CHAPTER 5: RICH

IZZY'S POV,

I looked at him in horror, even though it was me who had him covered in the red wine.

“W-what the hell, Izzy?” he screamed at me, clenching his jaw in anger. He was on his feet, maintaining a good distance from the table, probably because I still had the glass in my hand. He must have remembered my brother and would have thought that crazy was in our blood. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

I stared at him for a good half minute, not saying anything, not feeling anything. Previously when we had our disagreements or fights and I ended up saying something harsh, I would have felt bad for days. But that day I didn't feel anything, even after emptying the glass in his face. Which was probably the harshest thing I had done to him.

“What's wrong with me?” I asked, standing up to look him in the eyes when I saw irritation itching in them. “I don't know, maybe it's the fact that my fiance cheated on me a few days before our wedding, asked me to still marry him and suggested that I'm a gold digger when I thought he was going to apologise for what he did.”

“I didn't say anything about you being a gold—”

“But you meant it,” I said before he could finish his sentence and sat back on the chair. I was afraid that I might fall because my legs felt heavy and my knees were trembling. “And don't try to lie because I can see the truth in your eyes. You still think I am after your money.”

He groaned in distaste, “Okay, then tell me why you were with me if not for my money, huh?”

“Wh-what?! You have to ask that?” I questioned, bewildered by the things he was saying. Every sentence out of his mouth was more problematic than the one before and it made me wonder how many such things I overlooked just because I was in love with him. “I was with you because I fell in love with you, which was probably the biggest mistake of my life.”

“Of course, love was the only reason.” He rolled his eyes at me. “Come on, Izzy. I'm not going to judge you for the truth, I have my own secrets. So, you don't have to lie to me anymore, or to yourself. We can have a better life together after this.”

“Lie?” He shrugged his shoulders and came back to the table to get the perfectly folded silk napkin. Ignoring him I continued, “I actually thought you were an amazing person, with a great sense of humour and compassion for little things in life. You liked the books I liked and the shows I watched. I always thought that we were soulmates. But, I guess it was a stupid girl's imagination.”

“Izzy—”

“No, just stop. I don't want to hear anything else from you. I was an idiot, hoping to get a closure from you and move on with my life.” I picked up my purse and was all ready to leave when he grabbed my hand to stop me. “What do you think you are doing? Let me go, Tyler. I have nothing else to say to you.”

“Okay, Izzy, listen to me please,” he pleaded and came to stand before me, blocking the exit. “I have to marry you because if I don't, I won't get anything from my parents,” he paused to look me in the eyes to show how serious he was being. “I promise to be more truthful and respect you going forward, please marry me.”

“I don't trust you anymore, Tyler, and after today, I highly doubt if I even love you.” I tried to walk past him, but he didn't move. He stood there like a brick wall, still trying to convince me. “Tyler, I don't like this. LEAVE!”

“You are not going to find anyone better than me, and say whatever you want about love, but we both know you loved the gifts I bought for you,” his ego finally started talking when he realized people were looking at us. At this point, I wasn't even angry with him anymore, I was simply frustrated and tired. “No one will spend thousands on you like I did.”

“What if I find someone like that? Someone far richer than you?”

It was the turn for my ego to speak now, and Tyler was taken aback a little when he heard me. That millisecond of shock in his eyes did something to me, and while walking out would have been a better solution, I didn't. I stayed to challenge him and his fragile ego.

“You won't,” he laughed, shaking his head like he heard the funniest joke. “But I'll find a girl hotter than you, and you'll regret turning down my marriage proposal.”

I chuckled, “We will see who is going to regret this at the end.”

I pushed him aside and made my way towards the exit. I wasn't feeling too great about the plan that came to my mind, but I wanted my revenge on him for using me all these years like a puppet. I wanted to wipe that haughty smile off his face and see him cry like a child.

It wasn't a healthy way to deal with my problems, but I was done being nice to people like that.

I loved him without asking for much, but for him, I was just a medium to get his inheritance. I wasn't even sure if that 'just a friend' was the first girl he slept with while in a relationship with me. There was a huge possibility that she was the one he got caught with. Thinking about that angered me even more because that meant he never loved me.

Every word I thought meant something to him, was just another lie.

I booked a cab and waited in front of a bookstore a few blocks away from the restaurant because I didn't want to see Tyler's face when he came out. I stopped myself from overthinking and just told myself that I was going to do just about anything to return the favour. He played with me for years, so what I was going to do was completely on him.

The cab finally showed up and the driver turned around just as I sat down. “Umm… 320 Liberty Street, that's your drop, right?

“Yeah, drop me at the Black Industries!”