Page 97 of Kiss and Tell

Irritation threatened to crawl up out of my throat.

“If you hadn’t said anything to Jessie we wouldn’t even be in this situation,” I reminded him.

“She guessed!”

“You didn’t need to confirm it!”

“So you wanted me to lie to my friend?” he scoffed.

“Yes!” I shouted. “That’s exactly what I wanted you to do.”

“Just like I suppose you lied to your work about me, hm?” His eyes glittered darkly. “Is this what our entire relationship is going to be? Lying to the people close to us?”

“You knew from the start that’s exactly how it had to be.” The words flew out of my mouth.

“Yeah, well, maybe I’m not too keen on the idea anymore,” he growled.

“Of keeping it a secret?”

“Of this relationship.”

The air whooshed out of my lungs. I couldn’t breathe.

We stared at each other. The lines around Connor’s eyes and mouth were tight, tense.

Had he meant it? Or had he only said it in anger?

It didn’t matter, anyway. This was exactly what I had been suggesting, right?

“Fine,” I said shortly. I clutched at the strap around my shoulders, tugging my bag close to my chest, and stalked to the front door. “I should have known this whole thing was a mistake after all.”

“So you’re just going to walk out?” Connor’s jaw clenched. “Just like that?”

I whirled on him.

“Don’t you dare try and make me the bad guy,” I yelled. “If you hadn’t told Jessie none of this would be happening!”

“And if you had just stood up to that asshole at work you wouldn’t be in this situation!” he shouted back.

My hands shook with fury. Peter’s smirking face danced across my vision, melding with Connor’s glowering expression.

“You have no idea,” I hissed. “None.”

I stormed through the front door and slammed it behind me.

Fuck Connor and fuck Peter.

I wasdone.

Thirty-One

I calledin sick to work the next two days until the weekend arrived. I sat in my room, buried in blankets and surrounded by books the whole time. Sunday came and I contemplated calling in sick on Monday as well.

My face was permanently blotchy and red from tears. Half were tears of rage. Rage over what Peter had been doing to me. Rage over how the firm’s partner had dismissed me. Rage over how Connor had told Jessie about us.

But I couldn’t deny a large portion of those tears were from loss and mourning.

I hated that I’d fought with Connor. I hated that we’d yelled and shouted at each other. I hated that we’d broken up.