Pretend We're Over (Pretend 2)

I fall back into my seat like the full weight of the world just crashed down on me.

“It’s my turn to talk and your turn to listen.”

I bite my trembling lip and fist my hands, trying to keep my anxiety in.

“You should have told me that you’d been married before.”

I wince.

“But I understand why you didn’t.”

He takes a deep breath. “I was wrong to not have stopped Boden. I didn’t even realize what was happening, and then the next thing I knew half-naked women were dancing on us. He was kissing them and telling me about how he had cheated over the course of months. When you came to the club, I was chewing him out, not encouraging him.

“But I’m not upset with you for thinking I was. I should have never been friends with someone like Boden. And I understand why you did what you thought you did.”

I feel tears wallowing in my eyes. This is the part where he says we’re over again—that we can’t even be friends.

“But I wasn’t drunk that night.”

I tilt my head, unsure of what he said.

“I knew that Oaklee and you were trying to get me to drink, so I pretended too. I was completely sober walking down the aisle, and you know why? Because when you followed Oaklee into that bathroom, a woman came up to me. She had overheard our conversation and said she had just lost her husband of over forty years. She saw the way I looked at you and said it was the same way her husband looked at her. And then she handed me her and her husband’s wedding rings. Told me to marry you, that it would change my life. That it would be the best decision I ever made, and it was.”

Tears are flowing now because I don’t understand, and all I feel is a million emotions.

“Her words hit me like I was wasting my life. I didn’t know if we would work out or stay married, but I planned to try. I vowed to live a real life, one where I might get hurt instead of playing it safe so that I wouldn’t. I wanted real, not pretend. And that’s what I vowed to do.”

He scoots closer to me but doesn’t touch me yet.

“When I signed that prenup, I knew what I was signing, and I didn’t care. If you wanted my money, then you could’ve taken it. But I didn’t think that was who you were. I saw you as someone who deeply cared about her friend, that’s it.”

I nod. “I’m sorry.”

He lifts my chin. “I’m not. Because I fell in love with the most beautiful woman with a huge heart. A woman who pushes me out of my comfort zone. A woman who fights for justice for her friend. A woman who loves me so much that she spent all the money she had on lawyers trying to get the prenup we signed changed.”

“How do you know about that?”

“I have friends who would do anything for me too.”

“You mean Larkyn?”

He nods.

“So you’ve known this whole time? How could you forget if you weren’t drunk?”

“After you passed out in our suite, Boden came back to get his things. We got into a fight. He knocked me out when he pushed me into the bedpost. My huge headache when I woke up was from our fight.”

The pieces all start making sense. “And the condom?”

“Boden fucked a random woman in there while we were getting married.”

“What a giant fucking cunt.”

“He’s no longer my friend. And if I meet him again, I’ll kick his ass.”

“I couldn’t get the prenup changed. I’m sorry. I don’t want your money, though. I’ll sign the divorce papers, and I don’t want your money.” I just want you.

“About that.” Sebastian pulls a small stack of papers out and lays them in front of me.