Chapter 53

I stood just inside my apartment, my hand gripping the doorknob tightly as I watched Timothy and Linda in the hallway. It was like

I was frozen in place, unable to tear my eyes away from the scene unfolding before me.

“Were you waiting this whole time?” Timothy asked Linda, his lips in a flat line.

My heart sank as Linda responded, her voice light and flirtatious, “Well, hello to you too, handsome.”

“Sorry, I’m just really distracted right now,” Timothy replied, his eyes briefly flickering to my apartment door. My heart thumped

rapidly, and I feared he noticed the small sliver where my eye was looking right back at him.

He wouldn’t have had time to investigate either way since Linda was leaning closer to him. “Oh, never mind that. What do you

need, sweetie?”

I clenched my jaw, feeling a pang of jealousy and anger rising within me. Linda was being far too familiar with Timothy, and it was

clear that she was trying to distract him from whatever business he had that was probably way more important than her.

“I need someone to take care of Duke for me,” Timothy said. “I’m going to be out all of tomorrow, so I need someone to walk and

feed him.”

Linda’s eyes lit up with a mischievous glint, and she leaned even closer, practically. batting her eyelashes at him. “Oh, don’t

worry about a thing. I'd be happy to take care of Duke for you.”

She placed a hand on his arm and gave his bicep a squeeze. She was shamelessly flirting with Timothy, but the expression on

his face remained neutral. It was like. he didn’t even notice, or worse, he didn’t care.

Perhaps she was getting fazed out sooner than expected.

“And I can take care of you too while you recover,” she continued, her words. dripping with innuendo. “You shouldn’t even be up

after what you went through.”

“I have help,” said Timothy, and he took her hand away from his arm. Instead of cupping it in his own, he let it fall back at her

side. From there, he kept the conversation focused on his dog, completely indifferent to Linda’s blatant

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flirtation.

[e)

If he wasn’t interested in her, then why was he spending time with her? As Linda continued to flirt, I couldn’t help but feel a pang

of sadness. Was I just like her him—a casual fling to pass the time? Had I waited too long to see him?

Before I could dwell on my thoughts any longer, I decided it was time to retreat. I didn’t want to be caught eavesdropping

on their conversation. It was clear that there was more to their relationship than I knew, and I didn’t want to intrude any further.

I took Linda’s phone and tossed it through the crack between the door and its frame. It slid across the floor, and I hoped that it

would like she’d just dropped it.

As I closed my apartment door, I tried to shake off the hurt and confusion. Whatever was going on between Timothy and Linda

should have been none of

of my business. That didn’t stop my heart from hurting

however.

Back in my apartment, I slumped onto the couch, replaying the scene in my mind. It was evident that my feelings for Timothy

hadn't faded, despite my attempts to move on. Seeing him with Linda stirred up a storm of emotions I couldn't control.

I should've known better than to think Timothy had changed. I had wanted him to be a different person, but I was left with the

bitter truth.

As the evening wore on, my resolve to make Timothy a cake crumbled. The thought of baking something for him, of trying to be a

friend while my heart. yearned for more, was too painful to bear. I couldn’t pretend to be okay with just being his confidante, his

lawyer, and his high school classmate.

I needed to distance myself from the situation, to give myself the space and time. to heal. Making a cake for Timothy would only

fuel the fire of my emotions, and I couldn’t let that happen.

My phone chimed and I pulled it out to see who had texted.

Aria texted, Just got off work. Wanna get dinner?

While I didn’t really have the energy to sit out and eat, I also didn’t feel like moping

away in the apartment for the rest of the night. I typed my response quickly.

1 said, Sure. Just let me know where.

We met at the Thai place down the street. She had only been there once, but I took her word for it when she praised the food.

Aria was already at the podium speaking to a waitress when I arrived. Right as she saw me, she gestured for me to come over.

“Just the two of you?” asked the waitress as she collected some menus. Aria nodded. “Yep!”

“Follow me, please.”

We filed behind the woman as she led us to a booth in the middle of the room. The place had a subtle red glow with accents of

gold from the hanging lanterns above. The aroma of spices hung in the air along with the soft chatter of other patrons.

Aria and I sat across from each other and the waitress sat down our menus. After telling us another waitress would come by to

take our orders, she hurried along back to the podium.

