Unlucky in Love

…Ember’s POV…

Paris in the spring was infinitely preferable to Paris in the winter. The flowers were out, the sun was warm, and there was an all-around good atmosphere here.

I didn’t normally pair those words with Paris, but today I was trying to be more positive and optimistic.

We had been here for almost a week now, and I still wasn’t ready to go back home.

I wasn’t ready to go back to reality.

I loved my baby and I loved school and my house and my life there, but this was definitely a nice break. It was just an adjustment. But the prettiness here made it all worth it.

Dominic’s dad had called him and convinced him to go back to work for a bit—which totally pissed me off—so I was by myself, doing random shopping and exploring.

There was an empty bench outside of Notre Dame, and I sat down and put in my headphones and completely tuned everything out. The longer I was in the city, the more comfortable I was being here. I knew which areas to avoid, I knew which areas had the best food and the best shopping, I knew where the best views in the city were.

I jumped when someone came close to me, my senses catching it before my eyes did. I looked up quickly and took out an earphone. It took my a second to realize who was in front of me, and then with a jolt I recognized Gage.

Holy. Fuck.

“Oh, my God,” was all I could say. No hello, no how are you.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Devereux.”

I narrowed my eyes at him for a fraction of a second. “Mrs. Nightingale.” I corrected, and he laughed to himself.

“Okay, Mrs. Nightingale, may I have a seat?”

I moved my bag without thinking, and wanted to kick myself.

“So what’s new with you?” he asked.

“I’m still married to Dominic,”

“I figured that with the whole ‘Missus’ thing.” He replied.

I rolled my eyes. “I had a baby in October,”

“With Dominic?”

I laughed. “Yeah, who else?”

He shrugged innocently. “Can you blame me for thinking you had other guys in your life? You’re too young and attractive to be tied down, you know.”

I laughed again, feeling blush rise. God, why did he do this to me? It’s been over a year, and he can still make me feel awkward. “I feel a lot older than I am,” I admitted. “Anyway, how’s your life? Still with Gigi?”

Gage scoffed. “No, I couldn’t stand her anymore. And plus, there was the whole thing with my ‘infidelity.’”

My eyes widened slightly. “You cheated on Gigi?” he nodded. “Like, a lot?” he nodded again. “Why?”

“Because she kept acting like an old woman, doing nothing but complain about what she doesn’t have and that she wants a baby and a nice house and nice cars and…just a whole load of shit.”

“And that made you leave her?” I asked, disturbed by that omission.

“She was insufferable. I was watching out for my well being.”

I scoffed. “And I thought Dominic was a douche bag.”

Speaking of, my phone rang and I slipped it out of my pocket and answered it. I noticed Gage smiling at me, knowing I was talking to Dominic.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey I’m gonna be here all day, but maybe we could go out tonight if I’m not too late.”

I sighed quietly. “Yeah, sure.”

“Okay, I gotta get back.”

“Okay, love y—” I was cut off by the phone clicking. He had hung up on me. I flipped it closed and slipped it back into my pocket.

“You want to go somewhere?”

“What’d you have in mind?”

* * *

“I mean, it’s not like I’m fat or ugly, right?” I asked Gage. I had completely lost track of exactly how many drinks I had, but I knew it was bad seeing as how my words were slurring and it was hard to see straight.

“Not at all,”

“I know, right? But it’s like—we don’t even sleep together anymore! He does not touch me. He’s all ‘I have to study’ or ‘we’re going to wake up Emma and scar her for life’. What the hell does that mean?”

Gage shrugged and finished his drink. “I don’t know, but I think he’s an idiot.”

I nodded enthusiastically. “That’s what I’m saying! Is it my boobs or something?”

The sober Ember would not have pulled her top down to show off her boobs, but drunken Ember did. I didn’t pull my top back up, because I—for some completely unknown and embarrassing reason—liked the attention.

“It’s definitely not your boobs,” he said, his smile glinting in the dim lights of his apartment.

I finally pulled my shirt back up. “Then what is it?” I asked, and he shrugged. “Is he still in love with Leah? She came to where we live, and she’s fucking everything up!”

