Their limbs intertwined as intimately as long-time lovers.
The sharp pain in my chest had me dragging out a croaky, “Cade?”
Like I needed confirmation from him that this was a figment of my imagination. Far from reality. A fucked-up nightmare I’d somehow found myself trapped in.
I cradled my stomach, an incessant pain thrumming in my core.
Was this really happening to me?
Was the man that I loved with my whole being actually fucking cheating on me while I was pregnant with our baby?
I stood rooted in place, soaking in the situation like I was having an out-of-body experience while my dreams of a futurewith Cade shattered to a million pieces.
In the blink of an eye, he destroyed us.
All my love. All my trust. Instantly gone.
“Ella?” he slurred, drunk and high, appearing shocked and disoriented as he stared at me.
The girl next to him seemed intoxicated as well, watching the entire scene unfold with hints of confusion and horror on her expression.
“You fucking asshole,” I fumed. “This is…This is what you’ve been doing this whole time? You’ve been…”
Cheating.
I couldn’t force the word out. It was foul. Something that didn’t belong in my vocabulary, much less something to be associated with Cade.
And yet the evidence was right in front of my face.
My blood boiled and tears smarted my eyes. I wouldn’t let them fall. I wouldn’t let him see how much he wrecked me with his treachery.
Behind me, a crowd gathered, composed of the same St. Victorians who’d stared at me with envy. Now they were gasping and guffawing at my predicament. Flashlights burst in the room as they took pictures and videos of the scene, immortalizing this juicy piece of gossip for everyone to see.
Something about my words and the people flocking around us had Cade snapping into motion. He stood up, eyes going wide with realization. As if he finally registered the depth of the situation. The utter wrongness of it.
Nowhe was seeing me. Every bloody and broken inch, held together by stitches of my stubborn pride.
“Ella…” Cade extended a trembling hand my way. To stop me from leaving? To provide him comfort? “It’s not…It’s not…wait…”
“It’s not what it looks like?” I growled. “Give me a break. It’sexactly what it looks like!”
“Ella…Please…I…” Cade was so far gone with booze and drugs that he couldn’t stand on his feet without swaying like he was on a carnival ride.
If he wasn’t intoxicated, would he have cheated on me? Or has this been going on for a while and tonight is the first time I caught him?
Bile rose in my throat. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it.
“Stay the fuck away from me, you piece of shit!” I fisted my hands to stop myself from doing any physical damage I would regret. Including clawing out my own stupid heart and throwing it at his head, blood splatters and all. “We. Are. Fucking. Done!”
Shooting daggers at Cade and the girl, I retreated a few steps and collided with a solid body. One of the St. Victorians I didn’t like. He beamed at me mockingly. “Smile for the camera, babyyy!”
Anger rushed through my veins.
Taking the piñata, I whacked it against him until he fell into the swarm of people with a pathetic squeak. Squeals and curses erupted as Jolly Ranchers exploded from the penis-shaped cardboard like confetti. Then I snatched his phone and whipped it hard against the wall, breaking the screen and hopefully the device as a whole.
From his position on the floor, he yelled in disbelief. “What the fuck, bitch?”
Usually the quintessential good girl in front of these people, their shock at my outburst was palpable in the air. They’d never seen me like this. And unaccustomed to my bad side, they had no idea what I was capable of.
