We’d spent days, hours, minutes, and countless seconds talking about our new life together, and it was all supposed to be perfect. We’d planned the perfect wedding and the perfect reception. I’d even found the perfect wedding gown, and Nadia had pinned up my hair and perfectly draped my dangling curls around my tiara. We were supposed to ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after, but he had prevented that. I would never forget those questions that ran across my mind for months after that dreadful, embarrassing, heartbreaking day: Why wasn’t I good enough? Pretty enough? Smart enough? Sexy enough? What’s wrong with me? Aren’t I enough of a woman? I had collapsed into my mother’s arms, sobbing, and the memory of that stung all the more now that she was gone.
“Ashly,” Jake softly said.
As anger flooded through me, I lunged at him and slapped him in the face. “You! You betrayed my love and trust. You’re nothing but a spineless, gutless, pathetic coward, Jake! You dumped me, your fiancée, and didn’t even bother to call to check on me or see how I was,” I said sternly, hoping my slap had s
tung him as much as his betrayal had stung me.
His frown deepened. “I apologize. Truly. From the bottom of my heart.”
I just stared at him in disgust.
“You’re probably wondering what I’m doing here.”
“Yeah, you could say that. My mother hated you after what you did to me, so I don’t see why she’d leave you anything, and I couldn’t blame her, you lying son-of-a—”
“Look, I’ve got no idea what I’m doing here either. I’m just as confused as you are,” he said, cutting me off.
“If you’ll have a seat, Mr. Connors,” the attorney said, “we’ll get started.”
My heart rate doubled, then tripled, until I thought might just burst out of my chest. Seeing him again was too much, too painful. Nausea rose from the pit of my stomach. I decided that if I had to vomit, I’d aim for Jake’s shoes. I stood and reached for my purse. “No, I don’t think I can do this. Sorry.”
“Uh…would you like to reschedule?” Mr. Shelby asked.
“I think that would be best,” I said, my voice cracking like an adolescent boy’s.
As I started to walk to the door, Jake gently reached for my arm, and I shuddered from his touch. I hated that he could still make me feel that way, especially since I despised the man.
“Please…” he begged.
“I just can’t,” I said, throwing those dreadful words back at him, the three little words he’d spat at me on our would-have-been wedding day, instead of the “I love you” he should have said.
“I’d like to see what your mom wanted to say to me.”
“So let me get this straight. You’ve gone and screwed up your life, and now you’re broke, so you’re hoping my dead mother left you some expensive vase that you can pawn the second you get your hands on it?”
“Haven’t lost that sarcastic edge, have you?” he said.
“I’ll tell you one thing I have lost.”
He cocked a brow, as if daring me to say it.
“I’ve entirely lost my desire to date pretty bad boys from the wrong side of town.”
“I’m so sorry about what I did, Ashly, but I was young and—”
“How could you dump me like that in front of all my friends and family?” I shouted, cutting him off.
Tired of the drama, the lawyer interrupted. “Folks, if we’re going to read the will, we must get on with it. If not, we should reschedule. I don’t feel comfortable being in the middle of this very personal argument, and I have a family obligation tonight.”
Jake pulled a chair and motioned me to sit down.
“Fine, but you’d better read it fast, because I can’t stand being in the room with this jerk a minute longer than I have to be.”
Jake met the lawyer’s gaze and winced. “In case you didn’t notice, she hates me.”
“Can you blame her?” Mr. Shelby said, much to my surprise. “You left this beautiful woman at the altar. I was there when she told all of the guests there wouldn’t be a wedding. What you did to her was…it was just deplorable.”
“Thank you for defending my honor,” I said, smiling sheepishly.