Chapter 12
The air felt like it had been sucked out of the room, leaving behind a dead, heavy silence.
My teeth ground together so hard I could almost hear them crack.
Was this bastard really so shameless that he couldn’t leave me a single good memory?!
“Come on, sis, isn’t it a little heartless to act this way?” Magnolia crossed her arms and sauntered over, her expression smug.%
She had the nerve to pat my shoulder as if we were old friends. “If I were you, I’d just sign the house over to Ewing.”
She shrugged, as if offering a favor. “Or name your price. We’ll buy you out, even if it means we take a loss. After all, you know Ewing and I already… resolved all our misunderstandings in bed last night.“8
She glanced at Ewing, lips curled in a victorious smirk. “It’s only natural he can’t get over me, considering I’m the one who taught him how to be a real man.“@
Her voice dropped to a mock–sympathetic tone. “Sorry you spent three years as his backup plan.”
I couldn’t help myself–my palm cracked across her face with a sharp smack.
There was no way I could just let this go.
I could forgive Ewing’s betrayal. I could even bear the humiliation of loving the wrong person. But I couldn’t stand being mocked to my face by Magnolia, not after everything she’d done.
Some things are worth fighting for, even if it means losing.
In the past, I’d set aside my pride, my stubbornness, my identity–all for someone who would never do the same for me.”
Now I understood: no matter how much I let go, the person I gave everything to would never be the one to share my future.
Maybe some things were doomed to be mistakes from the very beginning.”
The fight was brutal–honestly, it was a mess.
Magnolia lost a couple of teeth.
Then Ewing jumped in, shoving me so hard I went tumbling down the stairs and cracked a rib.
In the end, both our parents had to come down to the police station to bail us out.
I never did find out how they settled things, but my parents ended up paying Magnolia nearly thirty thousand dollars to make it all go away.
I felt utterly humiliated.
And then, our whole social circle exploded.
Everyone had an opinion: some called Ewing a scumbag, others blamed me for stringing him along, and a few even accused me of being some crazy man–hating feminist.E
Everyone had something to say.
I lay in my hospital bed, deleting contacts one after another–people I barely recognized, people with nothing better to do than gossip.
All the while, I kept wondering: why did Ewing have to push things this far? Was it resentment? Guilt? Was he trying to get back at me for all those years I supposedly made him feel small??
I couldn’t figure him out.%
Maybe, for him, things had to get this ugly–leave us both broken and bleeding–so that there’d be no going back, no chance we’d ever speak again.
“What’s your next move?” The door swung open. To my surprise, it was Melvin.
“I need to find a place to stay. I managed, my voice strained.\
Ewing had told my parents he needed a month before I could move out.
Melvin nodded. “I’ve got a spare apartment. You know how crazy my work schedule is, anyway.”
I looked Melvin over, surprised by his offer.
He’d graduated from med school. I’d met him playing basketball with Ewing, and he’d never taken sides–just quietly noticed things, like how I hated cilantro. Every time Magnolia started causing drama, he’d call her out immediately and warn Ewing how dangerous that kind of flirtation was.
I’d wanted to thank him more than once, but politeness–or maybe just the awkwardness of being a woman talking to a man–always held me back.
Now, stripped of dignity and pride, I finally let myself ask, “Don’t you think I went too far?
Melvin shook his head, sincere as always. “No. I think you did exactly what you should have.”
He hesitated, then said, “I probably should have mentioned–I cut Ewing out of my life.“W
I tried to smile, but it hurt
