ROWAN Why was he using the killing-and-dying card like that was suddenly going to make me forgive him?
Was he even being serious?
When the hell was he going to fucking grow up like every other sane human being and stop acting like a fucking child?
I stared down at him, completely disgusted.
“Was that supposed to make me scared and suddenly take you back?” I asked.
“No!
No, I swear, Rowan!” Kelvin immediately shook his head.
“That isn’t to manipulate you or anything.
I swear it isn’t.” He sniffed, wiping his wet cheeks with the back of his hand.
“I only said it because I want you to know what my life is going to be like without you.” He took a shaky breath.
“My life is going to be fucking useless without you.
I don’t know how I’m supposed to keep living like everything is fine when you’re not here.” His voice cracked.
“I can’t bear waking up every day knowing you’re not going to be beside me.
Knowing I’m not going to have you close to me anymore.
Knowing you’re not going to be wrapped around my arms…” He swallowed hard, his eyes becoming redder.
“I can’t bear losing you, Rowan.” I stared at him without saying anything.
There was a time when hearing him say things like that would have melted me.
There was a time when I would have rushed into his arms and told him everything was going to be okay.
But that version of me was gone.
“I also told your mother about what happened between us,” he added.
My eyes immediately widened.
“What?” “I told her everything.
I told her how I was at fault.” The anger that had barely started settling inside me immediately came rushing back.
“Why did you tell my mother?” “Why did you fucking have to tell her?” Kelvin looked at me helplessly.
“So trying to manipulate me isn’t enough, but you also have to bring my mother into your manipulation tactics?” I let out a forced, unbelievable laugh.
“You know I wouldn’t fall for your tricks, so you decided to bring the queen of tricksters into it too, right?” “You want my own mother to convince me to forgive you?” “I didn’t call her for that.
I called her because I was scared of losing you.
I called her to help me beg you to forgive me.
I miss you, Rowan… I miss us.
Please—” His voice broke.
He sniffed hard, wiping his nose with the back of his hand before trying again.
“Ple… please…” He coughed, struggling to catch his breath.
“Please forgive me.
I… I can’t—” He was suddenly cut off by the loud ringing of my phone in my pocket.
I reached into my pocket, pulled out my phone, and checked the screen.
Sure enough, it was my mother.
Just as I expected.
Without any warning, I yanked my leg out from under Kelvin’s head.
His forehead banged hard against the floor.
“Ouch—!” he cried out in pain.
I ignored him completely and walked straight past him toward my room.
He could survive a little head bump.
He called after me, but I didn’t stop or look back.
I got to my room, stepped inside, locked the door behind me, and sat down on the edge of the bed before finally answering the call.
“Hello, Diane.” There was a short pause on the other end.
“Is that how you greet your mother now?” she asked, already sounding offended.
“You call me Diane?
What happened to ‘Mother’?
What happened to ‘Mom’?” I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I called her Mom.
So why was she acting like I had just committed some terrible crime by calling her Diane?
She was still complaining when I finally cut her off.
“If you have anything to say, I would seriously suggest that you be fast with it because I have important things to do.” I leaned back against my headboard, already feeling a headache coming.
“I called you because of your husband,” she said.
That one word almost set my ears ablaze.
Husband?????
I immediately sat up.
“You mean my ex-boyfriend?” I corrected her immediately.
I heard her groan on the other end.
“Don’t you dare say that!
He is not your ex-boyfriend.
He is your soon-to-be husband.” I squeezed my eyes shut….
Here we fucking go.
“As a matter of fact, husband,” she continued confidently, as though the wedding had already happened.
“Because you are going to get married to him.” Who gave her this confidence?
Before I could even respond, she continued.
“He called me practically broken, crying his eyes out because you ended things with him.
Why would you do that to him, Rowan?” “Why did you have to let those angel tears of his fall down?
Why did you have to act that way?” Angel tears?
Seriously?
“Him, of cou— I mean both of you,” she quickly corrected herself.
“I care about both of you.” I let out a dry laugh.
“So the only thing you really care about is those ‘angel tears’ of his, right?
What about my tears, Diane?
Do you even care about my tears?
Do you?!” My voice cracked at the end.
“He called you, and the only thing you could tell me about was his tears?” “Didn’t he tell you about how he cheated on me?” “He told me that,” she replied calmly, “but I didn’t think that was important.” I froze.
For a second, I genuinely thought I had heard her wrong.
“Not important?” My voice came out almost as a whisper.
“So cheating wasn’t important?
But him crying to you was important?” “Yes, Rowan!
Cheating is not important!” she snapped.
“Why would you throw away the lovely relationship between the two of you over mere cheating and a mere research project?
It is in a man’s nature to cheat, so why are you so surprised, son?
At least he admitted that he cheated!” The words had hit me so hard that I needed a moment to process them.
“It is in a man’s nature to cheat?” My voice trembled with disbelief.
“Are you forgetting that I am also a man?” I almost laughed from the sheer absurdity of it.
“Are you forgetting that?” “Why didn’t I cheat then?” “Why wasn’t I out there sleeping with other people if cheating is simply in a man’s nature?” My voice grew louder.
“Why was he the only one who cheated on me?” My voice cracked as I continued.
“And about my research… you called it ‘just’ a research?
How dare you!” “But I am stating the fact, son,” she said firmly.
“Your research is just a research.” She put extra weight on the word.
“Besides, what use will it even be when you end up marrying him and becoming a stay-at-home husband?
It’s not like you’re going to work with that research.” My throat tightened.
“He has money to take care of you.” Her voice sounded so casual.
Like money could replace everything.
“Why throw everything away because of cheating?” “So you only care about the money, Diane?”