“That’s what you get, you asshole,” Oaklee says, coming up to support her friend. Her pregnant belly is round beneath her black maxi dress.
“That’s what I get?”
“You hurt us, so we found your weakness. We got you drunk and then tricked you into marrying her so she could take half your money and pay you back for what you did. You’ll lose half of everything,” Oaklee continues.
I look at Millie dead in the eyes, and I know without her reacting that it’s all true.
“How long have you remembered? This entire time?”
Millie swallows hard, and I realize I don’t want to hear the answer.
I hold up my hand, stopping her from speaking as I feel all eyes on me. I feel the ring in my pocket—a ring of unknown origin. But one I plan on throwing into the ocean as soon as possible.
My heart has never beat faster, never been more panicked, more pained, more broken. I look at the only woman I ever imagined as my wife. A wife that will be able to take half of everything I own. She said it was pretend, but it wasn’t, it was real. The marriage certificate was real. Legally, we existed. And emotionally, I fell for her. This is as real as it gets.
I thought I’d make it real tonight. I thought I’d cement us together forever.
It became real, but we won’t be locked together forever.
And then I say the words that I thought I’d only say under false pretenses, but they have never been truer.
“We’re over.”
38
Millie
We’re over.
I thought I was prepared to hear him say those words. But hearing them with all of the pain in his voice rips through me like an ax.
Our fight was supposed to be pretend, but there was nothing fake about our fight. It was completely real.
The crowd is quiet as we stand. They part w
hen Sebastian heads back into the house.
I close my eyes, needing some strength before I chase after him.
“It’s for the best,” Oaklee says next to me.
I open my eyes, sending her a glare. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“That was the plan all along, though.”
“I didn’t remember the plan until the other night. And he didn’t deserve that.”
“But—“
“We were wrong. It was a mistake. Boden did what he did on his own.”
“Are you sure?”
I nod.
“Shit.”
I don’t have time to explain everything to Oaklee. I start running, even though I’m wearing uncomfortable wedge heels that I struggle to run in, I run.