I'm so unsure of what I'm doing. Why I would want to engage in even the briefest conversation with Asher Prescott is beyond me.

"A.J., don't hang up," he says, desperation oozing from his voice. "I just...I need to talk to you."

I pace back and forth through the long hallway. "I have nothing to say to you."

"I know, and I deserve for you to hate me. What I did wasn't okay. I just wanted to talk to you that night, and I lost it when I heard you with Slone. I was so jealous."

"What you did to me far surpasses not okay! It was sick. I was just talking to Kade. It's not like I was screwing him. Besides, why would you care when you have countless girls to give you what I wouldn't?"

I swear I hear him sniffle. In all the years I have known Asher, never has he cried. I question whether it's real or a figment of my imagination.

"I'm sorry, A.J.," he says, his voice trembling.

I don't know what to say. It's not all right, and saying it is would be a lie. I won't justify his actions to make him feel better. Yet, I want to move on, and isn't part of the process to forgive? I can't offer him the grace of forgiveness just yet, but I want to finalize the end of us.

I slide to the floor next to my hotel room door, not sure how to start this conversation. If I had one wish, it wouldn't be to undo Asher's unfaithfulness. I'd erase the night in my hotel room and over a year's worth of lies. But his transgressions against me are overwhelming—hindering me from functioning through this call. We sit in silence for what feels like forever.

"Are we ever going to be friends again?" he asks, his voice cracking.

"I don't think so. I don't like the person you've become."

"I'm still me."

"No, you're not. I miss the real you. He was my best friend." I drop my head on my knees, hoping I can keep it together. I don't want to cry; he's not deserving of any of my emotions, least of all, my heartbreak.

"Maybe we could try to start over," he presses on.

"No." I don't have any desire to know this Asher; I despise him.

"How can you just turn it off like we were nothing? I love you," he sobs.

I fight the tears. No more. I will never shed another for him. "I loved you too."

"Loved?"

"Yeah," I reply.

Asher sighs, and I can picture him running his hands over his face and his crystal blue eyes filled with tears, but I realize that it's a figment of my imagination, just like our relationship.

"So, this is it?"

"Yes," I say.

"Okay." He waits for a moment and when nothing happens, he says, "Bye, A.J."

"Bye, Asher."

Just like that, it's finished.

The moment of closure every broken relationship needs so both parties can move on. I didn't owe him that, but there was a part of me that needed to know I made peace with how it all ended. This call was my chance to say everything I wanted to say. Although it took me by surprise, I did the best I could. No doubt, I'll think back on our final exchange and scold myself for forgetting to drive a point home. But I did the best I could with what I was given, and it will have to suffice.

I lift my head and prepare to stand up, but I freeze. My eyes scale up long legs, I take in his tattooed arms crossed over his torso and halt on his face. Kade clenches his jaw, causing a slight tick in his cheeks.

"How long have you been standing there?" I ask, hurrying to my feet.

"Long enough." He takes a step forward; his hands clenched into fists, and his eyes bore into me. "What the hell are you doing talking to him?"

"He called several times while we were at dinner. It was unlike him and when he called again...I just wanted to see if there was something wrong." The words coming out of my mouth seem like a poor excuse now that I hear them out loud.

Kade throws his hands up and his voice booms throughout the hallway. "Yeah, there is something wrong. He laid his hands on you, Ari. What the fuck are you doing?" His face contorts with pure disgust. "You told him you miss him."

"That's not—"

"How about you call him back and invite him for a cup of fucking coffee?"

Kade is pissing me off with his endless ranting. Can't he see that this call has drained me, and I'm on the verge of tears? And why the hell is he yelling at me? I can't take it, and the dam holding back my flood of emotions breaks. "Shut up! I don't need a lecture from you when you only heard one side of the conversation. And I sure as shit don't owe you an explanation."

We go silent until Kade lifts an eyebrow and nods. "You're right, you don't owe me anything." Turning on his heel, Kade walks toward the elevator.

I know what he's insinuating—if it weren't for him, Asher could have hurt me worse than he did. Thankfully, I'll never know how far my ex would have gone because of Kade. I owe him something for what he did, but not an explanation for the reason I spoke to Asher. When it comes to why I took the call, Kade can either take it or leave it.

"Kade," I call after him.

"I got it, Ariella. It's noted as not my business," he says before the elevator doors close behind him.

I toss and turn all night with the nagging feeling that my biggest fear with Kade has come to fruition. Tonight's fight has forced us to take hundreds of steps back, and we will return to the days when he wouldn't acknowledge my existence.

I stand firm in my decision to talk to Asher. I needed closure and wanted to know there was nothing left unsaid between us. But if tomorrow everything has taken an unwanted turn, I don't know if I can forgive myself for answering the phone call. No matter how much I believe it needed to happen, I don't want to lose Kade.