the details of the situation to the party.
Melissa’s wide green eyes held hope until Fate spoke again.
“With everything I’m dealing with—a broken engagement, a mother in rehab, and impending homelessness—I don’t think I have the energy to walk around hating you.” She sighed loudly and moved over to the door. “But I don’t want to know you anymore, Melissa. Honestly, it’s a good thing that I’m moving because I don’t want to see you or speak to you or have anything to do with you.” Fate twisted the doorknob, doing her best to force some semblance of a smile at the woman sitting on her bed. “I need to finish packing,” she said, hoping she wouldn’t have to say anything else.
Melissa stood as Fate held the door open for her.
“In a way, I’m almost glad you caught us.” Melissa must’ve heard Fate’s sharp intake of breath because she rushed on. “Not because I’m glad you got hurt. Or that I ruined your wedding. Just because I think you deserve better. Better than Trevor and better than me. I really do hope things work out for you in New York.”
She appreciated the sentiment, but well wishes from the woman she’d caught screwing her fiancé strangely had no impact on her.
“Goodbye, Mel,” Fate said quietly.
Melissa didn’t say goodbye or make any more awkward pleas of forgiveness. She just nodded with the corners of her mouth pulled downward and left with even redder eyes than she’d come with. Fate closed the door to the suite and leaned against it for support.
Her heart ached in her chest, and she thought of the talk shows her mother used to watch when she was a kid. Her mother liked the trashiest ones, the paternity test results episodes mostly. Fate hated them, hated being in the room when they were on. Something was seriously messed up with people revealing hugely personal secrets in front of a live studio audience. But she kind of understood how some of them felt now.
I never thought this could happen to me.
She remembered a woman who’d thought she’d been brought to the show for a makeover only to find out her husband was sleeping with her twin sister and the sister was pregnant with his baby. The woman had sat there, shell-shocked and devastated.
Fate recalled wondering what in the hell one did when faced with a situation like that—an earthquake splitting your life clean in half. Before and after.
Now, she knew what one did.
One packed her shit and left.
H otel rooms were expensive in New York, a great deal more expensive than they were in Texas. Even in downtown Dallas, you could find a room for under eighty bucks if you were willing to forgo some luxuries.
Manhattan was quite different. The train ride from the Hamptons had taken most of her cash and her bank account wasn’t exactly overflowing. She figured it would take at least a week to find a place to live, so she needed somewhere she could afford for that long.
A tiny place above a Chinese restaurant in the East Village would be home for now. The rooms were small, but then her place with her mom had been pretty tiny. Though they’d managed to make it homey with paintings and pictures on the walls.
After checking into the hotel that smelled like fried pork dumplings and sweet and sour sauce, Fate set her bags on the floor and curled into a ball on the bed. She still had two weeks until she began her job at Maxwell Medical. She was supposed to be on her honeymoon until then.
If it weren’t for what miniscule amount of pride she had left, she would’ve called her new boss, explained what had happened, and asked if she could start sooner.
Checking her bank account balance on her phone made her want to throw up. After seven or eight nights in this tiny room, she’d be very close to broke. Her stomach growled and her chest ached with the hollowed-out feeling one only gets from being utterly gutted by life.
Fate curled tighter around a stiff pillow on the bed. She’d put all of her eggs in one
Melissa’s wide green eyes held hope until Fate spoke again.
“With everything I’m dealing with—a broken engagement, a mother in rehab, and impending homelessness—I don’t think I have the energy to walk around hating you.” She sighed loudly and moved over to the door. “But I don’t want to know you anymore, Melissa. Honestly, it’s a good thing that I’m moving because I don’t want to see you or speak to you or have anything to do with you.” Fate twisted the doorknob, doing her best to force some semblance of a smile at the woman sitting on her bed. “I need to finish packing,” she said, hoping she wouldn’t have to say anything else.
Melissa stood as Fate held the door open for her.
“In a way, I’m almost glad you caught us.” Melissa must’ve heard Fate’s sharp intake of breath because she rushed on. “Not because I’m glad you got hurt. Or that I ruined your wedding. Just because I think you deserve better. Better than Trevor and better than me. I really do hope things work out for you in New York.”
She appreciated the sentiment, but well wishes from the woman she’d caught screwing her fiancé strangely had no impact on her.
“Goodbye, Mel,” Fate said quietly.
Melissa didn’t say goodbye or make any more awkward pleas of forgiveness. She just nodded with the corners of her mouth pulled downward and left with even redder eyes than she’d come with. Fate closed the door to the suite and leaned against it for support.
Her heart ached in her chest, and she thought of the talk shows her mother used to watch when she was a kid. Her mother liked the trashiest ones, the paternity test results episodes mostly. Fate hated them, hated being in the room when they were on. Something was seriously messed up with people revealing hugely personal secrets in front of a live studio audience. But she kind of understood how some of them felt now.
I never thought this could happen to me.
She remembered a woman who’d thought she’d been brought to the show for a makeover only to find out her husband was sleeping with her twin sister and the sister was pregnant with his baby. The woman had sat there, shell-shocked and devastated.
Fate recalled wondering what in the hell one did when faced with a situation like that—an earthquake splitting your life clean in half. Before and after.
Now, she knew what one did.
One packed her shit and left.
H otel rooms were expensive in New York, a great deal more expensive than they were in Texas. Even in downtown Dallas, you could find a room for under eighty bucks if you were willing to forgo some luxuries.
Manhattan was quite different. The train ride from the Hamptons had taken most of her cash and her bank account wasn’t exactly overflowing. She figured it would take at least a week to find a place to live, so she needed somewhere she could afford for that long.
A tiny place above a Chinese restaurant in the East Village would be home for now. The rooms were small, but then her place with her mom had been pretty tiny. Though they’d managed to make it homey with paintings and pictures on the walls.
After checking into the hotel that smelled like fried pork dumplings and sweet and sour sauce, Fate set her bags on the floor and curled into a ball on the bed. She still had two weeks until she began her job at Maxwell Medical. She was supposed to be on her honeymoon until then.
If it weren’t for what miniscule amount of pride she had left, she would’ve called her new boss, explained what had happened, and asked if she could start sooner.
Checking her bank account balance on her phone made her want to throw up. After seven or eight nights in this tiny room, she’d be very close to broke. Her stomach growled and her chest ached with the hollowed-out feeling one only gets from being utterly gutted by life.
Fate curled tighter around a stiff pillow on the bed. She’d put all of her eggs in one
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