23. Cora

Sophie tosses a throw pillow at my head as she walks into the living room and finds me buried beneath a blanket on the couch again. "You have to stop this wallowing."

"I'm not wallowing." I toss the pillow back at her. "I'm conserving my energy before the rest of my life turns into a flaming pile of shit around me. As if it couldn't get any worse."

Sophie cracks a smile and pushes my feet out of the way, sitting down on the end of the couch. "Cora, you weren't even this upset when you caught Victor cheating on you."

I give her a flat look. "What I had with Griff was different. It meant so much more, and now that it's over, I don't know what to do with myself."

"It doesn't have to be over. You could storm his house and talk to him again—insist he's wrong."

"Yeah, and look like a fool begging for a man who clearly doesn't want me the way I want him?" I scoff and sit up, running a hand through my hair and trying to work through some of the tangles.

Sophie takes the pillow and throws it at me again. "You're not stupid, Cora. There is no way you honestly believe he doesn't love you."

"And what if I do? Maybe it's true, and he doesn't love me the way he used to."

I tuck the pillow behind my head, propping myself up. My eyes burn, but there are no more tears left to cry.

Sophie sighs and leans back, looking up at the ceiling. "I think this is just some lousy attempt to make things better after you were plastered all over the news."

I scowl at her even though a part of me thinks she might be right. "You know, I can"t shake the feeling that maybe I pushed him too hard. Maybe if I'd just given him more time to sort things out… we wouldn"t be in this mess."

A much louder and more persistent part of me is sure that Griffin just fell out of love with me.

I would be devastated if Griffin woke up one day and decided he hated his life with me and wanted everything to change.

I'd already experienced such a breakup once… and I don't want to experience that heartache again with Griffin.

Sophie stands up and grabs my hands, hauling me to my feet. "Kaleigh and I already decided we're getting you out of the apartment today. We're going to go out and have fun."

"Fine. But if it's awful and I feel worse, I get to go back to my couch of sadness."

Sophie wrinkles her nose and reaches out to rub at something on my chin. "You have chocolate on your face. Where were you even hiding a chocolate bar in there?"

"Don't worry about it." I lean down and snatch the remaining half of the chocolate bar, holding it out of her reach. "It's the only thing that brings me joy."

Sophie laughs and rolls her eyes, lunging for the chocolate bar. "Now you're just being melodramatic for the sake of your entertainment. Give me the damn chocolate bar, and go get cleaned up."

I hand her the chocolate bar, knowing that if I don't, she will tackle me for it.

I go to the bathroom and take the longest shower of my life. The water scalds my skin, and I stay beneath the spray until the shower turns to ice.

When I step out, Sophie stands by the door, checking the time on the thin gold watch on her wrist. She points to the spare bedroom, and I hurry inside to pull on a pair of jeans and a bustier before she joins me.

Sophie whistles as I step back out. "Come on, Kaleigh is already at the arcade, and she will kill us if we're any later than we already are."

"Your idea of getting over a breakup is the arcade?" I laugh for the first time in days and loop my arm through hers. "I don't know what I would do without you. I hope you know that."

Sophie nods and leads the way out of the apartment and down to her car.

The drive is short, and Sophie blasts the best breakup songs the entire time. I scream the lyrics along with her, trying to feel better about my life.

When we arrive, Kaleigh sits at a table with a cheese pizza and a couple of beers in front of her.

She grins and raises her beer to me. "It's nice to see that you're returning to the land of the living. We've missed you."

"I make no promises to stay here long." I slide onto the bench seat beside her and reach for one of the other beers.

Kaleigh smiles and takes a sip of her beer. "That's understandable. All of this seemed to come out of nowhere."

Sophie sits down across from us and snags a slice of pizza. "That's because he is an idiot with too much money who's used to buying his way out of any hard situation in life. Now that he can't, he is running away like a scared child."

"I don't think that's all of it." I grab a slice of pizza and take a bite.

Children laugh and race by our table, heading for the rows and rows of games. Loud music pounds through the building, making it nearly impossible to hear anyone more than a few feet away.

Kaleigh shrugs, her expression thoughtful. "I don't think it is either. I've been working with Griffin for a long time, and he isn't as impulsive as some of the other rich men coming in and out of the building."

I let out a heavy sigh, setting my half-eaten pizza slice down on a patterned paper plate.

"This is my fault. I told him it was a good idea if we both took some time to think and then he decided that means we were done," I say.

Sophie shakes her head adamantly. "Nope. This is not your fault. You are an amazing woman, and you did what you needed to do to make sure you could give your best to the relationship. It's not your fault he took that for granted."

I roll my eyes and push myself up from the table, already eyeing one of the racing games. "It takes two people to be in a relationship, which means some of the blame for this entire mess is on me."

