Chapter 12 Jared froze like I'd knocked the wind out of him . " Willow , you've got it all wrong , " he said , looking wounded and stunned . " I don't hate you . Actually ... " He gave a bitter smile and continued , " Actually , I always knew it wasn't you who spread those rumors . It was Eleanor . She set the whole thing up . She'd been wanting to end things for a while , but she just never found the right excuse . " Then , you helped me , and she took that as her opening to start the rumors . The day she got into the accident ? She was actually planning to run off with some rich heir . I was just a fool that she had strung along . " I looked Jared dead in the eye . He was falling apart , but I felt nothing . " If you knew all that , then why did you treat me like this for the past three years ? " " ... " Jared collapsed into himself , face in his hands , sobbing like the weight of it finally broke him . He said , " I'm sorry . This is on me . I kept thinking that , if you hadn't done all that for me back then , maybe Eleanor would've stuck around a little longer . Maybe she wouldn't have left so soon . Maybe she wouldn't have been in that accident at all . " " Jared , you were never going to keep her , " I said . " I know ... " His voice was quiet as he reached for me , but I shoved him away , I'd stopped falling for his fake remorse and too - late apologies . Back when I loved him , I let myself believe every lie he told . No matter what he said , I always found a way to forgive him . He'd hurt me one day and charm me the next , and somehow , I always fell for it . But the only reason it ever worked was because I loved him . Now ? We were done . " Jared , whether you still have feelings for Eleanor and Elsie or not , it doesn't matter anymore . There's no future for us . I'm getting married tomorrow . Just stay out of my life . " With that , I turned and headed upstairs . jared lunged after me , desperate to hold on . But a security guard , quick on his feet , grabbed him and dragged him out before he could reach me . Thanks to Jared's little scene , I laid in bed for an hour , wide awake .