Happily Never After

by Lynn Painter

“Stuart didn’t hurt me.” I bit into a walnut and shook my head, still smoldering with rage over everything that happened, the horrible choices I made. “He pissed me off and made me want to beat him to death on the altar of our Lord, but he did not hurt me.” That made him quirk an eyebrow. “Come on. It’s okay.” “Oh, I know,” I said, meeting his doubtful gaze and sitting up straighter. “But it’s true. I absolutely knew he wouldn’t be faithful. I made the mistake of thinking marriage might be a good idea because of logical reasons, but Stu’s cheating neither surprised nor hurt me.” He stopped chewing. “You expected your fiancé to cheat?” “Max, I have been cheated on by every single person I’ve ever committed to, beginning with that brace-faced trumpeter—Jack Snook—way back in the eighth grade.” A pitying look crossed Max’s face, and I held up a hand to stop him from speaking. “And before you say something nice and placating, like ‘they were idiots,’ please know that I don’t take their idiocy personally. I know they were idiots and it had nothing to do with me.”