“You met her in the bar at the resort.” I point back to the hallway. “Yeah, I remember her, asshole. You called me yours, then you just disappeared.” I throw my arms in the air. “Just tell me one thing, did you screw her at the resort?”

“No! Winter, no, I—”

“Then you show up with her… Are you trying to teach me a damn lesson? Trying to show me how little I meant to you?”

“No. It’s not like that at all. Rebecca is—”

“Just another heart for you to destroy. Another hole for you to use. Pathetically, this entire time, I actually thought you were dealing with your dad’s accident—”

“I was,” he interjects.

But I can’t hear any more of his lies, so I finish my sentence. “Not fucking the dumb blonde from the resort.”

Inching closer, I look him dead in the eye, trying my hardest not to let him see my pain. Instead, I wear my hatred for him like a badge of honor.

“I believed you when you said I was yours. I believed you when you said we’d figure it out. I fell for you, and you bailed on me like a fucking coward.” The words felt like lava on my tongue. “My original assessment of you was correct, you’re just a hard-on in an expensive suit. Nothing more, nothing less. You’re hollow, Aleck. You’re hollow and I’m done.”

“Winter, I’ve thought about you every single day—”

The laugh that leaves my mouth scares even me. It wasn’t my voice, wasn’t me at all. So devoid of love and gentleness. It was detestation and resentment, but the finality in it is what scared me the most. It was real and savage. It meant that Aleck and I were done. I would never give this man a piece of my heart, not ever again.

However hard it was for me to accept that we were over, Aleck showing up here tonight with another woman, after a month of abandonment, was enough to settle my restless heart. It meant that I wasn’t the one that fucked this up, he was.

Smiling, I felt resolved for the first time since he left me.

“I’m actually glad I saw you with her. It gives me the closure I need to put you behind me.”

The elevator dings and the door slides open. Without a shred of hesitancy, I step through the door confidently, putting as much distance between me and Aleck as possible.

“Fuck,” he shouts. “Winter, just… Fuck!”

But I keep walking, and for the first time since he left me, I feel the certitude of our relationship ending. No more wondering if he is done with me or just dealing with Richard. No more hoping he will come around, convincing myself he’s changed from the man who brought two women to my suite the first night we met. No more wondering how he felt about me, or if he felt anything for me at all. Because now, I don’t care. No more questioning, and confusion, and sadness.