Kaleigh gets up and jerks her chin at the racing game. "I bet you a tequila shot that I can beat you in the game."

Sophie chuckles and pulls the pizza closer to her. "You two go ahead. I'm going to gorge myself on pizza and beer for a bit."

I snatch my bottle of beer, smirking at her mock pout. "You're going to keep your grubby hands off my beer," I tease.

Kaleigh strides over to the racing game, and I follow close behind her, needing to distract myself from thoughts of Griffin. But that seems impossible, even as Kaleigh slides tokens into the slot.

This arcade holds memories of Griffin and Jake from our younger days. It was one of the few places where Griffin didn't say something to make me leave.

The three of us would stay out late playing games, only going home when my mom finally showed up to collect us.

I swallow the lump that builds in my throat as I sit down in the seat.

No time for sadness tonight. Sophie and Kaleigh are doing their best to cheer me up, and I"m not going to ruin their efforts.

Kaleigh wins the first race, throwing her hands in the air and laughing.

She grins at me. "You look like this is the last place you want to be right now. I know Sophie wanted to do this for you, but if you want to go home, we can."

I shake my head and grab the wheel again. "No, I'm fine. I just need a little bit of time to feel better."

Kaleigh turns to me. "Tell me the truth. What happened the night he broke up with you? You were so happy to go home and see him, and then Sophie called me a couple of hours later and said that it was all over."

"I was happy to go home to him. I thought everythingwas going to be fine. We just needed time and space, and then we could figure things out together."

Kaleigh sighs and toys with a loose strand of her hair. "I have a hard time believing he wasn't in love with you. Even before I found out that the two of you were together, I saw the way he looked at you."

I shrug and reach for my beer, trying to pretend that my heart isn't still ripping its way through my chest. "I don't know. Something didn't seem right about him. We were so in love the day the news broke, and then…it fell apart."

Sophie comes over with fresh bottles of beer in her hands. "Cora, there's no way we'll spend the rest of the night talking about Griffin. You're too smart and gorgeous to let that crusty man get you down like this."

Kaleigh's eyebrows raise. "Sophie!"

I shake my head and take the new beer. "No, Sophie is right. I'm here to have a good time with my besties."

Kaleigh sighs. "It's okay to be upset, Cora. We're here for you."

I get up from the racing game, scanning the arcade for some of the older games I used to play. "Not tonight. I can go back to being sad tomorrow, but tonight, I will have some fun."

Sophie cheers and raises her drink in the air. "That's the spirit. Now, come on, let's kick some ass."

Kaleigh still looks skeptical but doesn't mention the breakup or leaving early for the rest of the night.

Sophie yawns as we step onto her floor. "If I had known you would beat me in all those games, I never would have suggested that we race."

I chuckle as I follow her down the hall. "I used to spend a lot of time at the arcade. I got good at the games."

Sophie rolls her eyes as she rummages in her pocket for the keys. I smile, but it quickly fades when I see one of the office associates standing in front of Sophie's door.

"Dex, what are you doing here?" I ask, puzzled by his unexpected appearance.

He shifts uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact as he answers, "I have something I was asked to deliver to you."

Curiosity piqued, I watch as he retrieves a manila envelope from his backpack and extends it toward me.

Taking the envelope, I feel my heart thud uncontrollably fast. "Thank you, Dex."

He nods quickly and hurries away, leaving me alone with the ominous package.

My heart pounds as I open the envelope, dread creeping over me. If Dex wants to be far away when I open it, what could possibly be inside?

Sophie unlocks the front door and holds it open while I follow her inside. "Do you want to be alone to open that?" she asks gently.

I nod, my entire body numb, as I make my way to the spare bedroom. "I think so," I murmur.

"If you need anything, I'll be in my room." Sophie's tone is sympathetic as I operate on autopilot.

Alone in the room, I stare at the envelope in my hands, feeling a wave of emotions crashing over me.

I flick on the light and close the door, my heart pounding in my ears.

Sliding my finger under the seal, I open the envelope, and my stomach twists into knots. It feels like last night"s pizza and beer might make a reappearance.

Swallowing hard, I pull out the papers, and when I see "Dissolution of Marriage" staring back at me, it"s like my heart is ripped from my chest.

Tears stream down my face as I toss the papers across the room.

Griffin didn"t even have the guts to deliver them himself; he sent some random guy from the office.

I collapse onto the bed, curling into a ball, the papers scattered around me.

Tomorrow, I"ll drag myself out of bed and start piecing my life back together.

But today, I"m going to let myself feel the weight of everything I"ve lost with Griffin.

It"s a mourning day—a day to grieve for the life we could"ve had together.

Because now, it"s really, truly over.