Aria didn’t even bother looking at her menu, her eyes trained on me as she grinned. I lifted an eyebrow, slightly concerned about

what she was prepared to say. She had made a habit of surprising me the past couple of months.

“You'll never guess what happened at the spa today,” she began, her bright cheeks. shining pink.

“You used a foot scrub on someone's face again?” I asked, lifting my menu.

Aria scoffed. “No! Although, I was giving a back rub to this one particular hottie. I guess the treatment was so good that he

decided to slip his number in his way out.”

my purse on

My grip tightened on the menu. It seemed like only yesterday, Aria was crying. about her break up with some guy he could barely

remember. While I knew she was a romantic at heart, I wished she didn’t just snatch any guy that tossed his number her way.

“That’s great!” I said, forcing some excitement in my voice. “Did you guys get to

talk?”

Clupter 53

“Just before we came here, yes!” she said chipperly. “He told me how lucky he felt to meet me, especially since he didn’t come

across too many beautiful women.”

“Don't they all say that?” I muttered, letting the menu slip from my fingers and slap against the table. With it out of my face, I saw

the brief flash of hurt on Aria’s face. I bit my lip, realizing what I’d just said.

“I'm sorry,” I said quickly. “I didn’t meant it like that.”

“Hmph.” She crossed her arms over her chest and slid down in her seat, sulking. “I’m sure you did.”

“No, it’s great you're getting out there!” I added, but she was already dismsissing herself form the conversation right as a

waitress approached our table. She took out a tablet and began tapping on the screen.

“Hi, my name is Helen, and I will be your server for the night! Can I get you ladies. something to drink in the meantime?

Appetizers?”

Aria opened her menu and twisted her lips. “I think I'll just get a Coke.”

“Just water, please,” I told Helen. “And no appetizers for us.”

Helen once again tapped on the tablet and have us a short nod. “I'll be right back with your drinks.”

When she left, I went right back to pleading to Aria. “Look, I had a really crappy day. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

“It’s fine,” Aria said, waving it off. “I just thought he was cute. I’m not looking for anything serious.”

“You should though!” I pressed. “You shouldn't settle for less, especially when there’s someone out there that will give you more.”

She didn’t seem convinced by my words. Avoiding my gaze, she turned back to her menu and started flipping through it. I sighed

and picked my menu back up, but I kept my eyes on her.

“I saw Timothy with another woman today,” I confessed, my voice barely above a whisper.

Aria’s eyes widened and she lifted them to finally meet mine. “What? Are you sure

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it was him?”

I nodded solemnly, “Yes, I’m sure. I saw them together in the hallway, and they seemed rather close.”

Aria’s eyebrows furrowed, “But that doesn’t make sense. He seemed so invested in you.” “it’s not like we were dating,” I said

quickly. “Just very friendly.”

“He seemed very friendly with you,” Aria grumbled, tossing her menu aside.

I let out a bitter laugh, “That's the thing, Aria. He’s always been like that.”

Her confusion was evident, “What do you mean?”

I fiddled with my straw, trying to find the right words to explain. She still didn’t know about the history between Timothy and me.

She didn’t even know we went to the same school.

“Just. ..after everything that happened, I thought he’d change his ways for his own. good,” I said instead.

Aria’s expression softened, “Did you really want him to change?”

I shook my head, my frustration brewing. “No, I think he was just being nice at the

moment, especially to his lawyer of all people.”

Aria placed a comforting hand on mine, “I’m sorry, Evie. You really like him, don’t you?”

I shook my head. “No! I just figured he was shedding that gross persona of his.”

Aria squeezed my hand, “Don’t blame yourself, Evie. He’s just really popular right now. Some guys let it go to their head.”

“You're right,” I sighed. “I guess I just wanted to believe he was different.”

Aria smiled softly, “It’s understandable. We all want to believe in the best in people. Like you said, we deserve someone who will

treat us with respect.”

I smiled gratefully. “You're right.”

“That’s the spirit,” she said encouragingly. “And if Timothy can’t see how amazing you are, then he doesn’t deserve you.”

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A

When we got our meal, I felt slightly better than before. It hurt to know that Timothy wasn’t the person I thought he was, but it

was better to know the truth. Unfortunately, that truth might've been what Bruce was hammering into my mind all along.

How could he prove Bruce right?

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