“With me,” Sebastian fires back.
Spencer smirks as he looks up at her.
Okay, who is this woman, and why does everyone think everything she says is amusing?
She turns back to Sebastian. “So, are you going to come over to see us?”
“Umm.” Sebastian’s eyes flick to me. “I can’t. April doesn’t like me going out.”
“Taskmaster,” Julian mutters.
“She locks him up,” Spencer adds.
My eyes widen, and I laugh. What the hell? “Not at all, Sebastian. You can go and visit whenever you want to, sweetheart.”
“Okay then,” he dismisses her, “Thanks for that.”
She rises up on her toes, clearly excited, and she smiles between us. “I’ll see you soon, Seb.”
She walks off, and everyone snickers.
Sebastian pinches the bridge of his nose, disgusted. “Don’t even.”
“Who was that?” I ask, holding up my hands. “Actually, let me guess.”
“Oh, please do.” Spencer laughs.
“I’m guessing you’ve…” I screw up my face as I try to think of a nice way to say this. “Been with her?”
Sebastian closes his eyes, and I know I’ve hit the nail on the head. The others chuckle.
“And who is she?” Spencer asks.
Sebastian stands. “I can’t talk right now; I’m dancing with April. Do not disturb us
anymore with your boring topics of conversation.”
They laugh.
I stay seated and smile as I look between the others. “Why, who is she?”
Sebastian widens his eyes at them in warning.
“Tell me,” I demand.
“Let’s just say… he kept it in the family.”
Sebastian pulls me to my feet. “Dancing, my love.” He drags me away. “Ignore these fuckers.”
“Do the words ex-sister-in-law ring any bells, Garcia?” Spencer calls after us.
My eyes widen as he pulls me along. “Sister-in-law? Ex… you slept with Helena’s sister?” I gasp as we get to the dancefloor.
He takes me into his arms and then winces. “Shh, dancing.”
“Sebastian!”
He screws his face up. “Maybe little bit.”
My mouth is open as I stare up at him. This is so unexpected.
What the hell? This is a nightmare. This is horrendous, and the confirmation I’ve been searching for.
He doesn’t love her anymore.
He couldn’t.
Like a tangible force, I feel the fear leave my body.
Oh, thank God.
He acts serious, holding back a smirk. “What?” He spins me, bends, and kisses me softly. “What do you want to say? You’re disgusted, appalled…”
Impressed.
“All those things.” I try to control my smile.
He shakes his head. “Not one of my proudest moments. There was copious amounts of alcohol involved, and I was clearly still in my angry stage.”
“Does Helena know this?”
“Who knows and who cares?” He spins me around, and I laugh out loud.
This is the best news I have ever heard.
“I thought you felt sorry for her.” I frown. We haven’t discussed Helena since that night when he had the meltdown. I haven’t wanted to bring her up, although I’ve thought about it way too often.
“I did in the beginning, but then she got nasty and slept with everyone. She took me for everything I owned and…”—he shrugs casually— “It was quite cathartic, actually. Unlike her sister, Angela is a good person. We were friends for a long time, and it symbolized the beginning of my new single life.”
I smile up at him like a groupie. This is groundbreaking information for me. I was scared that he still loved her a little but this proves that he doesn’t. There is no way he would have ever done that if they weren’t over for good. He has super high morals.
He slept with her sister.
I bite my bottom lip to hide my goofy smile. Best news ever.
I’m lying on my side, staring at Sebastian in the dark. It’s late. We went to the ball and then came home and made love.
He rolls on his side to face me. “What are you thinking about?”
“I can’t believe you slept with Helena’s sister.”
He closes his eyes. “Please don’t remind me.”
“I thought you felt sorry for her?”
“I did in the beginning.” He pauses, thinking for a moment. “You know, it was weird.”
“What was?”
“The way my marriage ended.”
“Why?”
“Well, she had this hang-up that I didn’t find her attractive anymore, so she started acting differently.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. She became flirty around my friends. Wore different clothes. It was like she was crying out for attention. And I could see it happening before my eyes, and I knew why she was doing it. But…” He cuts himself off.
“You didn’t try to stop it.”
He rolls his lips. “After… I blamed myself. I was devastated. But the day I asked her to stop using my surname, she got nasty.”
“How?
“She started sleeping with people I knew. She took me for everything financially, and she even tried to get Bentley. She was hell bent on hurting me in any way she could.”
“Did she?”
“Yes.” He exhales heavily. “Each little thing she did cemented what I had feared all along.”
“What was that?”
“That I never really knew her.”
I frown, surprised by that statement.
“It’s one thing to love someone, but to realize that you loved someone who never existed is the worst betrayal of all.”
“I don’t understand. How didn’t you realize you weren’t compatible before you got married?”
“She was very inexperienced, and I thought…” He exhales heavily. “I only saw what I wanted to see. They say love is blind.”
“What did you think?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know what I was thinking, really.”
“Do you think you will ever be rid of her?" I ask softly.
He shrugs, "Surely her drama will end soon, I'm assuming, when she meets someone it will have to."
I have a confession,” I whisper.
“What’s that?”
“I’m relieved that you slept with her sister.”
“Because you’re a sicko.” He smirks.
“Obviously.” I giggle. “I thought you still loved her.”
He screws up his face, “Why would you think that?”
“Well, you told me this sad story about how she was the victim, and how you regretted it and it was all your fault.”
“I only told you why we ended so that I didn’t do it again with us.” He leans in and kisses me softly. “Helena is not a nice person, April. The things she has done to me since our divorce are evil through and through, and I don’t have feelings for her at all. But what kind of person would I be if I didn’t recognize my own mistakes in the breakdown of that relationship. It takes two people to ruin a marriage, and I was far from perfect. If I told you that I was, it would have been a lie.”