Page 99 of Exchange of Heart

‘Where are you going?’ He frowned.

‘Home.’ I tried to keep a blank face, refusing to let him see how much he’d hurt me.

‘But…’ his voice trailed off. ‘I thought you were going to stay here for a bit. With me.’

‘Well, I think things might have changed and it would be best if we put all of this behind us and moved on.’

‘Move on? Nora, we can’t put this behind us. You? Me? This?’ He wiggled his finger between us. ‘This changed everything. You changed everything.’

‘Yes, well, you seem to have changed some things, too.’ My voice came out harsh and cold, betraying the neutral vibe I’d promised myself I’d deliver.

‘What do you mean?’ Corey asked.

‘You convinced your father to withdraw my job opportunity,’ I yelled.

Calm and neutral had left the building. My blood was boiling. Heat radiated off me, my face likely red. If I’d thought I hated Corey before, those feelings were nothing compared to the rage coursing through my body now.

Corey’s gaze dropped with guilt.

‘See!’ I shrieked.

I wasn’t proud of my behaviour, but my body was hovering above watching everything play out down below.

‘Nora, it’s just—’

‘Don’t say another word.’ Each word shook worse than the last. ‘And don’t you dare speak to me at class tonight. I mean it, Corey.’ Tears rolled down my cheek. ‘I’ll leave the class if you so much as look at me, and then you’ll have ruined my exam on top of my job.’

I spun from his door and shoved my way down the stairs with my suitcase bouncing behind and jabbing my shins, too embarrassed to wait for the elevator. The moment he’d gotten his body back, he’d gotten his bullshit, careless attitude back, too. I’d been right all along.

I would never rely on a man.

Not for my job, not for my happiness.

Not for a single damn thing.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Nora

Unable to deal with the consequences of his actions, Corey did exactly what I expected a rich boy would do. I signed for the third flower arrangement within two days and placed the native bouquet on my dining table. It was eerily similar to the one that had been delivered to him weeks ago with kangaroo paw and – I sniffed at the arrangement – rosemary. I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d simply forwarded one he’d received. A hit of embarrassment punched me in the stomach. Had other girls been chasing him this whole time? Was I just another girl, allowing myself to believe he cared about me and my goals? There was far too much about Corey I still didn’t know, and I cursed myself for falling victim to a man. Perhaps my mother had been right all along.

With the exam done – Brad reminded me five times to be gentle with the keyboard and I had to replace two pens I broke from the force – I was trying to erase Corey from my mind.

An off-pitch yowling floated through the open window, assaulting my eardrums. The delivery guy flinched at the sound and moved down the hall at record pace. I poked my head out the window to see Corey on the pavement, hands cupped around his mouth for a makeshift megaphone, yelling my name. Actually, yowling wasn’t nearly accurate enough. It sounded like someone had woken mid-operation with hacked vocal cords.

He sighed in relief at the sight of my face and closed his eyes. ‘Nora, thank God. Please, let me up.’

Yesterday he’d been by in the blue shirt that set off his eyes and made me weak in the knees. Bastard. I’d almost caved when the breeze carried up the scent of the glorious black bean burrito he’d brought me, but when I realised I could no long afford to buy them myself, my dwindling bank account reminded me this was yet another thing Corey Flemmington had stolen from me, and I’d told him to shove the burrito up his ass.

Today was no different.

‘You’re scaring the neighbours with your horrendous voice. Go away.’ I pulled back inside and gripped the window to shut it.

‘No, Nora, Nora, Nora!’ His words became more frantic the further I closed the window.

Once it was fully sealed, just like my heart, I ignored a call from my mother, yet again. The pity in her voice would coat my organs into calcified shells until life no longer seemed worth living. Not with the idea that even my mother couldn’t find the bright side. Instead, I called Hayley for a distraction. Half an hour into our conversation, I came to a new realisation.

‘How on earth am I going to afford Pilates now?’