“It’s probably not Leah,” he said.

“Then what? Does my kissing suck that bad?” I asked, fed up.

Gage smiled. “Well, I can’t answer that because I don’t know how well you kiss.” He said, and I leaned over and pressed my lips to his.

…Dominic’s POV…

It was after midnight, and Ember was still gone. She wasn’t answering her phone, and nobody had seen her.

I heard her laugh from the hall, and I jumped up and opened the door. I saw Gage shushing her while laughing himself and trying to haul her over.

“What the hell did you do to her?” I snapped, taking Ember by the arm. She leaned into my side and rested her head on my shoulder. Gage gave me her bags and I tossed them inside the room.

He sobered up quickly when he saw I was serious. “She just had a few drinks.”

“What else?”

“She kissed me, but I pushed her away. I swear that was all.”

I shook my head and practically dragged her into the room. The door shut behind me, and I managed to get Ember to the bed. I closed the blinds and I tried to get her to stay in bed, but she wasn’t working with me.

Ember got on her knees and kissed me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I tasted the sickening sweetness of juice and vodka on her lips, and I pulled back.

Her lip quivered a little, and she started to cry. “I knew you didn’t want me!” she cried, and my eyes widened. What the hell was she talking about?

“What?” I asked, putting my hand on her cheek. She pulled away.

“I told Gage that I knew you didn’t think I was attractive anymore, and you just proved me right.” Her voice choked on a sob.

“Em, you’re drunk. Can we talk about it in the morning?”

Ember got up and started towards the bathroom. She turned back around when she reached the door. “You know, he’sabetter kizzer than y-you!” she slurred.

Fucking asshole.

“What did you do with Gage?” I demanded, towering over her.

Her green eyes were glazed over as she glared at me. “I kissed him,” she said without a hint of remorse. “And he kissed back—and he said that I was a good kisser, and he liked my boobs, and he thinks I’m fuckable!” she got more and more angry, and I wanted to go after Gage and kill him. “Why don’t you? Isit ‘causeof Emma? Are you thatworriedthat we’ll haveanother baby?” I could barely understand what she was saying, but I knew what she was trying to do.

And it wasn’t going to work.

…Ember’s POV…

I had such a bad headache when I woke up. I glanced over at the clock and saw that it was about noon. I sat up slightly, and realized that I was still in yesterday’s outfit.

I didn’t remember much from last night, but I could tell it was bad. Dominic was in the living room—I knew because I could hear him on the phone—and I saw his wedding ring on my nightstand.

What the hell did I do?

I grabbed his ring and walked determinedly into the living room. He hung up the phone and then sighed and noticed me standing there.

Dominic just looked at me as I held up the silver band.

“What’re you doing?”

“I have to go to work.” He said coldly. He came over and handed me a printed sheet of paper. It was a boarding pass.

“Why are we going home?” I asked frantically.

“I’m not. You are.”

I gaped at him. “What?” I cried, ignoring the throb in my forehead.

“I don’t trust you, Ember, and I don’t want you to fuck everything up here like you did my life.”

“Why would you say that? What did I do?”

“Don’t play dumb. You knew what you were doing when you let Gage fuck you.”

“We didn’t have sex!” I insisted. “I swear we only kissed!”

He shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”

“I swear on our daughter’s life that I didn’t have sex with Gage!”

“Don’t bring Emma into this!” he hissed.

“Don’t make a big deal out of something that meant absolutely nothing! I got drunk and kissed him, and I’m so sorry about that. But we can’t keep falling apart like this! I don’t want us to fall apart,”

Dominic leaned against the back of the couch. “It may be too late for that.”

I bit my lip. “Please tell me you’re joking,” I said solemnly. “Please,”

“I don’t want to be married to someone I can’t trust.”

“I don’t want to keep having arguments! People screw up, Dominic! that doesn’t make me a bad person! We love each other, and we love Emma, and we need to go home now before we end up divorced!”

“We’ll go home but I can’t promise anything.”