He looks at me, clearly at a loss for words.
“You said it yourself. Sometimes, truths change,” I say.
“Jessa…”
“I’m sorry, Chris. I want to stay with him.”
“What has he offered you apart from protection from Marina?” Chris demands. “Is he offering love? Has he even said he loves you?”
The waitress approaches suddenly with a bright smile on her face. “Sorry it’s taken me so long to get to your table. We’re packed today.”
I slowly get to my feet. “That’s okay. I was just leaving.”
Chris jolts out of his seat and grabs my arm. “Jess, please. Don’t do this.”
The waitress looks awkwardly between us. “I’ll… give you two a minute.” She rushes off, and I notice that Lev and the bodyguard squadron are still sitting two tables down from us. All eyes on me.
“Don’t go, Jessa.”
I shake my head. “I have to.”
“Leave him and be with me,” he tries again.
“I don’t love you like that, Chris. I don’t think I can.”
He winces a little. I hate that I have to hurt him to help him understand the reality of our situation.
“You haven’t tried.”
“Oh, Chris,” I say, feeling miserable and guilty all in one breath. “You’ll always be my best friend. Nothing will change that, okay?”
I grab my bag and he drops his hand as defeat washes over him.
“Fine,” he says, the color draining from his face. “But if you insist on doing this, I can’t be in your life, Jessa.”
“Chris, wait—”
“No, I’m serious. I watched you make two mistakes already. I refuse to go for number three.”
He walks away before I can, throwing Lev and his men a dirty look as he goes.
Lev lets him pass and then walks over to me. “That looked intense. You wanna talk about it?
“No,” I whisper. “I just want to go home.”