38. Lacey

"I'm your daughter!"

"No, you're not. How could you do such things?" I wiped the tears from my eyes and tried not to throw up. I was scared and sick to my stomach, and my life was unraveling too fast to keep up.

That bitch had released a video of me and Denny, and my own sister had told our parents about it. I always knew she liked Alyssa more than me, but how could she do it?

It wasn't that bad at first. They'd yelled and screamed and told me how disappointed they were, which was nothing new, but I thought maybe things would end there, so I just walked away and locked myself away in my room.

I wanted to hurt Sherry and Alyssa, too; I was so damn mad. I spent the rest of the morning steaming and trying to think up ways to get revenge. I don't see why everyone was acting like I committed a crime. People have sex with other people every day.

I couldn't turn on my phone or go online without seeing the messages and notifications going back and forth about the stupid video. I couldn't even press charges because she'd only shown the part with us in bed after and none of the actual sex parts, which wouldn't have mattered even if she had because my stupid state doesn't have laws against revenge porn.

Mom kept knocking on my door until I opened it and said the same stupid shit over and over again. Why did I? How could I? Blah-blah-blah. Since things hadn't escalated too much I didn't much care anyway, so I basically just ignored her.

And maybe things would've ended there, had that one video not unleashed an avalanche. Things I hadn't even remembered doing were being talked about. Old enemies were coming out of the woodwork to air their grievances and I was the topic on everyone's tongue.

Had it stayed in the private group chats and Discord, that too would have been fine, my parents don't have the first clue how to use either of those things. But someone took it to social media, that Rhoda bitch whoever she is, and that's where my hell began.

From there, it was all anyone around town would talk about, and soon, word got back to my parents. Not just about Denny but all the others. Stupid bitches were talking about the things I did in high school like they were perfect.

Jealous bitches who couldn't keep their men were calling me a slut and a homewrecker, and suddenly everyone was taking Alyssa's side, placing all the blame on me as if Denny wasn't the one in the relationship and, therefore, the one they should be going after.

Someone showed my parents the online thread between me and everyone who was coming down on me, and the yelling never ended. In a matter of days, my life had been turned upside down, and my parents had disowned me and were kicking me out of the house.

I had no money and no job. They never wanted me to work while I was in school, and I still had a year left, which they had informed me they would not be paying for. I spent last night in my car after they kicked me out and knew that there was no way in hell I was doing that again.

No one, not even people I considered friends, was willing to help me, and even if they were, their parents wouldn't allow it. Some of my so-called friends even threatened that if they ever found out I'd done anything with their boyfriends, they'd hurt me, which is why I didn't sleep a wink while sitting in my car waiting for someone to attack me.

I came back to beg them to let me stay, to forgive me, but they weren't budging. I thought for sure that they would get over their anger by now; after all, it wasn't that big of a deal, and most of the things they were learning about had happened years ago.

I don't understand any of this, I'm their daughter, and just because they don't want their friends to look at them poorly, they have thrown me away. "Where did we go wrong? This is not the way we raised you. Look at your sister. Why couldn't you be more like her?"

"That's enough, Marie, let her go. It's obvious she's never going to change."

"What do you mean by that, Dad?"

"Did you really think we didn't know some of what you were up to? The drugs, the parties, we knew all of it. But you kept it at school, away from here and us."

"I thought you would outgrow your wildness, but no, we've fed and sheltered you, and this is the thanks we get. You disgust me."

"Don't say that, Dad."

"Why not? It's the truth, don't touch me." He pushed my hands away, and the look on his face made me cry harder.

Why is this happening? I just wanted to teach that bitch a lesson, to take her down a peg. How did everything turn out like this? I'm really scared here, and they're acting like throwing my life away means nothing to them. They've never been like this before; I was always able to talk them around.

"It's your fault, you bitch. You made them do this." I went to grab my sister, but my Dad got in the way, and in my anger, I scratched and kicked him, which made Mom scream and cry harder.

