I haven’t seen Carter in a week. But I’m going to tonight.

I squeeze my hands into fists and then release them.

I try to replay Sailor’s voice in my head. You look great. I repeat those words over and over. I look great, and tonight, I’m going to make Carter suffer.

He’s going to hate me by the end of tonight and also want me more than he’s wanted any other woman. He’s going to feel pain when he realizes that I’m not here for him. I’m here to make him pay for all the years of pain he has caused me.

I walk backstage of the television show that Carter and Lily are going on. I walk right up to both of them, trying to squash any nerves about still having any feelings toward Carter. I can’t have any feelings. He hurt me; now, I’ll hurt him. That’s all we will ever be to each other.

“Hello, Lily. Are you ready to go tonight?” I ask.

Lily throws her arms around me. “Victoria, it’s good to see you! I wasn’t sure if you would make it.”

I grin brightly at her. “I wouldn’t have missed it.”

“I’m very sorry to see you go. You really are the best.”

“Thank you, but you won’t need my services anymore after tonight. Your crisis will be over, and you will be able to focus on running an effective campaign.”

Lily smiles. “You’re right, but if I need someone to handle a crisis in the future, I’m calling you.”

“Hopefully, you won’t need to.”

I glance over at Carter, who is intently watching me but doesn’t say anything. I don’t say anything to him either. I just stand there, letting him wish that he had treated me like I deserved. Because I’m going to make sure he’ll miss my body.

His eyes travel over my body, like I knew they would, soaking in his last glimpse of me. He takes in my legs, which look curvy in my dark jeans and high heels. He takes in my white spaghetti strap top, which has plenty of cleavage and shows off my arms. And then he settles on my face. My hair is curled in loose waves, and my makeup makes it look like I’m going out tonight to pick up a guy. And I might just do that. I could use a night to forget about everything.

“You’re on in five,” one of the assistants says to the couple.

“Good luck,” I say to Lily. Then, I give Carter one last glare before I walk over to the monitor to watch Carter’s life end.

They are announced, and I watch them walk out, hand in hand. All smiles for each other.

I feel the stabbing in my heart. Damn it. I’m not the one who is supposed to feel pain. He is.

They take a seat in the chairs, and the host begins asking them easy questions at first. They both make jokes and laugh.

And then the host says the words that I planted. The words that I’m here to watch. “I hear that the two of you have some big news to share.”

Lily holds tighter on to Carter’s arm, leaning in like she is really in love. She probably is—or at least, what she thinks is love. “We do have some exciting news.”

“Care to share?” the host asks excitedly.

Lily holds out her left hand, proudly displaying the engagement ring that Carter used to propose to me a week ago. “We’re engaged!”

I carefully watch Carter’s expression. He’s surprised. He raises an eyebrow for a split second when he sees it, and his eyes are a little wider than usual as he stares at the ring on Lily’s finger instead of mine. But he quickly recovers from the surprise. What he doesn’t recover from is the pain. I know he was expecting me to do something, but I don’t think he was expecting that. He looks away from Lily and over to the backstage area where I’m standing, off camera. I look away from the screen to look at him with a smirk. He deserves this. He deserves the pain. He deserves to suffer, being her fiancé. If I get my way, until death do they part.

“Tell us how you proposed,” the host asks Carter, forcing his attention back to the interview.

“Oh, it was so romantic! We were in a limo, and…well, things got steamy,” Lily says, fake blushing. “But, Carter, you should really tell the story.”

Carter takes a deep breath. “I had rented a limo for the night because I wanted everything to be perfect. And it was. We started kissing. Then, one thing led to another, and our clothes were off. She was digging through my pants, looking for protection, when she found the ring. I proposed. But she was more worried about being with me than being very clear with her answer.

“The limo driver kept driving to our destination—a home that I bought for us to start our life together as a family. And I proposed again on the deck of the house, under twinkle lights and the stars. She said yes.”

“Oh my God, that is a romantic and steamy story,” the host says.

Carter smiles, but it’s fake. He hated retelling that story and replacing me with Lily. It hurt. My job here is done.

I walk toward the exit, feeling the weight of what I just did hit me harder and harder with every step. I just hurt a man whom, despite everything, I’m desperately in love with. A man who, minus a few flaws, is perfect for me in every way. I just ruined my chance at happiness with him.

I throw the door open and step outside, wrapping my arms around myself, trying to comfort myself, as I walk the two blocks to the nearest bar. I stop outside the bar and turn around, hoping that, just like in the movies, Carter will be there, running after me, about to give me some fantastic speech that will make me feel like we can be together. But he’s not there. No one is.

I’m all alone.

I need to get used to it. This is my life now.