36. Chapter 36
Chapter thirty-six
Sutton
W e finally did it.
Dillon is gone.
Cooper and I are finally free.
Now, what that means for us going forward… I’m not sure.
But what I am sure about is that I love Cooper with my entire being. And tonight I’ll ask what we are going to do moving forward.
When we woke up this morning, I expected at least one nasty run-in with Dillon before he was gone for good. But I was pleasantly shocked to find every last one of his belongings was gone, along with a couple of my things, like my coffee machine and all the coffee, as well as a couple of my throw pillows and the shower curtain for the guest bathroom.
But I couldn’t find it in me to care.
He left. Not only that, but after months of an awkward stalemate, he left peacefully.
He could have my pillows and coffee maker for all I cared.
I was finally free of the nightmare that was life with Dillon Oak.
To honor the victory, I stop into Cooper’s favorite steak house, Rare, to place a to-go order on my way home from work.
Eating delicious steaks and potatoes seems like the perfect way to celebrate being Dillon-free. It should also soften the blow of his boss being the godfather to the demon who has been making our lives hell.
I knew I should have told him about the connection last night, but I couldn’t. We were both so happy to see those boxes. I didn’t want to put a damper on the mood.
“I want you to tell me the truth,” a voice demands behind me. A voice I know all too well.
Dillon .
I sigh, spinning the barstool I’m sitting on to face him. “I thought when you moved out that would be the end of me seeing you.” I frown. “I guess not.”
“Stop playing stupid games and be honest.”
“What are you talking about, Dillon?”
“I’m talking about it all. You leaving me last second at our wedding. To shacking up with that loser, Cooper.”
“I tried to be honest with you, and look at how that turned out, Dillon. You threw a party and trashed my house. You called me names.”
“Of course I did. You dumped me at the fucking altar,” he hisses through clenched teeth as he steps even closer to me.
“And you admitted to cheating on me. That’s not love.”
He scoffs. “And what you have with Cooper is?”
“Yes. He is my everything. I would never hurt him, and he would never hurt me.”
His jaw tightens. “When did it start? And don’t lie. I’m sick of lies.”
I take a deep breath, hoping that admitting this to him won’t be a massive mistake. “Nothing happened until after we were already over.”
“So you did lie?”
“Yes and no. Neither of us acted upon anything until after our relationship ended officially.”
“Officially?”
“We both know it was over long before I left you.”
“I didn’t think that.”
“We weren’t even sleeping together anymore.”
“Because you wanted to wait until after we were married.”
“Yeah, and I think that time without the physicality of our relationship showed me that was all we were to each other. Just a warm body.”
“So you replaced my body with another as soon as you could?”
“No. I think I always had feelings for him. But I never took the risk of acting on them until I knew we”—I motion between us—“were one hundred percent done.”
“I knew it. I fucking knew it. How many times did I say something was going on between the two of you?”
I sigh. “I understand why you might be hurt by this.”
He laughs, slipping into the empty seat beside me.
“Don’t forget, though, Dillon, you cheated. That’s pretty shitty.”
“So I had a few one-night stands. That’s nothing compared to you being in love with another man.”
There’s no point in arguing with him. He’ll forever make himself the victim in our situation instead of taking half the responsibility for things like I have.
“Think whatever you want, Dillon. Hopefully, you can move on.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you,” he sneers.
“Yes,” I say, exasperated. “I would.”
“Just tell me, why the lies? Why pretend to be a couple?”
“Well, first of all, we aren’t pretending anymore. And second, I thought it was super obvious I wanted you gone.”
“What did he get out of this arrangement? Besides a wet pussy?”
My blood boils. I imagine myself leaping off my stool and shoving my newly done manicure into his eyes. But alas, I don’t do that.
No, instead, I do nothing.
I don’t react. I know that’s what he wants—to make me mad. To make me act crazy so he can look like the good guy.
So I smile. “He had his reasons.”
Dillon laughs. “He wasn’t in it for the sex. That must be a blow to your ego.”
“Yep,” I deadpan. “I’m terribly offended that my boyfriend didn’t use me for my vagina. How will I ever cope?”
He stands, pushing his chair back with a scraping noise that has every patron in the restaurant turning our way. “I hope you and Cooper get everything you deserve,” he says before turning and leaving.
While the words might have sounded like well wishes, I know better. I know Dillon.
Heat flames my cheeks as people continue to stare at me. I raise my hand and wave at them before turning back to the bar and ordering a lemon drop and a loaf of bread to keep me company while I wait.
Even though I’m thoroughly embarrassed by his outburst and will never be able to show my face in this restaurant without a disguise, I feel lighter now that he knows the truth.
Maybe the complete truth was all he needed, and now he’ll leave me alone for good.