"Get out!"

"No, you can't treat me like this; I'm your daughter."

"Get out of my house now. And don't come back."

"Watch your back bitch. You and that bitch Alyssa ruined my life."

"No one ruined your life. You did it to yourself. Alyssa was always more of a sister to me than you ever were. Mom, Dad, do you remember Robert? My first boyfriend when I went away to college? Do you know why we broke up?"

"You bitch, you promised not to tell." I went after her again, but this time, she pushed me to the floor.

"It was her; she slept with him. She lied about her age, and that's not all; she drugged him. She begged me not to tell, and he didn't press charges because I begged him."

My parents looked defeated, and that's when I knew that there was no coming back. Not after they learned that I had hurt their precious daughter. "You've always been the favorite; you always got everything you wanted; now you just had to destroy my life because you're a jealous bitch. Robert didn't want you, that's why he came to me. It wasn't hard to get him in my bed."

"You drugged him; he didn't want you. He's still going to therapy because you traumatized him. I forgave you so much because you're my sister, but now I'm done. I never want to see you again." I crawled across the floor to her, begging and pleading for her not to throw me away.

I knew that she was my only chance at redemption, that if she asked my parents, they'd let me stay. "You can't; I'm sorry; I'll change, I promise," I promised everything I could think of, but the three of them just looked at me with disgust.

Dad pulled me up from the floor and walked me to the door, kicking and screaming. Mom threw money at me and walked away while I pleaded with her to let me stay. "Mom, please, I'm your daughter."

"Just go, Lacey. I'm tired. We've done everything to give you and your sister a good life, but I don't know what else we can do. Your behavior is atrocious.

That was it. Dad closed the door and locked it, leaving me on the other side, screaming to be let back in. What am I going to do? Where am I going to go? I had no choice but to walk back to my car, which they had let me keep. Or maybe they'd just forgotten about it. I drove away in anger, almost blinded by tears.

DENNY

This is not what I wanted. I feel cold, empty, numb. It's been weeks, months, even by now, I think, and I can't get my bearings. Why didn't I realize that it would hurt like this? Where is that rush I felt each time I fooled around with Lacey?

I can't even think about her now without wanting to throw up. This can't be the end; my life can't get derailed like this without any explanation. I think it's finally sinking in that Alyssa, the best thing that ever happened to me, is gone.

I fucked my whole life away for someone that wasn't worth it. Now my friends are laughing at me not only because she made fun of my dick but because of all the new information that has been coming out about Lacey and just how much of a slut she is.

I can't even pretend I fell in love with someone else and that was the reason for cheating. Who the hell would believe that now? But the thing that hurts most of all is the fact that the woman I was with for four years and had planned to marry just ghosted me.

I can't get in touch with her because she has me blocked on everything. Our mutual friends aren't sharing any information if they know, and on top of that, when people aren't talking about my affair and the fact that she left me, they're talking about her new husband and how she leveled up.

Even my family, once they learned the truth, has been acting as if I'm the world's biggest fuck up. There's only one thing left to do now, and that's to leave this place and never look back. But I don't even have the energy to do that.

Those first few days, my anger kept me going, but now that the dust is settling, all I can think about is the fact that I'd lost more than I gained in this whole experience. But it hurts like hell that she'd just cut me off without a second thought.

That, more than anything, seems to be the hardest thing to overcome. It's so cold and callous, something I never knew about her. I knew she was very staunch in her ways and had always seemed aloof and standoffish with people, especially those she didn't like, but I never thought she would treat me this way.

We were about to get married, for fuck sake. She had agreed to spend the rest of her life with me. How could she just cut me out of her life like that? I've lost so much weight I can see my ribs. I've lost my job thanks to her husband, something I only learned after the fact. And now he'd blacklisted me from my profession.

