She moved towards me, extending a hand, but I sidestepped it. She winced. “I hurt you. I know. But I’ll do anything to make amends. Do you want me to get on my knees and beg? I’ll do it.” Tears glittered in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Crosby. I made a terrible, terrible mistake. You gave me so much. You were so kind and caring. I didn’t realize until it was too late that I focused on the wrong things. Please, give me a chance to make this right.”

The tears cracked a piece of my armor. “I’m glad you’re getting some perspective on your life. But that doesn’t change anything between the two of us. We’re done. Some things can’t be mended. And the truth is, I don’t want them to be. I was never the man you wanted me to be. If we had gotten married, we both would’ve been miserable.”

I could see it as clear as day as soon as I had a few weeks to lick my wounds. Alicia and I had never been meant to be. The only reason I’d stuck it out for so long was because she’d given me a sense of family that I’d never had. For the first time, my parents had accepted me, spent time with me. But what good was that if I wasn’t being true to who I really was? “The truth is, you did me a favor when you cheated.”

Alicia blanched. “Don’t say that. We were together for so many years. We owe it to each other to try and make this work. To get to know the people we are now.”

“It’s too late for that. I’m sorry you came all the way out here, but we’re done.”

Hurt flared in Alicia’s eyes. “Are you with someone?”

I bit back a curse. If there was one thing Alicia hated, it was losing. It didn’t matter if she’d already thrown away the thing that she’d lost out on, she’d fight tooth and nail to get it back. “Whether I am or not doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t want to be with you either way.”

Alicia’s jaw worked back and forth as if she were trying to figure out the best plan of attack. “I can’t believe that.” She edged a little closer, and I dodged her again. “You can’t have forgotten how good we are together. Maybe you just need me to remind you.”