to let us down, and then we drank some more before eventually we realized it was time to head home. All things considered, I was happy I’d let her drag me out, but as we collapsed into the backseat of a cab and headed back to my apartment, I was also happy to be on my way to bed.

It’d been another long day and I desperately needed sleep—and to figure out once again how on earth I was supposed to pull my life together.