I run for it, just as Nico comes out.
“Sondra!” he shouts as I throw open the car door. “Wait! Where are you going?” He jogs toward the car.
“Get out of here!” I sob to Corey.
She steps on the gas, but Nico throws himself in front of the car, forcing Corey to slam on the brakes.
“Sondra! What happened?” He runs around to my side of the car.
“Where’s your fiancée, Nico? Why didn’t you bring her today?”
If I had any doubt in my mind the fiancée was real, it evaporates when I see Nico go still.
“Drive away,” I tell Corey.
“Wait!” Nico lunges for the car as Corey guns it. “Let me explain.”
I flip him the bird and we peel out of the driveway.
And then I’m a sobbing mess. “I picked another cheater. Can you believe it? I really can’t.”
Corey throws me a worried glance. “I’m so sorry, Sondra. He deserves to die.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” I say, smearing tears across my cheek with the back of my hand.
My phone dings with a text coming in. I know it’s from Nico, but I’m too stupid not to look.
I’m not marrying Jenna. I barely even know her. It was a contract made by our fathers when we were kids. She came here to ask me to help release it, which I’m doing. I never intended to marry her. I only want to be with you.
I read it aloud to Corey, who presses her lips together. “Well, he should’ve told you about it, then.”
My sobs quiet. I think I actually believe him, which might be total insanity. “Yes, he should have.” It doesn’t matter, though. All I know is that I can’t trust my own judgment with this guy.
I block his number on my phone.
“Where to?” Corey asks.
“Home.”
“My place?”
“No. Michigan. I want to go home. Take me to the airport.”
Chapter 14
Nico
I’m going out of my mind.
I can’t get her fucking cousin to talk—to tell me where she is. At least not with any non-violent methods of persuasion, and obviously I’m not going to strong-arm her. I have a guy watch Corey’s house, but she doesn’t seem to be there. Nor has she appeared on any camera in the casino.
My girl is gone.
Even though this whole time I knew I was wrong for her, I can’t stand knowing I hurt her. I pressed a knife right into her soft spot and let her feel cheated on again.
It’s unforgivable.
And that’s the part I have to make right. I can’t let her walk away from this thing wounded. I never wanted that. I was selfish—I indulged in getting close to her. I let myself get carried away by the pleasure she brought to me. But once I convince her I was true, I need to let her go.
It’s the only way I can make any of this right.
Sondra
I’m in bed with the covers over my head for the third day in a row. My mom has been in a dozen times to coax me out, but I’m not having it.
“Just let me rest,” I tell her. “I need sleep.”
My phone rings and I ignore it. A text comes through. I ignore that. It rings again.
I look at the screen.
Corey.
I pick up. “Hey.” Even to my own ears, my voice sounds heavier than lead.
“I think Nico’s story is true,” Corey says.
My stomach, nervous and empty on the depression diet of a few bites of fruit and toast, seizes up.
“He’s talked to me. I cornered his cousin Sal, and I even asked that guy Leo and his bodyguard Tony. They all had the same story. Childhood commitment that’s never been acted on. In fact, Tony says he gave her money to disappear while Nico gets things worked out with her dad.” Her voice lowers. “He also says Nico’s a total wreck. Hasn’t slept since you left.”
“Why are you telling me this?” If there’s panic in my voice, it’s because I spent the last three days reconciling myself to never seeing Nico again. Now Corey’s shoving open the door I’ve been trying so hard to keep closed.
“I just thought you should know. He still should have told you about the fiancée situation, but with your past, maybe you jumped to the worst conclusion. He wasn’t two-timing you, Sondra.”
I throw back the covers, suddenly too antsy to be in bed. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not like I was going to marry him, anyway. An ending would’ve been inevitable. So now it’s done.” I pad to the bathroom, the need for a shower overwhelming.
“I don’t know. I think you were thinking about whether you could be with him long term. And that’s sort of a different question. I’m not sure you should mix up the two situations.”
“Are you seriously on his side now?” I snap.
“No! I’m totally on your side. I support you no matter what you decide. But I don’t think you should choose based on whatever feelings came up because you thought he was cheating. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t.”