Read Online The Ex Games 3 by J. S. Cooper, Helen Cooper - Free Book Online

Matt was in here last night and he saw you, and we put two and two together.”
    “How would he know to put anything together ? Why would he even call you and tell you that? Do you know how crazy that sounds, Brandon? My ex-boyfriend called my other ex-boyfriend to tell him that I’m at a bar.”
    “He said you were flirting.”
    “So what? I can flirt with anyone I like.”
    “You kissed him as well.” I knew the words sounded childish coming out of my mouth.
    “I can kiss him if I want to, Brandon, you don’t own me. We’re not even together.”
    “I haven’t been with anyone since you, Katie , and I know you haven’t either.”
    “What?” She froze and she stared at me before hitting me in the chest. “How do you know who I have and haven’t been with ? How long have you been spying on me? Oh my God, Brandon. Are you fucking crazy?”
    “Wait.” My heart froze at her words. “It’s not like that, Katie. I love you.”
    “No, you don’t.” She shook her head. “I don’t even know if you ever did. You know I never stopped loving you, Brandon. I’ve been thinking about the man you were when we met and I‘ve dreamed of the day that I would get to see you again. I hoped that we’d be able to move on from what happened seven years ago. I thought that if I saw you again, and you saw me, we would have another connection. And yeah,” she laughed hysterically, “I looked you up and tried to see what you were up to and who you dated. And yeah, I bumped into Matt on purpose because I wanted to know more about you. I wanted to be around you again and see if we had a shot at another chance. What I did was wrong. I snooped and I did things I’m ashamed of. But I did it because I thought I loved you. I did it because I thought that maybe we still had a shot.”
    “We do ! We—” I started, but she cut me off.
    “But you’re not the man I thought you were , Brandon. I thought you were strong and kind and compassionate. I thought you were loving and protective. But you’re not. You’re just a fucking asshole, like every other man who’s on a power trip. Well, you know what? You can fuck off. I’m done. You can’t tell me who I can and can’t fuck. If I want to go back into the bar and fuck the bartender now, I will. And you can’t stop me. Do you hear me? I’m not your possession. You do not own me. You cannot humiliate me and tell me you think it’s okay because you were jealous. That’s not how life goes, Brandon. At least not for me.” She stared at me for a moment, and I watched as tears fell down her face. It reminded me of the day we had broken up when she was at Columbia University. I stood still as she stared at me waiting for me to speak, but I didn’t know what to say.
    She turned around and walked away , and I watched her hobbling. I felt sick to my stomach at what I’d done and at her words. She didn’t love me anymore. I’d pushed her too far. It was over. A part of me was resigned to watching her leave. This was my life and my destiny. I was meant to be alone.
    As I watched her walk away, I thought back to that day seven years ago. The day that created a cut in my heart so deep that I was sure it would never be repaired. I remembered standing in the front of the class , waiting for her to look up and see me. I’d seen her right away—I had some sort of Katie sensor that knew where she was immediately whenever she was near me. Her eyes had widened in shock and fear as she glanced at me.
    I was surprised that I had been able to keep it together as I gave my speech. I knew as I spoke to the group of eager freshmen that it was over. I’d given her so many chances, but she’d proven to me that she wasn’t ready. My heart had broken when she’d thought we still had a chance , when she’d thought I’d forgiven her for her duplicity.
    I hadn’t wanted to hurt her or to break her. I just wanted her to feel the pain I had felt. I’d given her so many chances , and she had never