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course, none of that mattered. I would never
forget his betrayal; it had rocked me to the very core of my being.
His sweet talk would never work on me again.
    I shook my head. “You don’t get it, do
you?”
    He inched closer. “What?”
    A tear ran down my face. “I was
supposed to be living a happy life with you.”
    “ So this is about revenge
now? You just want to stick it to me. That’s why you won’t go on
this trip your mother wanted us to take?”
    My lips pressed into grim lines. “Yep.
You stuck it to me, and Mom has given me the perfect way to stick
it back to you.”
    “ That’s cold, Ashly. You
have no idea how much that money would change my life.”
    “ Cold? Maybe, but you made
me. Because of you, I’ve been cold, mean, and miserable. You
shattered my heart into a million tiny pieces.”
    “ Maybe, but I’m a different
man now.”
    I stared at him.
    “ Hey,” he said in a soft
voice, trying to change the subject, “how’s Tiger?”
    Tiger was a white and orange striped
cat we’d adopted when she was only a kitten, a stray who had
followed us home. We both loved her, and she’d become a part of the
family.
    “ Is she even still alive?”
he asked.
    “ She’s fine and, unlike
you, she sleeps by me every night.” With that, I turned to leave. I
half-expected him to follow me, but he didn’t. Without another word
to him or the attorney, I slammed the door, making sure Jake knew
he could screw off and leave me alone—for good.
     
     

Chapter 3
    The next night, my best friend Nadia
dragged me out of the house for dinner. She took me to one of my
favorite restaurants, Devin’s.
    “ I’m worried about you,”
she said. “You’ve been a hermit in your apartment ever since your
mom passed away.”
    “ I know it’s been three
months, but it’s hard to face the outside world. Interviewing
designers and models seems so…shallow and pointless. I can’t just
pretend nothing’s wrong, and…” Not sure what else to say, my voice
drifted off.
    “ I just wanted to get you
out,” Nadia said, “especially with the whole Jake thing. You can’t
stay all cooped up, just reflecting back on what that ass did to
you. It isn’t healthy.”
    My cell rang, and I glanced down.
“Speak of the devil.” The last time he’d called me was the day he’d
walked out of my life forever. Now, he was just after my mother’s
money.
    “ He’s not gonna give up,
Ash,” she said. “Why don’t you let me answer it? I’d like to thank
him for that trip to Mexico.”
    I laughed, even though it wasn’t
funny. My mother had spent $20,000 to reserve a honeymoon suite at
the most expensive tropical resort she could find. Since it was
nonrefundable, I decided to take Nadia. During that trip, she
forced me to leave the room and tried to hook me up with a couple
of hunky Latinos, but I was so miserable I just sulked the entire
time, seething as I looked around the frilly, romantically
furnished room that was supposed to be for lovers.
    With a huff, I turned off my phone.
“He even stopped by the apartment, but I didn’t answer the door.
When I saw him through the curtains, my stomach
dropped.”
    Her expression grew serious. “If he
keeps stalking you, you need to call the police. He has no
right.”
    “ I want to get over this. I
do, but—”
    “ Girlfriend, he’s a jerk.
You’re better off without a man like that in your life. I mean, I
was there that horrible day when he didn’t show up. We’d spent so
long planning the perfect wedding. I’ll never forget how happy you
were at the bridal shop when we found the dress, with all that light
sparkling off the sequins and beads.”
    “ Remember how rude the
owner was?” I laughed. “I thought brides were supposed to be the
–zillas!”
    “ Yeah, she owned that
little bridal shop of horrors.”
    I about spat out my wine.
    “ She got mad because you
tried on so many dresses.”
    “ No, I think she got mad
because I didn’t like the designer one