âAgnes, donât give me that sass,â Jared retorted, his voice a low growl. âEven if you donât tell me, I can find out what kind of joint Eden Nights is. Do you really think itâs a place for you to be?â
âIf you can be here, then why canât I?â she shot back, her voice cold as ice. âIf youâre so eager to know why I am here, then why donât you start by telling me why youâre here?â
She was lying if she claimed she didnât care. Deep down in her head, a voice was incessantly screaming, âDonât ask, donât ask, donât ask... but she couldnât help herself Jared stared at her, lips firmly pressed together, silent for what seemed like an eternity.
Agnes smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder. âSee? You canât answer that, can you? Youâre no saint yourself, Jared. So why are you judging me with these high and mighty standards? Besides, Iâm just your exâwife, arenât I? Even if I am a barmaid here, itâs my life and my choice. It doesnât affect anyone else, let alone you.â
She knew what Jared was thinking, so she voiced his suspicions. His reaction was explosive.
Was Agnes not even pretending anymore? Was she really admitting it all?
Did she just not care about how she appeared in his eyes, or how he felt?
Scowling, Jared spat out, âI donât believe you.â
âYou do believe it, youâve always believed it,â she challenged. âYou just donât want to accept it. Does it hurt your pride, Jared, to think that your exâwife is working in a place like this? Let me be, Jared. Whatever I do, whoever I meet, itâs my life and my responsibility. No one gets to dictate what I should do, including you.â
Agnes was angry, too. More than her anger at Jaredâs suspicions, she was furious with him for being here in the first place. And he wouldnât even explain why.
So, they were even.
Two people who no longer trusted each other, being friends was a long shot.
Not to mention having any lingering feelings.
Agnes knew the source of her recent agony. Even if everything from the past was a misunderstanding â even if Alyssa wasnât the one who caused her motherâs death the chasm between them, built over the past four years, would not simply disappear.
The people theyâd met, the experiences theyâd had, theyâd formed a vast abyss between the two of them.
How could they suddenly bridge that gap and smooth the rough edges?
Agnes was torn, but seeing Jared now, she knew.
They could not return to how they once were, no matter how much they both wished they could.
She was tired of the continuous suspicion, the questioning, the bickering. If they continued like this, what would be left of them?
Nothing but disappointment and exhaustion after a draining struggle. So, let the misunderstanding stand.
By cutting off her own retreat, she spared herself the agony of indecision.
She had other matters to deal with, and her situation was not going to get any easier.
Agnes certainly didnât want Jared involved in any of it.
She pushed him away. âMr. Whitfield, itâs considered bad manners to keep a lady waiting here. I suggest you go back and attend to your date before you end up on the blacklist. You wouldnât want to come back just to find no one willing to serve you, would you?â