Chapter 9

Jade

“Sorry to drive the knife deeper but your fiancé is an absolute piece of shit.” Bells’ disgusted voice sounded through my phone’s speaker. “You know, what they say is true. Most men who look like gods almost never have the personality to match.”

Wiping the kitchen island of the mess I had made the evening before, I let out a tired sigh. “Maybe he really is going to be busy. You know he’s the CEO now. He can’t just abandon his duties for a silly—”

“Don’t finish that sentence, Jades.” I could picture her holding up a finger in warning, glossy lips curled up in annoyance before throwing both hands in the air. “Your birthday celebration isn’t silly. Now you’re coming up with excuses for him?!”

“I’m not trying to. It’s just—”

“How are you still seeing the good in him?” she interrupted, obviously on a roll now. “He spelt it out for you; told you he doesn’t see you as an equal. He’s completely irredeemable. The wise thing to do will be to break off the engagement now before it’s too late.”

“He moved in yesterday.” Straightening, I worried my bottom lip. “I know it doesn’t seem like much but to me it’s progress.”

“Uh-huh. And where did he sleep? I’m going to bet my entire Cartier jewelry collection it wasn’t in the same bed as you.”

I didn’t bother answering her because she was right.

He had slept in the other bedroom, the one farthest from mine and the one he had also decorated in pink thinking I’d choose it. Then this morning hoping we could have an early breakfast together, I went to knock on his door only to find he had already left for work long before I even woke up.

I decided to change the direction of the conversation while grabbing a fresh trash bag to dispose of the garbage I had gathered. “What do you think could have happened? That made him like this? Maybe I did something that I can’t remember—”

“Don’t you dare blame yourself for his shortcomings. He’s an asshole and assholes don’t need reasons to be assholes. They just are.”

“Bells, I love him.” I told her as I stood still in the middle of the kitchen, my voice sounding small. “And I strongly believe that with time he’s going to realize how genuine my feelings are towards him and eventually return them.”

“I’m not saying in some realm of possibility that isn’t likely to happen. But the key factor here is ‘when’,” she sighed. “It could take years, decades, your entire life. Is that how you plan on spending it? Pining after a man who has made it clear he doesn’t want you in the slightest?”

“And I didn’t want to bring out the big guns but Jades,” her voice lowered, “he’ll definitely be seeing other women. I know you’ve heard the rumors about him being an insatiable sex maniac. If he doesn’t plan on fucking you anytime soon, he’s definitely going to be getting it from somewhere else. Multiple somewhere elses.”

I squeezed my eyes shut like that would prevent the words from hitting their mark where it hurt the most.

Taking in a deep breath to draw on strength, I opened my eyes and continued with my cleaning. “Like you said, they’re just rumors and without proof, I’m not going to believe any of what is being said.”

“Jades… you’re being stubborn—”

“I’m really excited for what you have planned for tonight!” I interrupted her with false cheer, wanting us to move on from the topic of my failing engagement.

“This is going to end in disaster, I just know it,” I heard her mutter to herself before going along with me and continuing the conversation about my birthday party.

Just then, the bell chimed.