38. Rob

38

ROB

J asmine was a beautiful woman, and she was also kind.

Rob was sorry to see her leave.

Now that he was a free agent again, he could and should look for a new partner.

Right.

As if that was a good strategy while his heart was in shreds on the fancy rug under his feet.

He needed to let himself heal first and not look for ways to get back at Lynda. Still, showing up at their house with Jasmine on his arm could be so sweet, even if there was nothing between them.

Would Jasmine agree to be his pretend girlfriend so he could get back at Lynda for destroying him?

How had his life unraveled so completely in such a short time?

Pushing to his feet, he walked over to the glass doors and stared unseeing at the panoramic view of Los Angeles spread before him. It would have been beautiful if Rob could appreciate it, but all he could see was her face contorted with anger and disdain, hurling accusations and insults at him.

Lynda had always been strong-willed, opinionated, and, yes, a little selfish. But she had loved him... hadn't she?

Rob ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the roots in frustration. What had happened? How could she throw away all the years they had been together, the wedding that was less than a week away, the home they had built together?

And for what? A loser ex-boyfriend who had disappointed her before and was bound to do so again?

With a sigh, Rob returned to the couch and hung his head.

The pain in his chest intensified as he thought about all he had sacrificed to be with Lynda. All the times he had swallowed retorts to her complaints and pretended to commiserate with her, weathering her mood swings and going with everything she wanted just so she would be happy.

He had even distanced himself from his family, who had never quite warmed to Lynda and vice versa.

Margo had never liked Lynda, and his parents barely tolerated her. He had pretended not to notice their lack of disappointment when he and Lynda couldn't make it to family dinners or their thinly veiled joy when he showed up without her.

Nevertheless, he had loved Lynda and had believed in their relationship.

How could he have been so blind?

As a new urgent thought struck him, he felt a wave of nausea. "I need to call Mom," he said suddenly, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen over them. "Mom and Dad have to cancel the wedding and notify everyone that it's off."

Margo moved to sit beside him and took his hand. "There's nothing they can do on a Sunday, so there's no rush. Take some time to process."

Rob looked up, meeting his sister's big, sad eyes, and a question that had been nagging at him finally found its way to his lips. "How long did you know?"

Margo's expression softened with sympathy. "I didn't know about her ex, but I saw the way she acted in Cabo during her bachelorette party. It wasn't how a woman who was in love behaved."

Rob felt his eyes narrow, a surge of anger rising in his chest. "Did she fuck anyone there?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he saw Margo's eyes widen in shock. He had never used such crass language around his little sister before. But the pain of betrayal coursing through him had stripped away his usual filters.

Margo recovered quickly, though, "I don't know if she went that far, but she flirted with everything that had a dick."

Despite everything, Rob felt a surprised laugh bubble up in his chest. "I didn't know that my prim and proper little sister talked like that."

"And I didn't know that my brother ever used the word 'fuck' out loud."

Rob's amusement faded as quickly as it had come. "I was never as angry and as jaded as I am now. I feel stupid. How come I didn't see Lynda for who she was?"

Margo squeezed his hand. "You're a good man, Rob, so it never even crossed your mind that Lynda might be in it for anything other than love. I'm sure she loved you in her own selfish way, but mostly, she saw you as her ticket to a good life. You make good money, and you're a nice, solid, dependable guy. But she was not the one meant for you. And you were not the one meant for her, and when Tom and Mia get here, you'll understand why."

Puzzled by the cryptic words, Rob frowned. What did Margo's best friend and her fiancé have to do with any of this? And what could they possibly tell him that would make him understand why Lynda wasn't meant for him?

As if sensing his confusion, Margo stood up. "I'm going to make some tea. It might help calm your nerves."

Rob nodded absently as his mind drifted back to earlier that day when he confronted Lynda and discovered how she really felt about him.

Among other insults, she'd started with accusing him of spying on her and of being controlling and suffocating. The words had cut deep, each one a dagger to his heart. But it was what came next that had truly shattered him.

"You want to know the truth, Rob?" Lynda had sneered, her beautiful face twisted with contempt. "I never loved you. Not really. You were safe and dependable. A good provider. But God, being with you is more boring than watching paint dry. You are so predictable. Spying on me was the first unpredictable thing you have ever done. I need more than that. I need passion and excitement. And that's something you could never give me."

She wasn't wrong. If not for Margo, it would have never occurred to him to check who Lynda was meeting with for lunch. Come to think of it, how had Margo known where she would be?

Did it matter?

Not really.

What was done could not be undone.

Rob closed his eyes, trying to block out the memory of the cruel words, but they kept echoing in his mind, relentless and devastating.