CHAPTER 2: BROKEN GLASS

EVELYN

"Get out." The words come out of my mouth, but they do not sound like my voice. They sound cold and dead.

Anthony scrambles out of bed, wrapping the sheet around his waist. "Evelyn, wait, let me explain."

"Explain what? Explain how my fiancé is sleeping with my cousin? In our bed?"

Sylvia stands up, completely naked, and walks slowly to where her dress is draped over a chair. She takes her time getting dressed, enjoying this. Enjoying my pain.

"You should have called first," she says, zipping up her tight red dress. "Then this could have been avoided."

I ignore her and focus on Anthony. "How long?"

"Evie, please."

"HOW LONG?" I scream the words, and it feels good to break the numbness.

Anthony flinches. "Four months."

Four months. The room spins. Four months of lies. Four months of him touching her while promising to love me forever.

"You proposed to me six months ago."

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

Sylvia laughs, actually laughs, as she slips on her heels. "Oh please, Anthony. Stop pretending. Tell her the truth."

"Shut up, Sylvia." For the first time, Anthony sounds angry at her instead of me.

"What truth?" I ask, even though I do not want to know. Even though every word is another knife.

Sylvia walks past me toward the door, pausing to whisper loud enough for both of us to hear. "That he was going to break up with you anyway. You're just not wife material, Evelyn. You are too independent and too focused on your career. Anthony needs someone who understands his world."

"I said shut up!" Anthony yells.

But Sylvia just blows him a kiss and leaves, her laughter echoing down the hallway.

I stand there, shaking, trying to process everything. Anthony reaches for me but I step back.

"Don't touch me."

"Evelyn, I love you. I do. This thing with Sylvia, it's just physical. It doesn't mean anything."

" Wow! I see…You've been sleeping with my cousin for four months and it doesn't mean anything?"

"You're never here! You're always traveling for work, always putting your career first. I needed someone who had time for me."

I stare at him, really seeing him for the first time. His weak chin. His petulant mouth. The entitlement in his eyes that says he actually believes this is somehow my fault.

"You're right," I say quietly.

"What?"

"You're absolutely right. I was putting my career first because I was building a future for us. I was working hard so we could have a good life together. But you know what? You're not worth it. You were never worth it."

I yank the engagement ring off my finger. The ruby catches the light one last time before I throw it at him. It bounces off his bare chest and falls to the floor.

"We're done. I want you out of my life."

"Evelyn, wait."

But I am already walking away. I grab my suitcase from the living room and head for the door. Anthony follows me, the sheet still wrapped around him.

"Where are you going to go?"

I turn back to look at him one last time. "Anywhere that you're not."

I slam the door behind me and somehow make it to the elevator before the tears come. I collapse against the wall, sobbing so hard I can barely breathe.

My phone rings. I pull it out with shaking hands. Tonia's name flashes on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Evie? What's wrong? You sound terrible."

"Can you come get me? Please?"

"Where are you?"

"Outside my building. I'll be on the front steps."

"I'm leaving right now. Stay on the phone with me, okay?"

I nod even though she cannot see me. The elevator reaches the lobby and I walk past Marcus, who looks concerned but does not say anything. I sit on the front steps of the building, still holding my phone to my ear while Tonia talks to me about nothing important, just filling the silence so I am not alone.

Twenty minutes later, her car pulls up. Tonia jumps out, takes one look at my face, and pulls me into her arms.

"He cheated on me," I whisper into her shoulder. "With Sylvia."

"That bastard. That absolute piece of trash."

She helps me into the car and drives me to my apartment, the small one-bedroom in Silver Lake that I kept even after moving in with Anthony. Some part of me must have known not to give up everything.

For three days I did not leave my bed. I call in sick to work. I ignore my phone. I let Tonia bring me soup and tea that I do not touch.

On the fourth day, Tonia has had enough.

"Get up."

I pull the blanket over my head. "No."

"Evelyn Marie Hart, get your butt out of that bed right now."

"Go away, Tonia."

She yanks the blanket off me. "No. You've wallowed enough. Yes, Anthony is a cheating scumbag. Yes, Sylvia is the worst person on earth. But you are not going to let them win by destroying yourself."

"I'm not destroying myself. I'm grieving."

"You've grieved enough. Now you're going to shower, put on the sexiest dress you own, and we're going out."

"I don't want to go out."

