His face crumples.“Olivia...”
“But you took that away when you chose to cheat on me.”I take a breath, and it comes out steadier than I expected.“You took away any possibility of us being friends when you sent that voicemail to Amber, mocking me.Humiliating me.”
“I didn’t mean...”He stops, swallows.“I was being cruel.I know that.There’s no excuse for it.”
“No,” I agree.“There isn’t.You don’t get to be cruel and expect forgiveness.”
Chase takes a step forward, and instinctively, I take one back.He freezes, his hand half-raised like he was going to reach for me.
“We can still fix this,” he says desperately.“I’ll change.I’ll...”
“No.”The word drops between us like a stone.
“No?”He stares at me like I’ve spoken a foreign language.
“I don’t take back cheaters, Chase.And even if I did...”I glance toward the house, where I can see Alexander’s silhouette in the window.“I’m with Alexander now.”
His face twists with something ugly.Anger, jealousy, hurt all mixed together.“You can’t actually love him.You barely know him.”
The laugh that escapes me is genuine, almost pitying.“I know him better than you think.And yes, I love him.”
“Amber just wanted me because you had me,” he blurts out, the words tumbling over each other in his rush to get them out.“That’s all it was.She didn’t actually want me, she just wanted to beat you.”
I nod slowly.“I know.”
“You...You know?”
“Of course I know.Anyone with eyes could see that, Chase.Amber’s spent her entire life trying to compete with me over things I don’t even care about.”
He’s staring at me.“Then why didn’t you say something?”
“Why would I?You cheated on me with her.What you two did or didn’t have was no longer my problem.”
“I didn’t realize it until...”He swallows hard.“I was supposed to propose to her.Had everything planned.But after Alexander proposed to you, she suddenly wanted to change everything.Make it grander, more expensive than yours.Nothing I had planned was good enough anymore.”
Despite myself, I wince.That sounds exactly like Amber.
“That’s when I realized,” Chase continues, his voice breaking.“She never wanted me.She just wanted to win.She wanted to rub it in your face.”
“I’m sorry,” I say after a moment, and I mean it.Not sorry that we broke up.I’m grateful for that every single day.But sorry that he’s hurting.Sorry that he’s finally seeing what everyone else saw months ago.
“Don’t.”He shakes his head violently.“Don’t apologize to me.I’m the one who...”His voice cracks again.“Can’t we at least be friends?”
The question hangs in the air, and I almost—almost—feel bad for what I’m about to say.
“Not only did you cheat on me,” I say quietly, “you tried to humiliate me by sending that voicemail to Amber.You mocked me to the woman you were cheating on me with.You made a joke out of our entire relationship, and you did it deliberately.You chose to be cruel.”
His face goes pale.“I...”
“Any hope for a friendship flew out the window the moment you did that.”I take another step back, and this time my hand finds the car door, grounding me.“I wish you well, Chase.I really do.But we’re nothing more than acquaintances now.”
“Olivia, please...”
“I need to go inside.”I glance toward the house again, and my chest tightens with something warm and bright.“Alexander’s waiting for me.”
“You really think he’s better than me?”The question comes out bitter, defensive.“He’s just some rich guy who...”
“He’s everything I never thought I could have.”The words come easily, truth ringing in every syllable.“He loves me the way you never did, Chase.And I’m not talking about money or fancy dinners or expensive rings.”
