Perfect Imperfections

Chapter 10 - Burning Up

CHAPTER TEN

I used to be love drunk
But now I'm hungover
I'll love you forever
Forever is over
We used to kiss all night
Now it's just a bar fight
So don't call me crying
Say hello to goodbye

'Cause just one sip would make me sick
I used to be love drunk
But now I'm hungover
I'll love you forever
But now it's over

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"Evan, I really don't think I should be leaving the party. What if Emily needs me? I think she is already suspicious that something happened between u-"

"Why?" Evan let go off my hand roughly, kicking his bedroom door shut behind him. I had tried my best to escape and avoid the conversation he wanted to have, but his cold, determined stare told me that wasn't going to happen.

"What why?" I gulped, not meeting his eyes.

"Why did you do this? How did you get the courage to make up so many lies? How the fuck can you be so heartless and agree to marry someone just for the sake of money?" His loud voice boomed in the entire room.

My throat tightened as soon as he brought the topic of marriage and his proposal to me. Pain and anger flooded me and I just wanted to scream at him, but could barely utter a few words.

"You don't know anything, Evan. You don't know anything." I looked at the floor.

"Goddamn it, Flora!" he grabbed me by my arms suddenly, making me look up as my breath hitched. He gritted his teeth in anger, his jaw tightening. "Look me in the eye when you speak."

My expression soured as anger consumed me. It bothered me to no extent how he kept implying all the time that the whole thing was my fault. Yes, I was wrong, but so was he. Why did he have to propose to me that night? Did he do it just to fucking hurt me even badly?

"I'm talking to you." he tightened his grip.

"Stop it!" I hissed, pushing him off me. He didn't budge from his position, but let go of my arm. "Stop trying to make me feel guilty when in reality it was you who hurt me! You're the one who proposed to me and then had me arrested. How could you do something like that to me, Evan? You're the heartless one, not me!"

A few tears escaped my eyes, falling down my cheeks, but I kept my expression steady. My eyes burned with rage.

"You think I wanted to do that?" he asked, hurt evident in his eyes. "Do you know how I found out about you being a con girl, Flora?"

I swallowed painfully. "No. For all I know, you could've known about it all along."

He let out a bitter chuckle. "You're the one who is good at lying and playing with other people's emotions, Flora. Not me."

I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent my lips from trembling. My head felt heavy. His words hurt me, but I was slightly relieved that he hadn't known all along. My heart would shatter if I came to know that he had been playing me this whole time and never truly felt anything. But his confession had me hoping that something between us, at some point, was real and pure.

And yet your lies tainted that too.

Guilt consumed me and I never hated myself so much before than I did at that point. I just needed the pain to stop.

"Remember when I gave you those passcodes and locker codes to make a soft copy? The codes to valuables in my house?" he asked. My eyes widened on hearing his words. He gave those to me a few days before he proposed to me. A few days before everything got ruined. It was the knowledge of those passcodes that almost drove me to completing what I had started.

No. I couldn't bare it. I just couldn't bare hearing what he had to say.

"I-I-" I tried to speak, but no words came out. "I'm done. I don't want to know. I'm done." I tried to hurry towards the door in order to leave, but Evan grabbed my arm before I could take another step.

"If you have the courage to do what you did, then you should have the courage to hear this too." he said lowly, darkly, his cold eyes boring into mine.

"I was testing you to see if you'd use those codes and try to steal. You remember Lucas? He came to see me after I fired him and told me you're not who I thought you were, but I didn't listen to a word he said. Until he brought up Carl." Evan said sourly.

"C-Carl?" I had completely forgotten about what had happened with Carl that day in the alley. How did I not see this coming?

"Yes, one of your previous cons I believe." he spat out bitterly. "Only the two of us were in that alley when he attacked you, so I just had to confirm how Lucas knew him. I was certain that he was just spewing shit, but I had to check what he was talking about because both of them had tried to harm you in the past and I worried they were planning something."

My eyes widened. How did Lucas know? I don't remember having any slip ups in front of him that might have made him suspicious.

My heart ached as I looked at Evan. He seemed furious, but I could see the vulnerabilities and hurt in his eyes. I swallowed hard.

"Imagine my surprise when I found out something totally different than what I was expecting? I had a background check done on you two, three, four, five fucking times, wishing that what I had found out was wrong, but it was true, wasn't it, Flora?"

"Evan," I whispered, shaking my head in denial as tears poured down my eyes endlessly. I wish I could say it wasn't true, but it was. I wish I could've been Scarlett Stone and I wish none of this would've ever happened, but that's not possible.

"And yet, I wanted to believe that it was different with me. I wanted to believe that what we had was somehow real, even if I didn't even know your real fucking name!" he raised his voice at the last part, making me jump slightly in surprise.

I took a step forward hesitantly, hating to see him like this. I put my hand on top of his arm, pleading with him silently. "Evan, please. It was real. It was-"

He jerked my hand off his arm roughly before I could say something else. "Shut up. I'm done listening to your crap." he snapped, making me gasp.

"I'm telling the truth. I didn't use those codes. I didn't try to con you. In fact I was going to tell you the truth." I stared at him with my tear stained face. "Trust me, please."

That day I came to his house to end it all, but I changed my mind because I knew I loved him too much to ever betray him, even if it was somehow for his own good. I was going to leave it to him to decide what he wanted to do with me, but I was determined to tell him the truth irrespective of the consequences.

"I wanted to." Evan said lowly, sadly. I could see the pain in his eyes. "I so badly wanted to trust you, but you absolutely shattered my trust that day, Flora."

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw you put that pill in my drink."

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