0927 Was Her Birthday, Not Ours Chapter 03
Dylan’s face twisted.
His phone rang again. Caller ID: Client Paige.
I reached over and hit speaker.
Dylan couldn’t stop me in time.
Paige’s voice burst out. “Dylan, are you done playing the part yet? Did she cry?”
The crowd went quiet. Eyes full of disgust landed on Dylan.
His face turned purple. He growled, “Shut up.”
Paige was still laughing. “Don’t be mad. I made you soup. Come home early.”
I ended the call and handed the phone back. “Your client’s pretty thoughtful.”
Dylan grabbed my arm and yanked me away from the curb. “Happy now?”
“Pretty happy.”
He shoved me toward the car. “Sienna, what the hell do you want?”
“Dylan, doesn’t playing broke for five years get old? Dragging me along with Paige, calling it a ‘loyalty test’, five years of that must’ve felt great, huh?”
“Sienna, fine. You already know. I’m done hiding it.”
“How much money do you want?”
I clutched my chest. The pain made it hard to breathe.
I remembered the day my parents sold their house. He knelt in front of them.
“Mr. and Mrs. Vance, I swear I will never let Sienna suffer.”
My mom shoved the debit card into his hand. “A house is just a house. We can rent. What matters is you getting through this.”
He took the card with trembling hands, eyes red.
And now he was asking me how much I wanted.
He stepped closer, voice low. “Sienna, I don’t want to say ugly things.”
“I feel guilty about you. But you can’t force feelings.”
“I’ll pay back the house money. Slowly.”
“How slowly?”
The second the words left my mouth, Dylan froze. His face was full of disbelief. “What?”
“I said how slowly?”
“Don’t pressure me.”
“Debtors always this loud?”
His expression changed completely. “You were never this harsh before.”
I picked the white roses off the hood and dropped them in the trash.
Dylan’s pupils shrank.
I turned and walked away.
He yelled after me. “Sienna, if you leave today, we’re done for real.”
I looked back. His eyes flickered with hope.
I pulled the engagement photo from my bag.
Ripped it in half.
His half went into the trash.
…
Dylan didn’t come back to the Maple Street rental that day.
He sent dozens of texts.
Started with anger, moved to apologies, then declarations of love, then begging. I didn’t reply to a single one.
8 p.m. Paige knocked on my door.
She was smiling when I opened it. “Sienna, you scared Dylan to death today. You might not be embarrassed, but he sure is.”
“What do I have to be embarrassed about?”
“Five years with a guy. Lost the house. Lost the baby. And didn’t even get the license in the end.”
I laughed in her face. “So you’re just going full shameless now?”
Paige cracked. Her voice went shrill. “Sienna, he doesn’t love you anymore, and you’re still clinging to him. How pathetic can you be?”
I looked at her sharp, ugly expression. The little girl with tears on her face, that memory was fading fast.
“Paige. Ten years. Did I ever do anything wrong to you?”
“Your ex kicked you out with nowhere to go. I let you crash in my bed. Paid all the utilities. You said you needed new clothes for job interviews, so I split my last paycheck with you. I wasn’t expecting a thank-you card, but cheating with my fiancé?”
Paige’s face went white. She forced herself to keep her chin up. “So what? Love is something you fight for. Dylan and I are truly in love. You were just squatting in the spot.”
“So the ‘pretend to be broke’ idea really came from you? You two were already hooking up behind my back, weren’t you?”
“It’s not my fault you’re so stupid. You believed everything we said!”
Smack.
