Chapter 33 Heartache
THIRTY-THREE
Heartache
Noelle
Ibroke down in my car on the way to work, and I was angry at myself for being weak.
To make matters worse, I was late to my job, and the entire workday was ruined because of heartbreak over a man who never deserved me.
I should’ve continued thinking of Jack as my grumpy, asshole next-door neighbor who meant nothing to me.
I couldn’t think properly and screwed up filing paperwork at the main office.
My mind was in overdrive with a constant replay of everything Jack had done.
His words echoed in my eardrums and distracted me from my job.
I couldn’t eat lunch. I felt drained—depleted of all energy.
I finally made up an excuse to head home early to pick up Faith at school.
Once Faith bounced into the backseat with a smile on her face, she made everything better. I didn’t have the heart to break the news of Mr. Timber not coming around anymore when she had wanted to invite him over for a spaghetti dinner. She wanted Jack to tuck her into bed too.
The memory of her sweet innocent face pouting up at me and her eyes twinkling as she pleaded with me to text Jack.
To tell him to come read her a bedtime story, but I knew Jack wouldn’t.
There was no reason to break her heart too with his rejection.
The damage was done, and my Faith didn’t need to suffer. She would feel devastated.
I was dumb to let my heart impede common sense, and I had left my child vulnerable to have her heart broken by a grumpy old man. He had wanted nothing but multiple one-night stands. His heart was too cold to care about anyone but himself.
I’d be able to live the rest of my life with Jack hurting me, but never my child. I’d conceal the truth for as long as I could, shield her from the pain after getting too close when she should’ve never been. I knew better. How dare Jack put our hearts on the line for him to shatter?
The moon shone through my open window after I had put Faith to bed and carried on with my lonesome evening.
I sat alone by the fireplace, reading a romance novel with a happily ever after I’d never experience, to distract me from the sorrow while I licked my wounds and hoped for a better tomorrow.
A world without the man my heart yearned for because he wasn’t a fictional book boyfriend.
Jack Timber was a mean and grumpy man down to his bitter core.
I went over to shut the blinds and say goodnight to another day gone by, but something caught my eye.
I dropped my book, too shaken by the sight of another woman on Jack’s side of the property line.
She sat down on his sofa in his living room.
Her back was to me, but her shiny brunette hair had a wondrous glow to it.
Suddenly, Jack walked into the room with two flutes and a bottle of wine. My breath caught while I watched him hand her a glass and pour some red wine into it. God, I hoped she fucking spilled the liquor all over her precious outfit and it left a nasty stain she couldn’t get out.
Jack’s one-night screw would throw a fit and leave him with blue balls. Justice would be done, and I’d be happy to see him suffer. Instead, she swirled the wine around in her glass and took a sip. Then two. Until she drank the whole damn glass and poured herself some more.
Christ, she’d be drunk in no time. Jack was lucky again.
My heart broke in two when Jack took her hand and leaned in close to her. I exhaled the air I’d held in while hurt coursed through me after he tentatively kissed her on the cheek. I couldn’t conceive of his affection for her when I wanted him to be this way with me.
Jack’s stride away from the couch toward the window showed sex was on his mind. He was confident in his capabilities as a grin grew across his face, and he came to the window. He peered straight across at the house beside him, and his eyes made contact with mine.
Jack gave me a cold, hard stare, sending shivers down my spine—and not the good kind. His expression was cruel, signifying without a doubt that he knew what he was doing. He wanted me to acknowledge we were over, and I meant nothing more to him than meaningless sex. He was never mine to begin with.
The grin faded into a pressed, hard line across Jack’s lips as a single tear rolled down my cheek.
Numbness took over me as I watched the only man I had ever truly loved place his hands on the curtains and pause for a moment.
He glared at me with hatred, hostility, and regret.
My heart shattered into a million pieces, and those bits crumbled into dust. I completely broke. Forever.
Jack pulled the curtains shut. Everything we never had was gone. In one fleeting moment.