I told the others I wasn't feeling well and left the bar in a taxi. Gael teased I was getting so old I wasn’t able to party like a teenager anymore without getting sick.

But it hadn’t been a lie. I did feel sick. My stomach was knotted into a heavy lump. Sharp daggers stabbed through my chest. My eyes burned with the effort to hold back tears the entire taxi ride home.

The moment I stepped into my apartment and closed the door, I slumped against it and let the tears come. I knew my makeup was leaving black streaks on my cheeks but I didn’t care. I was lost in a red haze of heartbreak, fury and a twisted sort of self-loathing.

As angry as I was with Liam, I was just as upset with myself.

How could I not have seen this coming? It wasn’t the first time Liam’s jealousy had caused tension between us. He’d been suspicious of Morris a few times before already.

I should have known eventually something like this would happen.

I threw my purse and phone on the sofa and watched them almost bounce off the cushions and onto the floor. I kicked my boots off with enough force to send them flying against the wall with a thud. I was wearing black socks, the only color I owned.

Liam had been disappointed at the boring color, hoping to tease me about some embarrassing design.

I took in a shuddering breath. I swiped at my cheeks. The back of my hand came back smudged with mascara.

The last time my makeup had been smeared over my face, Liam had wiped it away with a gentle thumb. He’d said my smokey eye was more of a forest fire.

It was hard to breathe around the clenching in my chest. The vise grip threatened to squeeze the life out of me. The tears wouldn’t stop falling down my cheeks.

How could things have gone so wrong so quickly?

I wanted to scream until my lungs gave out. I wanted to collapse into a heap of misery. I wanted to punch the wall until my knuckles bled.

I didn’t do any of that. I simply stripped out of my clothes and slid into bed, not even bothering to wash my face. A quick wipe with a tissue would have to do.

A shivery-cold feeling began to creep its way under my skin, into my every nerve.

It was happening again.

I'd opened myself up, given everything I had, let myself be vulnerable…

And now that it had all blown up in my face, I was falling apart. Again.

I didn’t want to think. I didn’t want to feel. I wanted to fall into the oblivion of sleep where Liam’s words could no longer haunt me.

How do I know you won’t just go running after him the first chance you get?

I swallowed around the lump of rage and despair taking root in my stomach.

He couldn’t possibly think I might cheat on him. It had to have just been anger over seeing me hug Morris.

But even words said in anger couldn’t be dismissed.

I heard my phone ping. I rolled over and ignored it. It pinged again. And again. I flopped over onto my side and grabbed it.

The fuck is up with Liam? Gael had texted.

How should I know? I wrote back.

After you took off he got all pissy. Told us to call a taxi cause he was leaving. Fucker left us stranded and drunk.

I’m sure you’ll manage, I replied.

Do you need me to kick his ass?

No.

Cause if he did or said something stupid, I don’t care how talented he is, I’ll put my fist through his face.

I said no. Everything’s fine. I’m going to bed now. Get home safe.

Will do.

I put down my phone.

I stared at the blank screen.

I picked it back up.

I did a search for Cherry Lips. Dozen of blog posts and news articles mentioning us popped up.

I’d kept my promise. As hard as it had been, I'd gone weeks since last checking the rumor mill online. But what did it matter? My promise to Liam meant nothing anymore.

I had to know. Needed to know. People all over the internet were talking about Cherry Lips and not knowing what they were saying was killing me.

I scrolled mindlessly, skimming the words, looking for key phrases like “fucking rocks” or “totally sucks.”

I stopped. Scrolled back up hastily.

Someone had posted a photo of me and Liam on stage. It was during one of our brief duets, when he would lean into the mic to sing a few words along with me.

In this photo our eyes were locked onto each other's. His lips were mere inches from mine. It didn’t look like a duet at a rock concert. It looked like a snapshot taken moments before a passionate kiss.

The sting of tears hit the back of my eyes again.

I remembered that concert. I’d dragged Liam into a dark office and fucked him senseless afterward. We’d almost gotten caught by the venue manager. We had to pretend we’d gotten lost. Between Liam’s undone jeans button and my messed up lipstick, we were pretty sure he hadn’t bought it.

Pressing my lips firmly together, I started to read the article accompanying the photo. It was the usual concert review, talking about how awesome we were, our crazy fan base, the accolades we’d received so far, even giving a bit of background on our past as an indie band.

But this article had a few sentences at the bottom I’d never read before.

On stage with Cherry Lips was Liam Knight, formerly of the band Forever Night, which was on the cusp of hitting it big before Liam left to pursue his own projects. Click here to view a gallery of Forever Night.

A gallery of photos. Photos of Liam.

I couldn’t help myself. I clicked.

There were dozens of pictures taken throughout Liam’s early career. In some of the photos he looked as young as he had when I’d first met him. In some he looked the exact same as he did now.

In most of the photos they were on stage, but there were also quite a few with them surrounded by groupies. One girl in particular showed up multiple times, always hanging off Liam’s arm. He never look annoyed at her clinging. In some of the photos he was even smiling softly at her, even as a handful of other women surrounded him.

Maybe she wasn’t a groupie. Maybe she was an old girlfriend. I wondered what had happened to them, if they were no longer together. Liam had never mentioned anything about the people he’d dated before me.

I continued flicking through the photos. When I got to the end, there was a another small blurb.

The former members of Forever Night are now known as Chaotic Neutral. Click here to read a review of their latest concert.

I hadn’t realized the members of Liam’s old band were still active in the scene. It made sense. Just because he was content to be a session musician didn’t mean they wouldn’t go on to form another group.

I clicked the link.

From the photo, Chaotic Neutral looked like a normal rock band. Lots of black, mesh, skinny jeans, leather jackets and a hint of eyeliner.

There was the same gallery of photos, both the band on stage and surrounded by groupies. As I scanned the pictures, I zoomed in on the guitarist. He looked like a regular guy, tall with dark hair and a cocky smile. He didn’t look like the type who would betray a friend. Then again, Liam didn’t look like the type to spit out horrible accusations like he had that evening.

I paused on one picture.

It was the same young woman. That groupie/girlfriend. But this time she was hanging off the guitarist’s arm. He was the one smiling down at her. Holding her against his side, hugging her tightly. There was a caption under the photo.

Chad and Paula.

I inhaled sharply.

I recognized her name.

It was the girl from the wedding invitation.

I examined the picture closely, my mind beginning to connect all the pieces.

If she was Liam’s ex-girlfriend… and she was now marrying his old guitarist… And it was his guitarist’s fault he quit the band…

Had Liam’s girlfriend left him for one of his best friends?

I sank back into the sofa cushions, air whooshing out of me.

His girlfriend had left him for another man. Just like his mom had left his dad.

No wonder Liam had trust issues.

I could almost understand his reaction now. If Harper had left me for someone else, I would have had an awful time getting over it.

I stared at the photo, burning her face into my memory. I didn’t know anything about the girl but I was mad at her. She was the one who had hurt Liam. It was her fault he had acted so unreasonably.

And it was unreasonable. I’d given Liam no cause to worry. He knew Morris and I were just old friends.

But he’d accused me of cheating anyway.

As much as I understood why that was where his mind had gone, I wasn’t about to brush it off. I wasn’t about to let him get away with thinking something so awful of me.

It was understandable yes, but I couldn’t forget the way he’d glared at me, the way he’d forbidden me from seeing Morris, the way he’d spat out that I might end up sleeping with someone else behind his back…

A pang of anger and heartbreak shot through me.

It didn't matter his reason.

Liam had accused me of something unforgivable.

I didn't know if that was something I'd be able to forget any time soon.