What did I expect?
What did I expect?
“Oh, I don’t know. How about the bloody truth? That you’re so full of hate that there was no room left for loving me.” There’s room for Ivee, though, which makes me wonder if he’s truly let go of the past or if he’s stuffed her into the tiny gaps between all his loathing.
“I’m sure your Unseelie will make it all better,” he sneers.
“We aren’t?—”
“Save it.I saw the two of you together. You could’ve chosen someone else—anyone else. But no, you had to go off with one ofthem.”
I don’t owe Nolan an explanation. I don’t owe him a damn thing. “That doesn’t give you the right to drag my name through the mud. It doesn’t mean you have to get engaged to that wretched?—”
“Be careful what you say about my fiancée.”
Oh, sure. He defendsher, the worst woman I know; meanwhile, he tells everyone who will listen that I’m a controlling witch.
Speaking of the worst woman I know, there’s something about this whole situation that doesn’t add up.
“When did it start?”
“When did what start?”
“Your relationship, you dolt. I find it hard to believe the two of you fell madly in love over the last week. That you’re so infatuated with each other after only a few days. That you would agree to marry her when you just claimed you might never marry.” Had he left me at the quarry and gone straight toher?
Nolan doesn’t immediately answer, which of course leaves me assuming the worst.
“Tell me you weren’t with her while we were together.” That he wasn’t sleeping with us both at the same bloody time.
Dragging a hand through his tangled hair, he blows out a frustrated huff. “After the prince died, Ivee and I were both grieving, and in our sorrow, we found comfort in each other.”
Isn’t that just bloody wonderful? They found comfort while I was grappling with trying to forgive him for the awful things he’d done. They were holding one another while I was crying myself to sleep all alone.
What about when we resolved our differences? Did he simply toss her aside to reconcile with me? And if he did, what kind of woman would put up with being treated like that?
I’m not jealous of Ivee. At first, maybe I was. But now?
Now, I pity her.
She’s not getting the Nolan I first met.
She’s getting a twisted, unfaithful version I don’t even recognize. One that would use someone and discard them once they’ve served their purpose.
“I wish you a long and miserable life, Nolan Graham.”
Good riddance to him.
Good riddance to them both.
Instead of skirting around the city center, I stroll past every crowded café on my way to The Black Rose. That’s right. I’m not looking for baked goods anymore.
I’m on the hunt for a stiff drink and a good ride.
Whispers follow in my wake, but I no longer care to listen to the gossip. Another scandal will arise soon enough. The rumor mill will grind down some other innocent or not-so-innocent fae, and I’ll be forgotten like yesterday’s lunch.
The moment my slipper crosses the pub’s threshold, three fae trip over themselves to get to me.
Yes, this is exactly what I needed.
