Heartless: Episode 3

Her eyes widened as she leaned forward. “Excuse me? He’s what?”

“We had the most amazing dinner. The conversation, the food—it was…” I struggled to find the right word without being cliché. “Perfect. It was perfect.”

“So, what happened?”

“We walked outside and ran into Ben.”

Her jaw dropped. “Ben, Ben? Like, your ex Ben?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my God. Is that the first time you’ve seen him since college?”

Sucking in a quick breath, I moved my hand toward my upset stomach. “Yeah. Can you believe that? Anyway, he pulled me aside—”

“Ben pulled you aside?” she interrupted, clearly wanting to get all the facts straight.

I nodded. “So, he pulled me aside and asked me what I was doing there with Daniel.”

“What the fuck business is it of his? Wait—he knows Daniel? How does he know Daniel?” Her brows pulled together with her sudden confusion.

“If you’d let me finish, then you could stop giving yourself wrinkles.”

Her expression immediately softened as she rubbed a finger across the bridge of her nose like she could erase any creases that wanted to form there. “Finish.”

“So, Ben pulled me aside and asked me what I was doing there with Daniel. I told him it was none of his business, but he told me that Daniel was his business. I asked him why that was, and he said because Daniel was dating his sister!”

“No.” Her head started shaking with her disbelief. “Nope. I don’t believe it.”

“Ben showed me a picture of them together.”

“So what? Were they fucking in said picture?”

I choked out a breath. “No.”

“Were they kissing?” she continued, her tone completely unconvinced.

“No.”

“What were they doing then?”

“Just sitting there with their faces squished together. They looked cozy, friendly. Whatever. They looked like more than friends,” I all but shouted.

Barbara rose to her feet. “Have you talked to him? How did things end?”

“I left.”

“With or without Daniel?”

“Without.”

“And you haven’t talked to him since, have you?”

I shook my head. “I feel like an idiot. I was hurting. I believed Daniel when he said he called off his arrangements. I fell for his charm and his stupid hot face.”

“E

lizabeth, you don’t need to feel stupid unless you don’t give him a chance to explain his side of things. I understand that this is all new to you, but you can’t run away from him like you’re a child. He isn’t Ben, and you’re not the same girl you were when Ben cheated on you.You’re a grown woman, so act like it.”