Chapter 2
“Yeah, well, screw you, too.”
Shoving my middle finger skyward, I glared at the clouds peeing on me. Not that it was nature’s fault for doing what it was created to do in the first place. Nope, this was all on me.
Because who the heck living in New York left the house without an umbrella in the middle of April?
Me, that’s who.
Ugh.
Chilled and soaked to the bone, I flipped the dark sky off again.
“When it rains, it freaking pours, right?”
A laugh bubbled up my throat, and if I hadn’t felt the way I was, the maniacal sound probably would have freaked me the hell out.
But what else was I to do?
Laughing, albeit a bit crazed, was far better than crying.
Although I might have had something to cry about, I sure as hell wouldn’t do it in public.
I’d wait until I was home to tell Anthony how the conniving little Fiona had stolen the Nouvelle Femme event from me and got me fired.
Well, that’s not one-hundred-percent correct. I got myself fired when I threw a stapler at her and accused her of sleeping with the boss to get the contract.
Not my finest moment, I admit.
But something unexplainable had come over me when an event I’d been planning for almost six months was suddenly yanked away from me because Mr. freaking Maxwell, CEO of Nouvelle Femme, insisted Fiona take over.
Fiona, who was fresh out of school with her perfect body and zero freaking experience.
If I sounded bitter, it was because I was.
Nothing I had came easy. Girls like me had to work ten times as hard to prove our worth. All because we didn’t look exactly like the girls who graced the covers of beauty magazines. All because we were judged by our bodies rather than our brains.
So sue me if I got a little emotional over a “cover girl” like Fiona swooping in and taking something from me I’d worked my ass off for.
The mere thought of it had the backs of my eyes stinging just as another terrifying bolt of lightning cracked through the almost-black sky.
With a jolt, I blinked the tears away, quickly lowered my hand, and hurried inside my apartment building.
I didn’t need the wrath of Thor or whoever else I angered by flipping off the clouds.
I’d had enough drama to last me two lifetimes, thank you very much.
With my arms crossed tightly over my chest, I went to the apartment where Anthony and I lived. Things between us might have been a bit…distant lately, but I knew he’d at least allow me to vent about my day. If I was lucky, his head wouldn’t be stuck in whatever he was working on, and he’d comfort me a little.
Heaven knew I could do with a whole lot of comfort.
Typically, when things went south in my life, my bestie, Natalie, was the first person I’d call, but she’d been so busy living her best damn life with her new job and her infuriatingly sweet husband, I didn’t want to bother her.
Besides, I did not need another visual of him unable to keep his hands to himself without caring who was watching.
Because that only reminded me Anthony and I didn’t have that can’t-keep-our-hands-off-each-other relationship. We never had. But that didn’t mean there was no chemistry.
Or did it?
I reached our door before I could explore the thought any further. And as I made my way into the apartment, I decided there was nothing to explore. I’d had a shitty day, and my thoughts reflected that.
That’s all there was to it.
Toeing off my soggy shoes, I shrugged out of my wet jacket. I was halfway done with my sweater when a loud groan echoed down the hall.
Immediately followed by, “Oh fuck, yes. Just like that.”
Now I wasn’t stupid enough to believe Anthony didn’t watch porn, ever. He was a guy, after all. Plus, he’d been on me to watch it with him. “For inspiration,” he’d said.
At the time, I couldn’t find the words to tell him how watching it made me feel like I wasn’t enough of a turn-on for him. That I wasn’t enough to get him off.
Another deep groan sounded, dragging me from my thoughts.
Maybe it was time to try something different. Could be good for me after the morning I’d had.
I stepped out of my wet clothes and went to the main bedroom. I pulled the elastic from my hair and quickly shook the damp strands before gently pushing open the door.
Nothing on this earth could have prepared me for the image before me. Nothing.
Anthony was half bent over the bed. There was a woman on the mattress in front of him, her bright-red lips wrapped tightly around his length. And then there was another woman behind him doing…something to his ass.
The scene shocked me so much, it took five full seconds for me to find my voice.
“What the hell?”
Three sets of eyes shot to me simultaneously, and to my horror, neither one of the women stopped what they were doing.
In fact, the blonde behind Anthony worked him faster as she purred, “Greedy, Tony. You didn’t tell me there’d be one more girl. That’s going to cost you extra.”
Cost you extra…
My stomach churned violently.
I slapped a hand over my mouth and barely reached the bathroom before my breakfast came out.
When I went to the sink to wash my face, my blotchy reflection stared back at me. And every insecurity I thought I’d buried slammed into me at once.
I wasn’t blind. Those two women on the bed—my bed—had smooth skin, flat stomachs, small boobs, and no hips.
They were my exact opposite.
Everything I wasn’t and never could be. Sure, I could pay someone an obscene amount of money to bleach my inky hair to that steely platinum that seemed to be all the rage. I could watch endless tutorials on smokey makeup that made my appearance sensual and alluring.
But the one thing I couldn’t do was change how my body looked.
My breasts were big, my hips full.
I had curves.
My mom had them, and so did her mother.
And as much as I loved both those women, I’d spent my entire childhood wishing I looked different. Even more so when I had a sister and best friend who looked like they could walk a runway in Paris.
“Evie, baby, I can explain.”
Just hearing his voice from behind the door made me want to throw up all over again. Doing my best to keep my tears away, I brushed my teeth and pulled on the first set of clean clothes I could find. Black tights and an oversized white T-shirt.
