I stayed silent, glancing at the clock on the wall.
Midnight had already passed.
I let out a quiet sigh.
“Dylan, will you ever actually put me first? My birthday is over.”
For the first time, a flicker of guilt flashed across his face, but he still tried to brush it off.
“Oh, come on. It’s just a few minutes late.”
“You should be grateful I even remembered.”
“Who else would celebrate your birthday but me?”
“I canceled a bunch of plans tonight just to be here, Emma.”
“You should appreciate that.”
I calmly pushed him toward the door, amusement curling at the edges of my lips.
This man always had a way of making himself sound so selfless, so grand.
“Did you forget? I already told you–we’re done.”
“And I don’t need you celebrating my birthday.”
It took Dylan a second to register my words, but then his gaze dropped to the jacket draped over my shoulders.
His face instantly twisted into something vicious, his voice sharp and accusatory.
“Whose jacket is that?”
“That’s a man’s coat, and it reeks of cologne–definitely not yours.”
“You weren’t wearing that when we left the restaurant.”
“Emma, are you cheating on me?”
His sudden outburst made me flinch.
His eyes were wide, bloodshot, rage seething through his entire body.
If this had been before, I would’ve panicked, scrambling to explain, to calm him down, to beg for his forgiveness.
But now?
Now, he didn’t matter to me anymore.
“Dylan, is that really what you think of me?”
“Not that it even matters. We broke up.”
“Even if I did have another man, what does that have to do with you?”
“You’re the one who didn’t want to marry me.”
“You can’t expect me to just sit around forever.”
I figured I’d made myself perfectly clear.
But then Dylan suddenly burst into laughter.
He took a slow, assessing look at the jacket I was wearing.
“Well, damn. You really went all out, Emma.”
“Trying to force my hand with a stunt like this?”
I frowned.
“What are you even talking about?”
“But at least you have taste.”
“You picked a designer brand to pull this little act. Too bad.”
“Like hell you could afford this on your salary.”
“What, did you rent it just to put on a show for me?”
“Emma, why are you so desperate? I told you I’d marry you eventually.”
“You just need to be patient.”
“But no, you throw these tantrums, making a scene, like some crazy ex–girlfriend.”
“It’s embarrassing.”
Dylan kept ranting, convinced he had me all figured out.
I didn’t bother listening.
I just slammed the door in his face.
From the other side, his voice rang out, furious and humiliated.
“Fine, Emma! You better not come crawling back for my forgiveness!”
The next morning, I called a locksmith and had my apartment locks changed.
Dylan had stormed out last night, and I’d completely forgotten to ask for my keys back.
Besides, from now on, I was a married woman.
Some boundaries needed to be set.
Once the locks were changed, I headed to the address Logan had texted me.
It was the most luxurious hotel in the city.
He was planning to book it as our wedding venue.
I stared at him in disbelief.
Chapter 4
“Isn’t this a little over the top? I don’t need anything this extravagant.”
Logan chuckled, ruffling my hair.
“You don’t have to save money for me.”
“You’ll have everything others have–and more.”
