I feel bad for Tara. It’s clear she had no idea he was a lying sack of shit. A lying sack of shit who apparently went to a bar last week when his fiancée was sleeping over at my house.
God, how could we have not seen it? He practically threw us out the door when I picked Izzy up for our slumber party.
“How long have you ...” Izzy takes a calming breath. “How long has this been going on, Craig?”
“This is the first time.”
“The first time you slept with Tara or the first time you cheated on me?”
He winces. “With Tara.”
The woman in question gasps, just as shocked as we are.
“What?!” She lets out another sob, and it’s the worst sound I’ve ever heard. The only thing holding me back from attacking this prick is that Izzy needs me much more than I need to punch him.
I reach out, grabbing her hand, letting her know I’m here for her.
“How long?” she asks. “How long have you been lying to me?”
“I ... fuck, Iz. I don’t know.” He exhales heavily, eyes rimmed red with unshed tears.
He looks sad. Broken. I just wish I could tell if it’s because he actually feels bad about what he did or if he’s upset he got caught.
“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. But this ... this is why I proposed, Iz. I ... I have a problem. IknowI have a problem. Getting married will fix that, though. Once we’re husband and wife, I won’t have to do this anymore. We’ll be together for real.”
Her face crumples. “Together for real? We’re already together for real! How is this”—she holds up her hand, flashing the very ring Craig put on it—“not real?! How isfive yearstogether not real?”
I can’t believe that’s how much time she’s wasted on the man who clearly doesn’t love her.
That’s a long time to squander, especially for something that ended in heartbreak.
Heartbreak, which is inevitably how the thing with Noah will end too. This right here has proved that. It’s proved that the curse is real and that it’s unafraid to touch those I love.
“I can’t believe this.” Izzy shakes her head. “I can’t believe you’d do this to me.”
“I know, baby. I know, and you have no idea how sorry I am. You have no idea how much this has been eating me alive. I just ... I couldn’t stop, you know? They were all just so tempting.”
“They?” She lets out another cry. “I don’t even want to know how many. Please never tell me how many.”
“Baby ...” He tries to reach for her again, and I smack his hand away.
He glowers at me, but I don’t back down.
“What the fuck did you even come up here for?”
What he really means is, this is all my fault. I’m the one who got him caught and is breaking Izzy’s heart.
“My earrings. She came up here to get my grandmother’s earrings. I didn’t want to ...” She shudders out a breath. “I didn’t want to get married without them.”
Izzy turns to me, and I hold her as sobs rack her body. I hate this. I hate this so fucking much. I hate Craig too. I hate his smug face and his fancy job. I hate his gym bro lifestyle and his obnoxious friends too.
I hate that he hurt my best friend.
“Hey, Craig, you home?”
We all freeze, and Izzy stiffens in my arms. Tara’s eyes grow twice their size, and she looks like she’s hoping a hole would open in the floor and swallow her up.
“I used the code. I hope you don’t mind. I was just coming to check on you. Izzy isn’t at the rehearsal dinner yet, and neither is Odette, but that woman is late to everything.” Noah chuckles lightly as his feet land on the stairs. “I just wanted to stop by and make sure everything was okay.”