I can't believe that my whole life can be over just like that. I'm only twenty-four years old; things should now be beginning, but it feels like the end. Everywhere I turn, all I hear is how much I screwed up. My family has been reading about her and her new man and making comparisons. My own fucking family.

Everyone agrees that he's a hundred times better than me. So, even if I try to claim that she has been seeing him behind my back, no one wants to listen. Not that they believe me anyway, thanks to his interview.

Just the thought of the two of them together makes me want to end it all. She's supposed to be mine; this was supposed to be our honeymoon. The latest pictures she'd sent to the chat with our friends show the two of them looking happy and in love. I can't bear that shit.

If I thought there was a chance of winning her back, I wouldn't hesitate, but I'm not that far gone to fool myself. Why would she leave her billionaire husband to be with an unemployed fuck up like me?

My phone rang, and I answered without looking to see who it was. "I'm pregnant."

"What? Who is this?"

"It's me, Lacey. I'm pregnant, and it's yours."

"Fuck you, you ruined my life. If you are pregnant, the kid isn't mine."

"How can you say that? You're the only one I've been with in a while."

"You're a fucking liar." I hung up the phone and looked around my room wildly. Can my life get any worse?

NATALIE

Why isn't he answering my calls? I have a sneaky suspicion that I've been blocked, but that can't be true. We've always been friends, even after we broke up. There was never a time when I couldn't reach him when I wanted to.

My son was crying in the other room, but I didn't care. Let the nanny take care of him. He's one of the biggest mistakes of my life. The first was when I gave Garrett an ultimatum to marry me or else. I didn't expect him to say okay, bye. And even when I tried to play it off like a joke he'd still called it off.

I should've known it would happen. Garrett never liked ultimatums, but we'd been together for so long that I thought for sure he'd want to marry me. Why else would he have stayed? Now, everyone thinks I was just a placeholder.

I didn't even want to marry Kevin, but he was the first guy to ask me out that wouldn't make me lose face. I rushed into marriage because I wanted people to think that it was me who had fallen out of love with Garrett and moved on. It was the only thing left to do.

Garrett never said anything, even when our friend circle made those distinctions. He never denied anything, never even discussed it, as far as I can tell. Back then, I thought it was because he'd regretted his decision; at least, I tried convincing myself of that even when I knew it to be false.

I wish I could go back in time and erase it all. I wish I could have my old life back. We were happy together once; there were no complaints, except from my side, because I desperately wanted to marry him.

But now it's too late. He'd moved on. But what hurts most of all is the fact that his family seems to have accepted this girl without question. I was like a daughter to them, and though they'd showered me with gifts when we were together, they never gave me anything as personal and intimate as a family heirloom.

Now, my ex-sister-in-law was gushing about her and showing off pictures of her and Garrett on their honeymoon, wearing their family jewels. I know what they are because I had seen some of them once a long time ago.

I used to imagine myself being the one to inherit them. My friends were all envious of me, even though they came from well-to-do families as well because none of them came close to Garrett's family's wealth.

Now, it was all wasted. He'd gone and married someone beneath us. A nobody that none of us had ever heard of. And yet his family seemed so pleased with her. I hate them, I hate her, and I hate my fucking life. I have to get him back somehow.

I know him better than she ever will. I know all his likes and dislikes. Our friends will prefer me, I'm sure of it. I just have to get them on my side. I wiped my face for the third time and picked up my phone.

"What's this now?" I opened the notification and almost threw my phone across the room. He'd taken her shopping. He hates to shop. I'd asked more than once. I watched their body language and the way he was looking at her with his arm around her in public.

With me, he was always careful not to be photographed. "Look at her stupid face." I felt like there was something heavy pressing in on my chest, and it was hard to breathe. "Smile now, you bitch. I'll be sure to wipe that stupid look off your face."

I put the phone away and went to lie down. I have to think. "Shut that fucking brat up." Oh, it's the nanny's day off. Whatever, he'll stop when he gets tired.