Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Aaron’s POV

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I stayed perfectly still, frozen in place, actively waiting for that familiar rush–the old excitement, the stupid butterflies that used to explode in my stomach at her touch.

But nothing came. No spark, no pull, just a dead, hollow emptiness echoing in my chest.

Before I’d even stepped into this weekend get–together, a paranoid part of me had imagined this scenario.

I’d pictured seeing her and watching all my defenses instantly crumble, causing me to go crawling back into her arms at a single call.

But now that she was here, pressed against me, I felt nothing but the residual pain of her betrayal, cold and hard in my gut.

I peeled her hands away from my torso, my movements surprisingly gentle, devoid of any real heat.

“What do you want, Fiona? Why are you here?” I asked, my voice flat.

I stared down at the amber liquid swirling in my glass, avoiding her reflection in the bar’s polished surface.

“Aren’t you going to look at me, Aaron?” Her tone was soft.

I knew that soft, breathy whisper. She was doing it intentionally because she knew exactly how much it used to affect me. But I wasn’t going to be a pathetic, love–sick fool for a broken memory anymore.

Wanting to challenge myself and prove her power over me was dead, I finally tilted my head up. Her gray eyes met mine, holding a shimmering sadness, maybe even genuine regret.

I wasn’t phased by those emotions anymore. Only one pair of eyes haunted me now: fractured blue oceans, deep and vulnerable.

We held each other’s gaze in a tense silence. A thousand broken words hung unspoken between us, fragments of our past. Some, my heart chose to understand; the rest, I let fade into the background noise.

“Fiona…”

“Aaron,” she cut in quickly, stepping closer, her voice trembling. “I’m tired of pretending, Aaron.”

I just stared, my mind a blank canvas, waiting for her to paint whatever picture she thought would win me back.

“I’m tired of pretending that it doesn’t hurt me seeing you with her–Jessica.” Jessica’s name was spat out, laced with pure,

raw venom.

“I’m tired of pretending that I don’t feel guilty, that I don’t feel bad for hurting you.”

She reached forward to grab my cheek, but I swatted her arm away, firmly but gently.

Hurt flashed in her eyes, and she swallowed hard, composing herself.

“You’ve given up on me already, Aaron?” she muttered, truly baffled.

I chuckled, a humourless, dry sound, and shook my head.

“What? You expected me to chase you forever?”

“So you never loved me, huh? How could you give up? Why didn’t you fight for me, for us? You just let me choose Eric.”

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Chapter 21

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I stared at her like she’d lost her damn mind. The sheer audacity of her statement confused me, then ignited a sharp spike of

anger.

“Fiona, what do you take me for?” I snapped, my voice laced with fury. “Some love–sick puppy who’d lick your boots whenever you called? Some desperate asshole? I may have loved you once, but I loved myself more.”

Tears streaked down her cheeks now, unchecked, and she swiped at them furiously.

“And I can’t be with you again. I agree it hurts to let you go–it still hurts, dammit–but for my sanity, I’d rather let you go. Do you know what you did to us? To me?”

“Aaron…”

“No. Let me finish,” I said, dangerously calm. She flinched and swallowed, realizing I wouldn’t be stopped.

“You threw away everything we were just for a night’s pleasure, or maybe more. You threw us away because you thought I wouldn’t make it in basketball, so you chose to play safe by picking a cousin who already had his career neatly stitched up in hockey.”

“That’s not true, Aaron-” she choked, her face paling.

“Okay, then go on and tell me what it is about, Fiona. Because I loved you. I did everything for you, and I was ready to do more. But what did you do?”

She went silent, those manipulative eyes fixed on me, clearly hoping they could still buy my forgiveness.

“Aaron, I’m sorry, okay? But I’m ready to earn your forgiveness. I want us to go back to how we used to be. I miss you. I miss us.” She sobbed harder now, sounding genuine.

I clenched my fists and swallowed, fighting the old memories that surged up–the good ones, the ones that made my resolve

waver.

I was this close to bending, to letting the past pull me under, when a pair of broken, oceanic blue eyes flashed in my mind. Jess’s vulnerable gaze, her tentative smile, her soft laughter… that image was a sudden, powerful anchor.

