My Aries Ex

Late that night, I was scrolling through social media when my finger slipped, and I liked a rant that said, "No women would like to date Aries men."

A few minutes later, Rachel Lewis, my ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend, flooded my private messages.

[Stop trying to get Marcus's attention with these pathetic little tricks.]

[You already broke up.]

[A decent ex stays dead.]

[You're damaging Marcus's reputation.]

[I'll give you one chance to delete it.]

[Otherwise, you'll face the consequences.]

I laughed.

I had broken up with Marcus Gibson, my Aries ex-boyfriend, three years ago.

[I dumped that piece of trash out three years ago. I don't care if you picked him up and started treating him like a treasure, but stop acting like someone's trying to steal him from you every day.]

That pushed Rachel completely over the edge. She sent me an Excel spreadsheet right away.

[Fine. Since you're so over him, pay back every cent Marcus spent on you while you were dating. Otherwise, that proves you still want him.]

I looked at the bill.

Eighty-seven cups of coffee, eighteen movie tickets, that sad bouquet of roses he bought me for Valentine's Day, and even the chamomile tea he bought me when I was having my period...

[The total is 4,300 dollars. If you don't transfer the money within three days, I'll make sure the whole internet knows who you are.]

I stared at it, stunned. Then, I ignored the madwoman.

The next day, my social media exploded.

I couldn't help but laugh in anger as I looked at the long post on my phone.

I never thought that after breaking up with Marcus for three years, his current girlfriend would still be stalking me.

I was not planning to respond, but my account blew up before long. Private messages from strangers all over the country started coming in.

[Playing dead? You think staying quiet will solve anything? Marcus may be soft-hearted, but we aren't pushovers.]

[You liked that post because you wanted to imply he was terrible in relationships, didn't you? Stop playing innocent after doing that! Marcus is so upset he can't sleep, and this is all your fault! If you don't delete the post and apologize, we'll contact a lawyer and sue you for ruining his reputation!]

[You manipulative witch! I heard you're about to get engaged? Does a backstabbing witch like you deserve happiness? I hope you get dumped in public on your wedding day! That would suit your true nature!]

My hands went ice-cold, and I was shaking with anger. I knew those accounts all too well. Jack Summers, Ian Smith, Zachary Brown... They were all part of Marcus's circle of friends.

Three years ago, they had helped Rachel turn my relationship with Marcus into a complete mess.

I still remember the day Marcus made our relationship official. Rachel had curled up in his arms and cried to the point where his shirt was stained, hinting that Marcus had betrayed their friendship.

"Alright, behave now. I'm dating someone. I'm not cutting you all off." Marcus patted Rachel's back, his voice gentle, as if he were comforting a child. He did not care at all how awkward I looked standing beside them.

Back then, Rachel was the reason we always fought, but Marcus and his friends always took her side and accused me of being petty and jealous over nothing.

Then came Marcus's birthday. Rachel posted a photo of Marcus asleep in her bed.

[Someone got so wasted he insisted on crashing at my place, so this beauty had to sleep on the couch! Dinner is on you! @MarcusGibson]

Only then did I finally come to my senses. I threw out the cake and dinner I had carefully prepared and broke up with Marcus.

He did not try to keep me.

Rachel, on the other hand, quickly sent me a message to "educate" me.

[Girl, relationships are first-come, first-served. I've known him for twelve years. You've only known him for a year and a half. Learn some sense and don't make things too difficult for everyone!]

I did not reply. Instead, I blocked and deleted everyone's contacts, Marcus included.

I thought that would be enough to escape a disgusting relationship. I never expected that three years later, all because my finger slipped and I liked a horoscope post, they would come back like sharks sensing blood.

Looking at the screen full of curses, I took a deep breath and opened Rachel's chat.

[Three years have already gone by, and you're still working diligently as Marcus's twenty-four-hour unpaid security guard? Your obsession is really impressive.]

[I suggest changing your social media introduction to "Marcus's personal watchdog". After all, not everyone can be like you, standing guard and patrolling her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend's page every single day.]

[One post I liked was enough to make you spiral like this? With all the time you spend stalking me, you might as well keep a closer eye on Marcus, in case he starts flirting around and you can't keep up.]

[Friendly reminder. Your actions already constitute defamation. Do you need me to tag the police account for you?]

Just as I sent the last message, the front door suddenly flew open.

I looked up and saw Ashford White, my fiancé, just getting off work. He had not even changed out of his shoes. He walked toward me while still holding the files for the next day's court hearing.

"Zoey, did you accidentally offend someone?" Ashford frowned and handed me his phone. I looked down, and my blood almost froze.

His private messages were stuffed full of my so-called nude photos and explicit videos.

Even more infuriatingly, Rachel had brazenly sent him private messages to harass him. [My dear handsome boy, I like you so much! Your girlfriend Zoey Jones doesn't deserve you! She's not exactly innocent and naive like she portrayed! Come find me, and I'll tell you everything!"