A deafening silence filled the room. Now the truth was out. Everything she had held back from him was now out in the open. There was no taking it back now.
“You’re blaming me for the fact that you chose to be with Gary?” His eyes narrowed. “You literally just accused me of blaming you for my choice to break up with you. But I’m the one being blamed for your bad marriage?”
She brushed her tears aside in anger. “I’m not doing this.” Heart racing, she headed towards the gallery entrance, ready to walk away from him for good. It was obvious that she had let the past affect her too much. She’d held on to the pain and the shock for so long it had become a part of her.
“Don’t walk away from me, Heather.” Simon’s footsteps sounded behind her, but she didn’t dare turn around to face him.
She had to get out of here. Had to get away before she said something else that she couldn’t take back. Coming here to talk had been a mistake. That was obvious now.
With the gallery entrance in sight Simon appeared in front of her, his eyes blazing with anger, his body rigid. “You promised that we were going to talk. When I said that I was going to hold you to that promise, I meant it.”
“Get out of my way,” she snapped. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“I’m not trying to tell you what to do.” He ran his hands through his dark hair in frustration. “I’m just trying to understand.”
“You dumped me and left,” she said bitterly. “It broke my heart, so I ended up getting knocked up. What else is there to understand?”
“Is that why you married Gary?” Simon demanded. “Because he got you pregnant?”
She couldn’t bring herself to admit it. The shame of her mistake with Gary, combined with the embarrassment she felt at her outburst, made a lump form in her throat. All she could do was nod her head. A tear rolled down her cheek.
His fingers curled around her shoulders and he gazed at her. His eyes were burning with something she could barely describe. There was rage and sadness flashing in his blue eyes. “I never meant to hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” Her breath caught in her throat, and her chest tightened so much it felt like her insides were on fire. “Simon, you broke my heart.”
“How could you have ended up with a man like Gary? Why did you throw your life away on him?” he demanded. “I wasn’t worth it.”
“You still don’t get it, do you?” she asked in a small voice. “Simon, you were worth it to me because I loved you.”
LOVE WAS AN ABSURD emotion. A trick of the brain. Chemicals combining to make a person do crazy, irrational things.
But Heather wasn’t a crazy, irrational person. He might not know if she was a liar and a spy, but he knew that much.
He released her and crossed his arms. “You couldn’t have.”
“I could, and I did.” Her face was streaked with tears and her lower lip was trembling.
This wasn’t an act. Heather wasn’t putting on a performance. She really had been heartbroken over the way he’d left things.
Simon had always guessed that their breakup had been difficult for her. But he’d never anticipated something like this. He never could have guessed the depth of her feelings for him.
Obviously, whatever love she once had for him had given way to bitterness and anger. That much was undeniable.
“I’m sorry,” he said, hoping she heard the sincerity in his tone.
“Keep your apology,” she said. “We can’t change the past now. Besides, my marriage to Gary wasn’t a complete disaster. I got Finn out of it. And my son is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I’ve made a lot of bad decisions in my life, but having Finn isn’t one of them.”
“You can’t go home like this,” he said. “You can’t drive all the way home in this state. Let me drop you off.”
She threw her shoulders back in defiance. “I can. I’ve survived this long without you, Simon. I don’t need you to drive me home.”
“Okay,” he said. “It’s obvious we both need to cool off. We can wait and try talking again.”