I’d just tugged the cotton over my hips when the bathroom door creaked open.
“Go—” I immediately spat.
“Baby, listen—”
“No!” I yelled. “I won’t listen. There’s nothing you can say to explain what the hell I just saw.” Licking my lips, I took a deep, steadying breath. “You need to leave. Pack your shit and go.”
I waited for my heart to break, for that heavy sadness to wash over me, but it never came. Fury was all I felt.
Anger that I didn’t see this coming.
Rage that he’d dared to do whatever he’d done in the same damn bed I slept in every night.
And shame.
“I swear,” he whined. “It means nothing.”
He reached for me, but I slapped his hand away before he could touch me. His hands on me were the last thing I wanted. I didn’t know where they’d been or if he’d even washed them.
My stomach rolled again, and I pressed my palm to it. How many times had he done this? And with how many women?
I wanted to know, but at the same time, I also didn’t.
“Look, it’s not my fault you’re so”—he motioned to my body, his voice dripping with acid—”damn frigid.”
Frigid?
I had a feeling he wanted to use a different F-word.
“Leave,” I growled. “Just fucking go!”
Anthony’s face twisted into something ugly I’d never seen before. His brown eyes went cold, his handsome features hard.
“No.” He crossed his arms and spread his legs. “Last time I checked, both our names are on the lease.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but a voice filtered into the bathroom before I could utter a single word.
“Tony, baby, you know if you’re even a minute over, you still have to pay for the next hour, too.”
More bile pushed up my throat.
“They’re still here?”
He shrugged. “I paid for them to be. Why would I send them away?”
Who was this man I’d been playing house with? “You’re despicable,” I spat. “And if you don’t want to leave, I will.”
Anthony glared at me. “Fine, but you’re still responsible for half of the rent until the lease ends.”
What happened next was a blur. One moment, I was in the bathroom, slapping my cheating ex-boyfriend across the face, and the next, I was sitting on a park bench, a very wet park bench.
But I didn’t care. I had bigger things to worry about than my ratty appearance and thoroughly drenched butt.
How had this happened?
I thought things were steady. Good. We were in that phase where we happily cohabited with no need to constantly talk to each other. He’d edit his photos at the little kitchen table while I was curled up on the couch, lost in whatever book I read.
I thought we made each other happy. That we loved each other.
But did we really?
My gaze locked on to a young couple walking across the park. Fingers laced together; their eyes glued to each other rather than where they stepped.
That now-familiar pang I felt whenever I was with Natalie and Zach hit me in the chest again, growing even stronger when the man stopped walking to tuck the girl’s hair behind her ear and press his lips against her forehead.
Maybe that’s how it was supposed to be, and whatever I had with Anthony was me…settling?
Yeah, because you won’t get anyone better.
The sound of my ringing phone stopped the thought in its tracks. I was so relieved I didn’t even check the caller ID before smashing the device against my ear.
“Evie, honey, I’m sorry to bother you at work.”
I would have told my mom I wasn’t at work and wouldn’t be for a long time if her words hadn’t come out in a stuttering whimper.
I sat up straighter. “Mom, what happened?”
A few sniffles sounded on the other end before my mom spoke. “It’s your dad. He’s been sick… and you know him, he’s just so stubborn. And now—”
The loud whooshing in my ears drowned out the rest of her sentence. My heart thundered to a crazy beat I couldn’t keep up with, and all I kept thinking, kept hoping, was that this entire day had been nothing more than an elaborate prank someone was playing on me.
But it wasn’t.
I tried to focus on her words.
“They’re saying the pneumonia caused the abscesses in his lungs. He’ll need surgery if the antibiotics don’t help.” She sniffled again, which quickly turned into a full-blown sob. “Oh, Evie, I don’t know what to do. We just started the business, we haven’t even made a profit yet, and now this.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks. “Tell me how much you need, Mom.”
Most of my savings had gone to freaking Anthony. He’d needed a new camera and equipment when he’d started his job at the magazine, and I’d wanted to be a supportive girlfriend.
Asshole.
“I didn’t call to ask for money.” Another sob. “What kind of parent takes money from their child?”
My parents were proud people. They never complained, even when Natalie’s father treated them like dirt and paid them even less. Never asked for anything from anyone. They’d simply squirreled away what they had until they could move and start over.
I knew they put everything into starting the catering business. I also knew surgeries and hospital stays were damn expensive.
More tears fell, and I tried my hardest to keep my voice steady. “You’ve taken care of me my entire life. Let me take care of you now, okay?”
The fact my mom didn’t fight me told me exactly how bad things were going. That was why, when we said goodbye, I immediately opened my banking app and sent my mom almost everything in my account.
When I didn’t look like a raccoon who’d fought a hyena, I’d go into the bank and release my savings, then send her that, too.
“If I’d known my life would turn into such a shitshow today, I would have stayed in bed,” I mumbled to myself. “First, I lose my freaking job, only to find out I’ve been living with a cheating asshole, and now my dad is sick, too.”
This time, I didn’t even bother steadying myself. My shoulders shook as the day’s events finally took their toll.
“Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about your dad or the cheating asshole.”
The words came from behind me, laced with an Italian accent. I had two seconds to pull myself together before the man stepped into my line of sight.
With an angry frown—because how dare he intrude on my moment of self-pity—I swiped at my tears and tilted my head back to look at the stranger.
When he smiled wide, I was ready to rip him a new one. But he spoke first.
“I’ll pay you whatever you want to marry my friend.”