It instantly blocked out the nostalgia of my life with Fiona, leaving only the cold, sharp sting of the betrayal nagging at my

chest.

I blinked, breaking the contact, and looked away.

“It’s too late to fix us, Fiona. Besides, you’re engaged.”

“No, no, no–it’s not too late,” she cried desperately, closing the distance between us.

“I can call off the engagement. Don’t give up on us, Aaron.” She begged, her hands clutching my shirt.

I scoffed and shook my head, disbelief etching my features.

“Call off your engagement?” I raised a brow.

“That easily? So tell me, Fiona, what happens when you start having feelings for Eric again, or maybe someone else? You’ll just call it off and run away again?”

“Of course not, I…” She trailed off, words failing her.

I sighed, exhausted by the circular argument.

“Fiona, I don’t think you’re fit for a commitment. You seem fundamentally confused about what you want, or maybe your life’s path is just to sample every man on the planet. You should embrace that, I guess. Nobody’s judging your lifestyle; I’m

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Chapter 21

sure it’s a unique way to live,”

I delivered the line with a bland, devastating smile.

“Aaron!” she shrieked, genuinely wounded. “How can you say that about me?”

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I shrugged. “Fiona, we’re done, alright? There is no ‘us, and there can never be an ‘us. You need to accept that. I have someone I’m with; you have someone. Let’s not hurt innocent hearts.”

I looked away, retreating back to my whiskey glass.

“But you don’t love her, Aaron,”

I froze. My entire body locked up.

“I see it in your eyes. You don’t love Jessica. You brought her here just to make me jealous. Isn’t it weird, Aaron?” She chuckled, the sound brittle and knowing.

“How you went from hating her, bullying her, to suddenly becoming her boyfriend? You know… that makes you worse than me. Because you’re toying with her feelings. You know she loves you, and that’s why it was easy for you to manipulate her.”

Her words jabbed viciously at my chest. It wasn’t true–it couldn’t be true–yet somehow, in the deepest corner of my guilt, it felt true.

“You know nothing about Jess and me,” I said through clenched teeth, “so stay out of my business.”

“It’s the truth, Aaron.” She pushed, trying to get me to crack. “Accept it…”

I slammed my fist onto the bar top, the sound echoing through the room, making the glassware rattle.

“So what, Fiona?! Fine, I’m using Jess as a rebound, just like you said! But what difference does it make?” I snarled, and she flinched, genuinely scared this time.

“I still stand firm on not wanting to be with you. And you should get that into your skull.”

She stared at me with wide, tear–filled eyes.

“But you love me.”

“I don’t.” I seethed. My chest burned, almost fighting me for saying the lie out loud. But why? I was certain I didn’t love Fiona, not in the way I used to.

“Then look into my eyes and say it, Aaron. Come on.”

I remained immobile, staring fixedly at the wall for a moment, refusing the demand.

“I’m done with this nonsense.” I pushed the stool back violently and hopped down.

“Aaron!” she called after me.

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I pulled open the bar door, ready to leave her and the toxic memory behind. The moment I stepped into the hallway, I saw her: Jessica.

She was roaming about, her eyes scanning the entire hallway, likely looking for me.

Her eyes immediately caught mine, and a small, tentative smile pulled at her lips. But the smile died an instant, horrible death as Fiona appeared directly behind me.

“Aaron…” Fiona’s voice faded away the moment she saw Jessica standing there.

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Chapter 21

The two women stared at each other–one holding cold rage, the other a blank, wounded expression.

I was stuck directly in the middle, frozen and helpless.

Jess. I called, but she didn’t look at me. Instead, she spun on her heels and took off down the hallway.

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“Jess!” I repeated, taking a step to chase after her, but Fiona grabbed my arm, her manicured nails digging in.

I looked back. She shook her head, her gray eyes silently begging me not to leave her again.

The old me would have succumbed to that familiar plea. But I wasn’t that person anymore.

I pulled my hand free and ran after Jess, my footsteps echoing down the hall.