“Where do you want to go for dinner?” Liam asks me, his voice stopping me from drowning in all the pleasure that still courses through my veins. He brushes his fingertips along the naked skin on my arms, and then grabs me by the hand. “What do you say about Léo’s? He really liked you.”

I’m listening to what he’s saying but, truth be told, I’m not really processing his words. Right now, my brain is too busy with trying to deal with the feeling of dread that’s slowly creeping up on me. I feel it in the pit of my stomach, like a dark shadow that seems to grow and grow, its dark fingers slowly wrapping themselves around my neck…

I shouldn’t have allowed this to happen, but I simply couldn’t resist him. How could I? The moment he pressed his sweet lips against mine, desire spread its wings inside me and, for a moment, I forgot all about the mess of a situation I’m in. But even though I might have postponed the inevitable, there’s no running from it.

Turning to the side so that I’m facing him, I take my hand from under his and look him in the eyes. I try and search for the right words, but I don’t find them. How the hell am I supposed to break up with Liam? I simply can’t do it with him looking at me like this, as if I am the last woman on Earth.

“Liam…” I start, trying to summon some courage, but then I give up on it.

I can’t break up with him. I just can’t. No matter how brave and courageous I might pretend to be, I can’t break his heart like this.

“Yeah…? You wanted to tell me something, didn’t you?” He asks me, that irresistible tender smile of his dancing on his lips.

“Yeah,” I nod, still not sure of what exactly I want to tell him. Closing my eyes for a second, I take a deep breath, and the answer bubbles up to my mind. There’s only one thing I can do right now, and that’s coming clean.

Sitting up on the bed, I wrap the sheet around my naked body and try to sort the words into a coherent sentence. “There’s something I need to tell you. And… It isn’t easy, Liam,” I tell him, my heart tightening up inside my chest so much that I can barely feel it beat.

“What is it?” He asks, sitting up by my side as his smile slowly fades away. “Is there something wrong?”

“Yes,” I nod, “there’s something very wrong in this relationship. And that something is me,” I continue, forcing my eyes to remain locked on his. In the end, I surrender to shame and avert my gaze, looking down at my lap.

“Cara, I don’t understand,” he whispers, trying to grab my hand, but I just take it out of his reach.

“It’s all a lie, Liam. This relationship is a lie, and I’m a fraud,” I say, finally mustering enough courage to let these words out.

“Come on, Cara. How can you say that? This is real,” he whispers, this time moving so fast that I can’t help but let him hold my hand. He tangles his fingers on mine, softly brushing his thumb against the palm of my hand, and I sigh heavily.

“I’m not the person you think I am. Cara’s my name, that much is true, but I’m not… I’m not the woman you think I am, Liam.”

“Cara, stop saying --”

“Please, let me finish,” I cut him short, looking into his eyes and feeling determined to go through with this. Now that I’ve started, there’ll be no stopping me, no matter how much it hurts. Running my tongue over my lips, I ready myself to do what must be done. It’s time for the truth.

“I run a company, Liam… A very special kind of company. I specialize on breaking men’s hearts. Women that had their lives ruined by men come to me, and they hire me so that I can get back at these men. That’s why I have all this,” I tell him, waving with my free hand at my spacious bedroom.

“A few weeks ago, Misty Lane walked into my office and she hired me. She wanted me to break your heart after you left her, and I agree to it,” I force myself to continue, even though I can already feel the tears stinging my eyes. “Everything I did, including our ‘chance’ encounter at that pool party… It was all part of a plan. I wanted to make you fall for me, only so that I could break your heart in the process.”

He remains silent now, his lips slightly parted as he takes in my words. I look at his face, trying to read the expression there, but I just can’t do it. And so I continue.

“There was just one thing I wasn’t counting on…” I tried, but I couldn’t stop the tears, and now there’s one streaming down my face. It goes down to my lips, its saltiness somehow filling me up with a deep sadness. “I wasn’t counting on falling for you,” I finally admit, my words hanging in the air between us.

“I was supposed to destroy you because you were an asshole, but after getting to know you… I found out that you were the opposite of what I expected. You’re a good man, Liam, and you’re a much better person than I am. And, for what it’s worth, I’m truly sorry.” I push these last words out of my mouth with effort, my voice already cracking. And that’s not the only thing that’s cracking right now - I can almost feel my heart splintering inside my chest.

Looking out the window for an instant, Liam sighs and then looks me in the eyes. I hold my breath as I wait for him to speak, realizing that for the first time in my life, the roles have been reversed.

This time, I’m the one having her heart broken.