My fist clenches around the shirt I’m holding. “What’s thereto talk about, Charlotte? My boyfriend fucked you on the night before our anniversary, and now the whole world knows about it.”
“That’s what I came here to talk to you about.” She shuffles her feet, chewing on her bottom lip. “Maddox, he…” Clearing her throat, she fixes her gaze to the ground. “He never cheated on you. We didn’t sleep together. It-it was all a lie.”
“Did Maddox reach out and tell you to come say this?” I ask, glaring at her.
She shakes her head. “No, I came here on my own. I saw on Instagram that you were having a pop-up shop, and wanted to come here and talk to you. I haven’t spoken to Maddox in years, I swear.”
“If you didn’t sleep together, then why the hell did you come out of his room wearing his clothes?” I say through gritted teeth.
She inhales deeply, her hands twisting the hem of her shirt. “When I was at the party, I heard his roommate Andrés and his girlfriend talking about how you were flying in the next morning to surprise him. I waited until everyone left, and stayed behind at his apartment. I wanted to get him to sleep with me, but he was too passed-out drunk. So I devised a plan to trick you into thinking he cheated on you with me.”
Rage consumes every fiber of my being. My heart is beating so loudly, I can hear it pounding in my ears.
“I-I should’ve told you the truth sooner, but I couldn’t find the courage,” she continues, unable to meet my eyes. “It’s been eating at me these last few years. I feel so guilty about what I did. I was a horrible person.”
“You are un-fucking-believable!” I snap. “What was the point in all of this?”
“I thought, with you out of the picture, Maddox would finally want to be with me. It was stupid to think he would ever love anyone but you,” she says, shaking her head. “You don’t know how sorry I am. I wish I could take it back.” Shetakes a step forward, lifting her eyes to mine. “Will you f-forgive me?”
It takes everything in me not to slap her across her conniving face.
“Forgive you?” I scoff. “You manipulated me into thinking Maddox cheated on me. Do you have any idea how much damage you caused because of your lies? You destroyed our relationship. You destroyedme.”
“I was young and stupid. I swear I’m not that person anymore. Please find it in your heart to forgive me,” she pleads, her eyes welling up with tears.
I let out a bitter laugh. “I’m not giving you that satisfaction. You don’t deserve my forgiveness. Now, please get the hell out of my face.”
Her bottom lip quivers and she turns on her heel, walking out of the shop.
Guilt sinks in my gut. Maddox has done everything in his power to show me how much he loves me, but I threw it all away and believed her lies.
I need to tell him how sorry I am. He needs to know how much I love him.
Gathering the rest of the clothes, I head to the parking lot. After I throw the box inside my trunk, I pull out my phone and search for tickets for tonight’s game. Once the tickets are purchased, I start the ignition and drive to the stadium.
The usher scans my ticket and lets me through. The game doesn’t start for another hour and a half, but they allow fans to observe the players practicing before it starts.
I walk down the steps toward the floor of the arena and the usher calls after me. “Excuse me, miss, you need to stay in your section.”
Ignoring her, I continue on.
She catches up to me and grabs my arm. “I’m going to need you to go back to your seat or I’m calling security to escort you out.”
“No, please! I need to talk to Maddox.” I scan the area for him but he’s nowhere to be found.
She lets out a sigh, giving my arm a tug. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“Let me go!” I yell, trying to yank free from her grasp.
“Annalise?” Elijah turns his attention toward me. He passes the ball to Darius and jogs up to me.
“It’s okay,” he tells the usher. “She’s my friend. And Maddox’s girlfriend.”
The usher lets go of my arm. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know who you were.”
She clears her throat and heads back upstairs.
“Where’s Maddox? I need to see him.”
