But just as I pushed through the glass doors into the magnificent lobby, a call rang on my phone and I stopped in my tracks. Within the first few notes of the song, my heart was racing and I cursed the fact that I couldn’t even tell myself it might be Mason or Sofia.
Because I still had a special ring tone assigned to Aaron.
I hadn’t thought to change it since he never contacted me after leaving. But now as I stood in the middle of a holiday rush with hordes of locals and tourists streaming past me in both directions, my ex-fiancé was finally calling. And after the drama witnessed by dozens of his friends this past week at Noah’s apartment, I had a feeling I knew what might’ve prompted his first urge to call me since leaving. My hand shaking, I dragged my thumb across the screen, pressing the phone to my ear but saying nothing. I detected Aaron’s breathing on the other end before he even spoke a word.
“Taylor?”
I closed my eyes at the sound of his voice. My heart immediately raced and I gave no reaction to the person who bumped into me and shot a dirty look over his shoulder. On cloud nine before, I was on my own island of panic now as I mustered up the strength to speak.
“Aaron.”
But no sooner had I said his name did he hiss, “This better be a fucking joke, Taylor.” His fury woke me right up and suddenly, I was breathing hard through my nose, trying to narrow down the millions of questions and retorts I had for him as he railed against me on the other end of the line. “For Christ’s sake, please tell me you have an explanation for me!”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about how many fucking people have been calling me telling me they’ve been seeing you with Mason. I didn’t even listen to them at first because I swore you had to be smarter than that. I swore there was no way you could be that stupid, but now it’s getting to the point where I can’t keep telling myself they’re lying, so please – for Christ’s sake, please tell me this isn’t real. Please tell me you are fucking kidding me, Taylor.”
“You’re the one who’s gotta be kidding me, Aaron,” I seethed in sheer awe of his nerve. “Do you have memory loss or are we not going to acknowledge the fact that this is the first fucking time you’ve called me since you left me without warning – and in case you forget, you skipped out on not just our wedding but our bills that I had to pick up a second full-time job to cover. Considering the fact that your shotgun engagement to Eva Tully is the least of the problems you left me with, I’d say you’re the one who should be fucking explaining yourself.”
Frozen in the middle of the teeming lobby, my heart pounded out of my chest, my knuckles white as I gripped my phone tight in anticipation of Aaron’s reply.
“I was going to explain to you,” he finally muttered.
“Explain to me now.”
“I had a lot of pressure on me that you would never understand.”
“Well try your best to spell it out because I was with you for three years, Aaron so at the very least, I deserve even your most pathetic explanation as to why you packed your things and left me the way you – ”
“Christ, Taylor! I’m sorry! I couldn’t be who anyone wanted me to be, okay? I’m not Mason and for that, I’m sorry to my parents. I’m also not fucking husband material and for that, I’m sorry to you.”
“Oh, but you’re husband material when your bride is a swimsuit model with a billionaire father?”
“Yes,” Aaron growled, so unapologetic I nearly broke my phone. “I can start anew here. I have resources here that I don’t have at home.”
“You mean you have money and status that you don’t have to work for like your brother did,” I bit back, my eyes on fire and unblinking as I soaked in the silence of his shame. It was heavy and palpable and to my surprise, considering I once lived to ensure Aaron’s comfort, I enjoyed every twisted second of it.
“You’re with him for the money then,” he finally bit back.
“No but if I was, you’d be one to talk.”
“I don’t feel pressure with Eva the way I did with you.”
“That’s because you don’t fucking know her,” I hissed in disbelief. “You haven’t spent enough time with her to run into a single real challenge yet. You have no history with her and I hate to break it to you, but if you last even six months as a couple, Aaron, you’ll find one. There will be an obstacle, probably more than one and as her husband it will be your job to stay there even when it gets tough. You’ll have to be there for her and love her and support her like you didn’t with me.”
“How the fuck can you say that?” he returned instantly but in a soft voice. “How can you say I wasn’t there for you? You know I was. We couldn’t spend even a minute apart from each other after we lost the baby.” My throat closed. Without warning, I choked up, unable to say a word as Aaron went on in a small voice. “I know you remember. I took off from work to be with you. I had everyone telling me I better be taking good care of you, that I better give you your perfect fairytale ending after everything you went through, like I didn’t lose my baby too. Well I did, and I know that was the worst time of your life but you have to know it was mine too, and it was fucking hard for me too.”
I could feel my heart throwing itself against my ribs. My pulse chattered in my teeth as I stood there in the crowd, tears welling in my eyes as I stared out at nothing.
“I know it was. And you were there for me, Aaron,” I muttered. “But considering you proposed to me a year later, I expected you to be there forever instead of taking off one night without telling me.”
“I have my reasons, Taylor, but I’m sorry.”
“You’re not,” I murmured, calmly dabbing the corners of my eyes. “Or you’d tell me your reasons.”
“Why don’t you tell me yours first?” Aaron countered angrily. “What reason could you possibly have to get anywhere fucking near Mason?”
“He makes me happy,” I replied between my teeth.