He Set Rules for Me but Broke Them All for Her Chapter 05

He Set Rules for Me but Broke Them All for Her Chapter 05

Delete The Histor… Added a post: “I just deleted my entire watch history and…

A man in a lightweight suit stood in front of me, a pair of wire-rimmed glasses perched on his nose.

His features looked vaguely familiar.

Remy froze for a second, and then his face twisted into something I’d never seen before. Pure, unguarded fury.

“Marnie. Who the hell is he?”

My lips parted, but nothing came out.

The man stepped to my side, extending a veined hand before I could speak. The corner of his mouth

curved up.

“Hi. I’m Soren Barrett.” He paused. “Marnie’s new boss. And also…” Was it my imagination, or did

the amusement in his eyes deepen? “… her blind date. And her suitor.”

I looked up, startled, and our eyes met.

My heart lurched. I quickly looked away.

And then it clicked, that flicker of familiarity.

The day we’d exchanged contact info, I’d glimpsed his photo. I just hadn’t placed it.

Remy dropped all pretense of a smile. His whole presence turned darker.

Cora stepped between us, playing peacemaker, her voice dripping with feigned exasperation.

“Marnie, really. Breaking up with Remy over a little spat is one thing. But hiring someone to make

him jealous? That’s a new low.”

She tapped my nose. “You’ve always been so sneaky with your little schemes, ever since we were kids. And honestly, even if no one’s interested in you, you don’t have to hire an actor. We all know

what you look like, sweetie.”

Her tone made it sound like everything happening here was something I’dorchestrated. Some desperate ploy to get their attention.

Every word scraped against me.

I’d heard this kind of thing before.

All my life. Because of my weight, even changing to a pink hair tie got me mocked. “Why bother dressing up, butch?”

Standing next to Cora, people would say, “Cora’s so sweet, hanging out with that tomboy.”

I’d seen the superiority in her eyes back then.

But she was my first friend. I’d gladly played the role of her plain sidekick.

Yes, I wasn’t as accomplished as Cora, and no one chased after me.

Most people only smell the petals, and they don’t care what the leaf beneath thinks.

But does that make me cruel? Does that mean I resent her for being the flower?

Someone squeezed my fingers.

I looked up and saw Soren’s encouraging gaze.

I took a deep breath and met Cora’s eyes. “Got proof?”

She froze.

“All that about my ‘sneaky little schemes’, where’s your proof?”

“Cora, you’ve said stuff like this plenty of times. You call yourself my best friend, but you use the same fork as my boyfriend. Same bowl. Same straw. You wear his clothes. You crash in his hotel room at three in the morning. Do I need to list everything you’ve said?”

I held her gaze. “Between the two of us, who’s really the one hiding in the dark?”

The people passing by slowed down, eager for the show. The looks thrown at Cora were laced with

contempt.

I didn’t blink until her face went white. She buried herself against Remy’s side, scrambling to

backtrack. “Marnie, I was just joking…”

Same old excuse.

“Joke,” I shot back, “or malice. You know which it is.”

I didn’t wait for her reaction. I grabbed Soren’s wrist and turned to leave,

Remy blocked my way.

The darkness on his face had shifted. There was something new there. Surprise, or admiration. But his voice stayed hard, final. “Marnie. Apologize to Cora. You shouldn’t have said that.”

I laughed. “Almost forgot about you.”

I swung my arm and slapped him across the face.

Watching his eyes go wide with disbelief, I said flatly, “Like you’re any better! Does it thrill you to watch two women fight over you?”

A few coworkers wandered in from the entrance and spotted me at the door. “Marnie, you’re early! Why are you just standing out here?”

I pulled myself together and smiled. “Coming.”

Without another look at them, I stepped into our private room, Soren right behind me.