Chapter 182
Chapter 182
Was she actually planning to marry Jace?
Why else would she ask something like that?
But i
just two hours ago, Jace was still trying to get me back.
Then Jace’s words came flooding back: “Even if something happens to me–if I get hurt, or worse–still won’t regret it?”
Is this his twisted way of making me regret everything? If so, Jace has totally lost it. He’s being so childish.
I looked at Tanya, pretending to be confused. “Hmm?”
“I want to be with Jace, like… get married,” she said, meeting my eyes.
I gave her a small smile. “Is that so? Well, congrats.”
“But I’m worried his parents won’t accept the baby,” she added, her face full of hesitation and uncertainty.
I tapped my fingers lightly on the table, staying quiet. This wasn’t my problem, so I had no reason to chime in.
“Keira,” Tanya said, her voice suddenly serious, “I know how much the Johnstons love you. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston treat you like their daughter, so.
She paused, then continued, “So, can you help me? 1-1
She didn’t have to explain–I knew exactly what she was asking.
“No.”
Tanya’s face turned even paler. “Why? Is it because you resent me for ruining things between you and Jace?”
At least she’s self–aware. I didn’t deny it. “A little.”
I’m human, not a saint. Tanya may not have been the only reason Jace and I broke up, but she was definitely the spark that lit the fuse.
It was hard not to hold some resentment toward her.
But, if I’m being real, I should thank her. She made me see the truth about Jace and me–let me cut my losses before it got worse.
“Do you really think it was all my fault?” she asked, her voice laced with sarcasm.
“Keira, you and Jace would’ve broken up eventually, even if I hadn’t shown up,” she went on, like she knew our relationship better than I did.
I let out a short laugh, playing dumb. “Oh?”
Tanya kept her eyes locked on me and continued, “You and Jace were together for ten years. Sure, you had feelings for each other, but not in a romantic way.
Chapter 182
+25 BONUS
“What you felt was more like the bond between family!
The only reason you ended up together was because his parents pushed the idea on you, and you just went along with it.”
She wasn’t wrong. I’d thought about that before, too.
I used to wonder why Jace, while he was with me, would go behind my back and kiss someone like Tanya -a married woman, no less.
I also wondered why, after I left him, I didn’t feel that gut–wrenching heartbreak you’re supposed to feel after a breakup.
The truth was, we just didn’t love each other enough. We were too comfortable, too familiar. Whatever love we had didn’t have any real fire.
“If he truly loved you, if it was the kind of love that ignites at first sight and not the slow, dull kind, he wouldn’t have kissed me, looking for excitement,” Tanya said, her words hitting hard.
I gave her a small smile. “So, what? Are you trying to say you were justified in being the other woman?” “No,” Tanya shot back quickly. “I was never the other woman. I didn’t go after Jace. He came after me.”
I didn’t know–or care–who started it. But whatever she was trying to downplay, I knew exactly what she was angling for.
“So, because you don’t think you broke up me and Jace, I’m supposed to speak up for you?” I asked. “I’m begging for your help,” Tanya said, her voice soft, practically pleading now.
I pressed my lips together, taking her in for a second. She was delicate and soft–beautiful, sure–but definitely not Lindey’s type.
Lindey was straightforward, with a beauty that was natural and sophisticated, the kind that came with at sense of nobility.
