"Demi, I'm sorry—"
"No," Demi interrupted. "You have nothing to be sorry about. You were right. I was being selfish. Honestly, I was acting like that because seeing you have an interest in someone else is hard. Even though it's been years since we last kissed, there's still a part of me that can't see you with anyone else. But I have to let that go. I have to let you go."
When Demi finished, Jesse was speechless. All of his assumptions were wrong. For the first time, Jesse couldn't read Demi's mind and figure out what was upsetting her.
"Demi.." Jesse paused to try and get his words together. "You don't have to let me go. The only reason I was flirting with Rosemary is because she reminds me of you."
Demi tilted her head in confusion causing Jesse to chuckle at her because she looked like a lost puppy. "You and Rosemary are very alike. You guys have similar physical features like your smile and your freckles. But also similar nonphysical features like the way you carry yourself in a crowd of people, and the way you take care of the people you love. That's why I'm attracted to Rosemary. When I look at her, all I can see is you."
She was sure why but tears began to come from her eyes. There was nothing Demi wanted more than for Jesse to see her the way he did years ago. Now it was finally happening.
If Jesse didn't become a chef, he could be an author. He had a way with words that made you tear up and feel something that you didn't know you felt. It was beautiful and one of the things Demi loved most about him.
"Sorry," Demi giggled and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. "I just wasn't expecting that."
"Demi, when I told you that I'm still in love with you, I wasn't lying. I think about you every day, I think about you when I look at Luna, I think about you all the goddamn time and it kills me. As much as I want to hate you, I can't. It's physically impossible."
Demi was really crying now. As hard as she tried to stop the tears, she couldn't. Jesse reached across the table to grab her hand. Demi noticed the tears in his eyes, but they didn't dare to fall out.
After a beat, Jesse let go of her hand and grabbed one of the forks placed beside the table. Demi did the same and quietly, they ate their cheesecake together. A comfortable silence came over them. They said their peace and what's done, is done.
What felt like an hour later, they had moved from their position at the dining table and onto the bed. It wasn't in a weird way. They laid an appropriate distance away from each other and let the TV play movies that they didn't pay attention to. They talked, laughed, and talked some more. Things were casual between them.
"Can I ask you a question?" Jesse asked. Demi nodded her head but kept her eyes on the TV. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting a divorce?"
Demi's eyebrows furrowed at Jesse's question. Nobody knew about the divorce except for Nick and her lawyer. How the hell did Jesse find out?
"Luna saw the divorce papers in your office and she told me" Jesse explained. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Demi sighed and sat up in the bed. "I don't know. I wanted to but didn't because I was embarrassed."
"Why?"
"Because you were right." This time, Jesse was the one to tilt his head in confusion. He sat up as well so he could be face-to-face with Demi. "You were right about what you said about me not leaving Nick because I'm afraid of being abandoned. But a couple of weeks ago, I found Nick and his assistant in our bed and I felt sick to my stomach. I just couldn't do it anymore."
Jesse wanted to jump up and scream "I told you so" because Demi never admitted when she was wrong. This wasn't the time thought and he'd have to save that excitement for later.
wildfire
Start from the beginning
