Caroline lifted her coffee from the machine, laughing. “While I get that it must be hard seeing Hannah moving on, it’snotmy problem. So…do the right thing and leave, please.”
And then she calmly turned her back and walked away, hoping that was the end of this ridiculous situation. Hannah had better things to do than entertain an ex who had ghosted her, and that was exactly why Caroline wasn’t worried about the ex being around.
Chapter26
Hannah stared,dumbfounded, as Caroline walked away. When she woke up this morning, she hadn’t for one second imagined Kirsty turning up. Especially not letting herself into Hannah’s home so brazenly. But now that she had, Hannah needed to nip this in the bud and get rid of her ex-girlfriend.
“She’s a bit feisty, isn’t she?” Kirsty scoffed, turning back to the oven and twisting the temperature dial. “Like I said, dinner won’t be long.”
“N-no, Kirsty.” Hannah took a step closer to her ex, placing a tentative hand on her wrist. “You’re not listening. You have to leave.”
“Why?”
Hannah rolled her head on her shoulders, sighing. “Because we’re not together anymore. We never will be. Please accept that and leave. I’ve been working all day, and I just want to wind down for the night.”
Kirsty leaned in towards Hannah’s ear. “Why don’t you ask that one to leave, and we’ll get comfortable together?”
“Tell you what,” Hannah said, offering the best smile she could manage. Kirsty wasn’t listening, and as Hannah stood here, she realised Kirsty had no plans to do so. “Why don’t you head off to wherever you’re staying, I’ll speak to Caz, and in a couple of days, we’ll meet up. Catch up, you know?”
Kirsty narrowed her eyes. “You won’t do that.”
“I will. You have my word. It’s just been a long day, and I don’t really want to do this now. You coming back is a bit of a shock to me.”
“A good shock, though, right?” Kirsty grinned, moving in to kiss Hannah, but Hannah pulled away. “Not a good shock.”
“Just…a shock.” Hannah shrugged, stepping around the dining table to create a space between them. Kirsty was behaving erratically, and Hannah wasn’t here for it. “Can I call you next week?”
“I…guess.”
“Okay, cool.” Kirsty had agreed, and that was all Hannah needed to hear. “Well, I’ll tidy up and whatever. Don’t worry about it.”
“Can I come and see Edie next week?”
“If she’s not busy.” Edie was rarely busy with anything other than schoolwork, but if Hannah had to make the both of them busy, she could arrange that. “Leave me your number and I’ll call you.”
“You have my number.”
“I…don’t. When you left, I deleted it.”
Kirsty lowered her chin to her chest, dropping a tea towel she was holding to the floor. “H-Hannah…do you still love me?”
Could Hannah be honest without Kirsty losing her shit? She guessed she was about to find out.
“No,” she said quietly. Caroline was upstairs, and she was right. She’d been through enough drama. Hannah didn’t want raised voices and arguments inside the home that was supposed to be a safe space for Caroline. “And I think that deep down, you already know that.”
Kirsty smiled weakly as she found Hannah’s eyes. “But…we can all hope, can’t we?”
“While I agree with that sometimes, now isn’t one of those times. I’m happy with Caz, Kirsty. I know you’re having a dreadful time, and I’m really sorry about that, but we’re not in the same place we once were. I can’t lie to you to make you feel better, I really can’t.”
“So, that’s it? No chance of me being forgiven?” Kirsty slumped back against the kitchen counter, her voice trembling.
“I do forgive you. You’ve come here and explained, and I get it.” Hannah didn’t, not really, but she was at a point of just wanting Kirsty out the house. Sooner rather than later. “But forgiving you and being in love with you are twoverydifferent things.”
Kirsty pushed off the counter, taking her jacket from the back of a dining chair. She sniffled, kept her head down, and moved towards the door. “I hope you know what you’re doing. We could have been really good together. Wewerereally good together.”
Hannah smiled weakly. “And then you left me.”
Kirsty spun around. “I’d never leave you again.”