Lahat ng Kabanata ng Ricochet My Love: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

"It's nice to meet you," she smiled at me, extending her hand.Her nails were painted. Her hands looked soft.What about mine? My nails hadn’t had a manicure in years, barely touched by anything but a nail cutter.I secretly wiped my hand on the side of my dress before accepting hers and gave a stiff shake.I wasn’t showing weakness, but I wasn’t aggressive either. I was trying to keep myself in check while feeling my blood simmering under my skin for some stupid reason.My pride didn’t have a price tag, but my insecurity whispered that my dignity needed a little brand to compete with the people around me.Tiffany’s grip was firm, almost businesslike. Her smile was perfect and professional, as if cameras were still rolling somewhere. Her eyes studied me—assessing, analyzing, but, surprisingly not catty unlike Rachel.And that made my ego flare even when I had nothing to bet.I forced a smile and let out an obvious, fake chuckle before pulling my hand back."Uhm..." Tiffany cleared her

“Push me away anytime you want. I’d still come back to you.”He would come back to me. That’s what he said.And I was stupid enough to let it sit in my chest. To roll it around. To hope he would actually do it.Maybe it would take him another ten years to make it happen.After he drove me home, I hopped out of his car without saying goodbye. Didn’t look back, even when he called my name and tried to keep me there a little longer.Mom and Adriana weren’t home. They’d left a note saying they were on a road trip until Sunday evening. So I had the house to myself.Which meant I had the privacy to fall apart properly.I locked the door, leaned my forehead against it for a second, then dragged myself to my room and cried until my pillow felt damp and disgusting.I woke up looking like a zombie. Puffy eyes. Dry lips. Head pounding.But since I like to pretend I was born an invincible woman, I forced myself up. Barely. I splashed cold water on my face, pinched my cheeks for color, and put on

I didn’t know where I found the courage, but I felt the sting on my palm and realized I’d slapped his cheek, leaving a red mark.His face turned to the side.His eyes were wide, completely caught off guard. He didn’t expect me to ever hit him, to physically show that I wasn’t his anymore.“If you ever think you can use me against myself, kiss me, take my body, and then get away with everything I went through being with you… you’re wrong,” I said, enunciating each word that came out of my mouth.“You made your point when you had my body. You told me your intentions. But that was it. All talk and pleasure, none of it ever meant anything,” I added, letting out a mirthless chuckle.“I can show you my words aren’t just words, Diana. If you stay with me, I can prove myself to you,” he defended, his voice tight.“How many times have you said ‘prove,’ huh? I saw nothing that justified that word. All I saw when I was with you was disappointment.” I shook my head and brushed past him, heading f

A grunt left my lips as my knees slammed against the ground. My palms flattened against the rough cement, tiny stones biting into my skin.I was on all fours. All that was left to do was stick my ass up in the air and I’d be perfectly posed for public humiliation and violation against stupid people like me.That’s what it felt like anyway, with all those eyes on me.No one offered a hand. Instead, laughter harmonized together around me.“Gosh, stupid,” someone muttered between snickers.I sucked the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste metal and pushed myself up, gathering the scraps of dignity I had left. My fingers brushed dust off my slacks.I tugged my blouse down, ironed the fabric over my hips, then turned toward the group of heartless spectators. The moment my glare began shooting them, they looked away, pretending they hadn’t just watched me eat concrete.Thanks to them. I felt even more amazing than ever.With my chin high—fake confidence plastered across my face—I walked

My eyes squinted at the awful view.He was looking at her too attentively. Leaning in slightly as they talked. Nodding like whatever she was saying actually mattered. And his hands…His freaking hands were resting on the lower of her back, fingers spread, guiding her across the road like some perfect gentleman... and into the restaurant I was in.I shrank deeper into my seat and lifted the menu board to cover half my face, pretending I was very invested in appetizers I couldn’t even read.I heard Tiffany laugh in a very graceful, demure way, so freaking elegant. The kind of laugh that didn’t break into loud bursts, or counted in syllables, but dissolved into neat little giggles. And that fact annoyed me.From the corner of the menu, I risked a peek and nearly choked on my own spit when they passed our table and took the seats right behind me.Of course. Of freaking course they had to seat near me.His cologne hit me right in the face. The scent dragged up memories I didn’t ask for. I