Sylvie hugged me as more tears streamed down my face. “Are you going to expose him for the rat he is?”
Smiling bitterly, I shook my head. “And how would I do that? No, I’ll do something else. I’ll break up with him in a way he’ll never forget.”
Jett might have broken my trust in him, and probably in all other men in this world, but he didn’t yet get what he wanted, which was Alessandro’s estate. He might usually win, but not this time. Alessandro Lucazzone wouldn’t sell; I’d make sure of that.
“Just be careful,” Sylvie said, hugging me tight. “Guys like him always get far, but not without gathering a few skeletons in their closets.”
“Thank you.” I placed a soft kiss on Sylvie’s cheek.
“For what?”
“For being honest. If you didn’t tell me, if you didn’t make me aware of it, who knows whether I would have seen through his lies.” I shook my head as I remembered how much I had wanted this man. I winced at the pang of pain rocking my chest, right where my heart was. It shouldn’t have hit me so hard, but it did. Maybe because he was the first person I trusted after what happened to Jenna. Maybe because I thought if we shared our life stories, the good and the ugly, we might indeed be kindred spirits. Maybe because I thought he knew me and liked me for who I was, rather than for who I pretended to be.
I needed to get away from here. Leave him and the pain behind. Forget everything that happened.
Forget him.
I jumped up from the couch, pulling Sylvie with me. “Come on. We need to pack.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Now that it was over, I wished I had seen all the things I didn’t see: Jett’s enthusiasm to be with me, to listen to my life stories, and deal with my commitment phobia. He had been trying to get me to fall in love with him, which I had foolishly let happen when I should have listened to my gut feeling instead. After years of putting up defenses I let my guard down, trusting the one guy who’d go on to conquer me with beautiful words and attention, only to betray me.
He always acted so composed, so perfect. Was it because he never really cared about me? Irrespective of how I tried to see it, what excuses I gave him, he had broken my heart in a million pieces. And to think of all the times I trusted him. All the hours I prayed we’d last forever. How I thought he might be ‘the one’. The way glass shatters—so did my trust.
How stupid of me. Why did I always end up loving the person who hurt me the most? Why was love so cruel?
I wanted to banish and forget the moments we spent together, I needed to erase him from my mind and heart. But the harder I tried, the more I thought about him. His image had been engraved into my mind, invading every fiber of my being like poison. I couldn’t tell Sylvie how much his actions had hurt me, so I kept my head high in the hope she wouldn’t guess how broken I felt inside. I smiled at my best friend, telling her that I’d find a way to hurt him; that the world didn’t end with him...but the truth was, I wasn’t okay.
I couldn’t see him without feeling the magnitude of his betrayal.
I couldn’t speak to him without thinking of the way he kissed me. And how little it meant now.
Our past together was nothing more than a bottle tossed out into the ocean, its message never reaching the owner.
Although Sylvie had put things into perspective, I had recognized the kind of man he was the moment I met him. I should have trusted my instincts rather than listen to his sweet words. It had all been too good to be true. I should have known the moment he lavished me with attention, the way he cooked for me, and swept me off my feet. I should have known deep in my heart it wasn’t real.
He was nothing but a lie.
A terrible, hurtful lie.
But the heart is foolish, and I had been a fool to let it lead the way. It had made me blind, leaving me with no option to get out before I got too involved. Surrendering to love was a mistake, just like letting Jenna visit Danny, even though I knew it wasn’t right.
“Brooke? Are you okay?” Sylvie’s hushed voice carried through the quiet room a moment before she peered through the door, hesitating. “Can I come in?”
I barely managed a choked “Yeah”.
“Oh, sweetie,” Sylvie said, grabbing me in a tight hug. “I’m so sorry.”
I melted into her motherly embrace, my face turned away from her, hiding the tears I had thought depleted.
***
Nearly twelve hours later, I stepped into the elevator riding up to the Mayfield Properties head office, knowing it’d be a brief visit. I had risen at four a.m., unable to sleep, and spring-cleaned the apartment to keep my mind from venturing onto dangerous terrain. By six I had finished and drove through the pre-rush hour traffic to reach the office as early as possible. My back pressed against the smooth metal wall, I forced conditioned air into my lungs to calm my racing heart. Less than three weeks into the job, and I was already searching the classified ads for another position. But this time it wasn’t the prospect of unemployment that sent hot and cold shivers down my spine.