"I don't care what you want. You need to remember who you are. You're Evelyn Hart. You built a career from nothing. You're brilliant and beautiful and you deserve so much better than Anthony Blake. Now get in the shower before I drag you there myself."

I know that tone. Tonia will absolutely drag me to the shower if I do not move.

"Fine," I mutter, sliding out of bed.

"Thank you. And wear the black dress, the one with the open back."

"Where are we going?"

"Somewhere expensive where we can drink overpriced cocktails and you can remember what it feels like to be alive."

Two hours later, I am in the back of an Uber wearing the black dress Tonia demanded. My hair is curled, my makeup is perfect, and I look nothing like how I feel inside.

"Where exactly are we going?" I ask as the car heads toward West Hollywood.

Tonia grins. "Oasis. I know someone who can get us in."

Oasis is one of the most exclusive lounges in LA. Models, actors, and billionaires go there. People like me do not get past the door.

"Tonia, we can't afford Oasis."

"Tonight we can. Trust me."

The car stops in front of a sleek black building. A line of people wait behind velvet ropes, but Tonia walks straight to the door where a large bouncer is checking a list.

"We're on the list. Under Reed."

The bouncer scans his tablet and nods. "Go ahead."

Just like that, we are inside.

The lounge is exactly what I expected. Low lighting, plush leather couches, crystal chandeliers, and beautiful people everywhere. A jazz band plays in the corner. The air smells like expensive perfume and money.

"How did you get us on the list?" I whisper to Tonia as we make our way to the bar.

"I designed a dress for the owner's wife. She owes me a favor."

We slide onto barstools and Tonia orders two martinis. When they arrive, she raises her glass.

"To forgetting terrible men and remembering your worth."

I clink my glass against hers. "To forgetting."

The first martini goes down smooth. So does the second. By the third, I am starting to feel warm and loose. The hurt is still there but it is fuzzy around the edges now.

"I'm going to the ladies' room," Tonia announces. "Don't move."

I nod and take another sip of my drink. The bartender is cute, flirting with every woman who orders from him. The couple next to me is arguing in hushed tones about someone's assistant. None of it matters. I just want to forget Anthony's face, Sylvia's smirk, the four months of lies.

That is when I feel it. The weight of someone's stare.

I turn my head and see him at the other end of the bar.

He is older than anyone else here, maybe early forties, but he wears it well. Dark hair with silver at the temples. Sharp jawline. Wearing a suit that looks custom-made, tailored perfectly to broad shoulders. But it is his eyes that make my breath catch. Gray, intense, looking at me like I am the only person in the room.

Our eyes meet, and something electric happens. The air between us seems to crackle.

He does not smile and does not look away. He watches me with that intense gaze.

I should look away. I should turn back to my drink…But I do not.

Instead, I hold his stare, something defiant rising in my chest. Something reckless.

He sets down his glass and stands. He is tall, over six feet, and he moves with the kind of confidence that comes from people always making room for you.

He walks toward me, and my heart starts racing.

"Is this seat taken?" His voice is deep, smooth, with an edge of command.

"It's yours if you want it."

He sits next to me, close enough that I can smell his cologne. Something woodsy and expensive.

"I'm Richard."

"Evelyn."

"Evelyn," he repeats, like he is testing how my name feels in his mouth. "What brings you to Oasis on a Thursday night?"

"Trying to forget."

"Forget what?"

"Everything."

He signals the bartender and orders two more martinis. "Sounds serious."

"It is... I don't know anymore."

The drinks arrive. Richard hands one to me, his fingers brushing mine. Even that small touch sends heat through me.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I want to forget it."

He studies me for a long moment. "I can help with that."

"Can you?"

"Yes." He leans closer, his voice dropping lower. "But not here."

Every sensible part of me screams to say no. I do not know this man. This is dangerous but the part of me that is angry and hurt and tired of being good whispers something different.

Tonight, be someone else. Tonight, forget.

"Okay."

Richard stands and offers me his hand. I take it, and he pulls me to my feet just as Tonia returns from the bathroom.

Her eyes go wide. "Evie?"

"I'll text you later," I tell her, surprised by how steady my voice sounds.

"Are you sure about this?"

I look up at Richard, at those intense gray eyes that promise to make me forget everything.

"Yeah."

He leads me toward the exit, his hand warm and firm around mine. As we step outside into the cool Los Angeles night, he turns to me.

"Last chance to change your mind."

I should change my mind. I should go home with Tonia and sleep off the alcohol and wake up to face reality.

Instead, I say, "I'm not changing my mind.”