Spoiled
By Shuis 112

“Gwen, sit down. I’m glad you came.” She just nodded, and an auburn lock escaped from her bun as she took a seat on the bench next to him. Which reminded her of last night. You know, you should really let your hair down once in a while.

“Ethan, how are you doing?” she asked him, out of genuine concern. The last thing she wanted to do with the tabloid mess was to hurt him, although now she could see it was the only thing she did. I say he deserved it. You know, what goes around comes around. Not all of it though. Because we both know too well the pain that comes. Pure pain. Gwen was so distracted with her thoughts she didn’t hear him answer. But whatever he said, it was obvious he wasn’t okay. She shivered, once again remembering the hollow look in his eyes last night. Alcohol made you vulnerable, so everyone could see. But it also made you forget, and that’s what made it magic.

“Are you cold? Here.” Before Gwen could protest that her shiver had nothing to do with the wind, Ethan was already taking his jacket off and putting around her shoulders so the soft leather covered her bare arms. The scent of his cologne filled her nostrils, and basking in its familiarity, she realized how long it had been since she was close enough to smell it. But even though she was surrounded by Ethan, her thoughts managed to take her back in time yet again. I don’t get it. What makes women so desperate for him? I thought before the magic word was Crane, but now he’s a Bennett. And if the Bennett charm works for him so well, why doesn’t it work for me? And why do you still want him back?

Gwen kept asking herself that same question, sitting on a bench outside the church. The night after the disastrous double wedding, the night after she had gotten drunk at a local bar, the night after she had run into Hank Bennett at that bar. They had both drowned their sorrows in alcohol, though she still wasn’t too sure what he was so sad about. But he could see everything worrying her. You’re looking at me like it’s the least obvious thing in the world. Not to me. I can read people pretty well, and if there’s one thing I recognize it’s rejection. You’re worried Ethan might forgive Theresa, aren’t you? You want him to dump her. I bet you’re the one who sent the letter to the tabloid. I don’t get it.

“Not sure I do either,” she whispered. A cold breeze swept past them, and she shivered again, bringing herself back to the present. Gwen pulled Ethan’s jacket tighter around her, suddenly taken back by the sensation of deja vu. How many times had they sat there like this? Except Ethan would be staring at her instead of the church filled with the hopes and dreams of his life. With Theresa. Her name didn’t register as venomously as usual. Maybe because revenge was sweet. The “poor” girl was probably crying her eyes out right now, thinking Ethan had dumped her for good. Had he? It was the question that had first popped into her mind when he asked to meet her here.

“Life is strange isn’t it? It can change on you in a blink of an eye.”

“Yeah, it is,” she said, her mind still fixated on last night. Somehow she felt she was a different person after that.

“Gwen,” he started, then sighed. “Whether you or Rebecca or Julian or Alistair were right about Theresa from the beginning or not, I’ve realized I was wrong about one thing.”

“What’s that?” she asked carefully.

“The way I treated you. After everything that happened, you were still by my side as a good friend yesterday. I want you to know how much I value our friendship.” Gwen just nodded mutely, overcome by guilt. Would she have been such a good friend if she didn’t want him back? Most probably not. You should be happy Ethan’s out of your life. Why? I remember that night you came over to Sheridan’s cottage. Heartbroken and angry. But most of all in pain. Don’t you see that Ethan did that to you too? He’s the one that dumped you the night before your wedding in front of the whole town. Not Theresa.

As Ethan looked back up and met her eyes, she had the strangest feeling she was looking at him from behind glass. Close enough to see but not touch. She knew if she wanted she could shatter the glass. But she didn’t want to because what Hank said had been right. The man sitting in front of her, the one she had pined over for months, he too had caused her to cry herself to sleep endless nights, to have all her hard work go to waste in her father’s company because he was too disappointed in her for not clinching the merger. Hell, she was still the laughing stock of the Country Club.

“I don’t think I can ever forgive Theresa for lying to me for so long. You and I both know that trust is one of the most important things in a relationship. We never broke it…at least, until I lied to you.” He looked back at the church, where all his dreams were shattered like the stained glass Ivy had driven her car into. “I want to ask for your forgiveness, Gwen.”

Gwen opened her mouth to say something, but closed it when she wasn’t sure what to say. Her mother’s voice echoed in her head. He’s playing right into your hands, Gwen. Comfort him. Now’s your chance to make him forget all about the little slut Theresa. But she knew if she said she forgave Ethan, she would be lying to him yet again. Because she really hadn’t for the reasons she didn’t want to break the glass between them. And then there was that little nagging voice in the back of her mind, giving her the reason Hank had nailed last night, though she would never tell him.

Let me ask you this. If Ethan does dump Theresa and comes back to you, how the hell do you know this won’t happen again? If you’re so sure it wasn’t love that lured Ethan to Theresa, couldn’t some other girl or woman come along and take him away? What would you do then? Would you still want him back?

“No,” she said out loud, answering Hank and Ethan at the same time. When her former fiancé looked up at her with surprise, Gwen continued. “I’m sorry, Ethan. You…hurt me too much. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive you either. Yes, I still love you, but you’re right. Trust is one of the most important things in a relationship. I don’t know if I can trust you again.”

Ethan looked almost crestfallen. And it was then she realized that once a spoiled boy, always a spoiled boy. She hoped he would realize that he couldn’t always have what he wanted in life. Well, Gwen thought as she got up from the bench and gracefully walked away, at least not her.