“You can’t come into my house, eat my lasagna, leave your clothes all over the place, co-opt my cat, and then tell me to clean up after you and make you coffee!”
“I’m the victim here,” I reminded her.
“Are you? Because all I see is a spoiled man-child. And you know what?” she continued. “You and Camilla should have gotten married. She’s a sociopathic bridezilla, and you’re an entitled billionaire. You two are a match made in hell. I can’t believe I ever felt sorry for you.”
“Yeah, and I can’t believe I came here expecting sympathy from you!” I spat, swinging my long legs off the bed to stand in front of her. “All you do is sit in your sad little apartment and plan weddings. It’s no wonder you don’t have a boyfriend. No man in his right mind wants to be saddled with an uptight shrew.”
“After having to suffer with you, I’m glad I’m single!” Ivy yelled then picked up a shoe and threw it at me.
I dodged it, and Ivy cursed as it hit the white wall, leaving a black scuff.
“Get dressed and get out of my house.”
* * *
“Doing the walk of shame, eh?”a garbage man shouted at me as I walked down the empty streets in the pale morning light.
I nodded in greeting then kept walking. I felt bad about yelling at Ivy. It wasn’t right. In fact, it was the type of shit Camilla would always do: throw my worst insecurities at me. I wished I had kept my mouth shut. Then I could have continued to stay at her place. Now where would I go? I couldn’t go back to the condo I had shared with Camilla.
I did, of course, still have my penthouse bachelor pad. Camilla had wanted me to get rid of it. I had lied and told her I was in the process of selling, but in reality, I had never contacted a realtor. Maybe it was my subconscious telling me something wasn’t right with Camilla.
Before I could go to my penthouse, I needed to stop by my sister’s condo for the spare set of keys I kept there.
“Oh my god, Evan!” Mika exclaimed when she opened the door. She wrapped me in a hug.
“You only just saw me yesterday, sis,” I said, hugging her back.
“I thought something terrible had happened to you!” she cried. Then she punched me. “Where were you? We’ve been up all night looking for you. I thought—” She clamped her mouth shut.
“You thought that I had thrown myself off a bridge because I was so heartbroken over Camilla?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Mika looked up at me.
I patted my little sister on the head. “Just go ahead and say it.”
“I’m so glad you’re not dead,” Mika told me.
“No, the other thing.”
She punched me again.
“Ow!”
“I told you so! I told you Camilla was a lying, scummy bitch.”
“You did,” I said, rubbing my arm.
“Where were you, anyway?” Mika hissed as I followed her back into her open living room and kitchen. “I had to spend the entire night with our family.”
“Evan!” my stepmother said, hobbling over to me. She was still in her wedding outfit and looked like she was on her third bottle of the wine that Camilla had imported from Italy with a custom label of our faces and everything.
“Yesterday was an endurance test. Honestly, how could the wedding planner have let that happen?” my stepmother asked dramatically.
“Excuse me,” I interjected, stepping back from my stepmother. “Ivy had nothing to do with this. She is the furthest person to have anything to do with this. Camilla cheated on me with two men, one of whom is my own father and your ex-husband.”
My stepmother rolled her eyes. “Men like him cheat. You would have cheated on Camilla eventually too. It’s part of our world.”
“I would not,” I growled. “I honor my promises. I can’t believe you’re so blasé about this.”
