3: 3

The next morning.

I met my cousin Vanessa at a coffee shop.

"You're finally divorcing that snake Barnaby Fox?"

Vanessa had been away on a business trip and hadn't made it back in time for my wedding.

She'd only just gotten in that morning, and the moment she heard what had happened she rushed straight to me, more worked up than I was.

"When you first met Sara Swanson, I told you that girl had a nasty streak. But back then you were a little rabbit, and she led you around by the nose. And Barnaby, the first time he dropped you and ran off just because Sara called herself his future mother-in-law figure, I told you the man had no character."

Sara and I had shared a dorm in college.

Word was her family had it rough, that she'd taken out student loans on her own just to enroll.

Her parents didn't send her any money for living expenses, and sometimes she couldn't even afford to eat.

My own parents had divorced when I was small, but I never went short on love from either of them, and whatever I wanted, I got.

So when I first heard her story, my heart ached for her and I actually cried.

No one in our class had any time for her. I was the only one who spent time with her, who bought her meals.

Bit by bit, we became inseparable.

Then in junior year Barnaby showed up, gentle and attentive, good to me too.

From the moment he started pursuing me right through us getting together, Sara kept trying to get in the way.

She said she didn't want us to drift apart, didn't want to share me with anyone.

Back then I still thought she was wonderful. Having a friend like that felt like the greatest luck in the world.

Who could have guessed that once Barnaby and I were together, all it took was Sara calling herself his future mother-in-law figure.

And Barnaby happily looked after her for five years.

Every little thing, he'd go running for her.

And it was always at the exact moment I needed him most.

Thinking back now, Sara probably did it all on purpose.

"Jemma, you're sure? Suing for divorce?"

I came back to myself and nodded. "I'm sure."

This time, it didn't matter who showed up.

"Jemma!"

Someone lunged out from the side.

It startled me.

When I got a clear look, it was Sara.

She was still in yesterday's bridesmaid dress, hair a mess, eyes swollen and red.

Barnaby trailed behind her, just as disheveled.

By the look of it, he hadn't slept all night and had gone to fetch Sara first thing in the morning.

Before I could say a word, Vanessa cut in first. "How the hell can you be this shameless? After pulling all that garbage, you've still got the nerve to come looking for her? For what?"

Sara grabbed my hand, tears spilling the instant she wanted them to. "Jemma, don't divorce Barnaby, okay? All of this, every bit of it, is my fault. I only did it because I wanted to be good to you after you two married. I'm so sorry."

How had I never noticed how thick the fake-innocent act ran with her?

I let out a cold laugh. "Sara, I can see exactly what you've been hiding in that head of yours now. But I don't care anymore. From here on, you have nothing to do with me, and he has nothing to do with me. Do whatever you want, both of you. Vanessa, let's go."

Seeing me about to leave, Sara flung herself forward.

"Jemma! Don't do this. Let me kneel and beg you to forgive me, okay?"

I smiled, took a step back, and gestured for her to go ahead.

"Then kneel."

4: 4

Sara froze.

Clearly she hadn't expected me to say that.

"Quit dragging it out. If you want to kneel, then kneel."

Vanessa watched her not move, then stepped forward and kicked her hard behind the knee.

"Ah!"

Sara's knees buckled and she dropped straight to the floor.

Everyone around us turned to look.

Her cheeks flushed a deep red, and she raised her tear-filled eyes to glance at Barnaby beside her.

Barnaby's brow creased. He pulled her up and turned on me. "Jemima, this is going too far, don't you think!"

Sara whimpered, "Don't blame Jemma, it's all my fault, it's all because I'm shameless—"

"Of course it isn't my fault!" I cut her off with a cold laugh. "You are shameless. No, wait—"

I looked at Barnaby. "You're shameless too. My best friend calls herself my boyfriend's future mother-in-law, and my boyfriend gets this close to my best friend. There's no way you two had any boundaries at all."

"It's my fault! It's all my fault!"

Sara suddenly lifted her hand and slapped herself across the face, again and again.

"It's all on me, I'm the slut, I'm shameless, I seduced my best friend's boyfriend."

She looked at me through the tears. "Jemma, it's all my fault. You and Barnaby finally made it official after so long. Please don't split up over a slut like me. I swear, once you forgive Barnaby, I'll never appear in front of either of you again. Even if I die, I'll find the farthest place from you two to do it—"

"Enough!"

Barnaby yanked her hand down, his face dark as he looked at me. "Jemima, will you only be satisfied once you've dragged us through something this ugly?"

I laughed out loud. "Barnaby, I'm not dragging you through anything."

"The divorce, I mean it."

"The lawsuit, I mean that too."

"As for you two—"

I swept my gaze over Sara, who was crying so hard she could barely breathe, and said it one word at a time. "I hope the two of you are locked together for the rest of your lives."

With that, I took Vanessa's arm and turned to leave.

I'd barely stepped out the door when Barnaby suddenly called after me. "Jemima, you're really going through with a divorce over some petty little thing like this?"

Petty little thing?

After everything, it was still just a petty little thing in his mouth.

I turned back to look at him, my voice cold as ice. "Yes. Over this petty little thing. I'm divorcing you, and that's final."

Barnaby clenched his fists. "Are our five years together worth nothing at all to you?"

I scoffed.

"Don't act like I owe you something. You're the one who first—"

"Fine," he cut me off with a cold laugh. "No need for a lawsuit. I'll divorce you."

He snatched the divorce papers out of my hand, bent his head and signed them with quick strokes, then flung them in my face. "Jemima, don't you fucking regret this!"

I watched his back as he walked off with Sara.

For some reason, a bad feeling settled in my chest.

Then early the next morning, Vanessa's call went off like an alarm bell.

"Jemma, something big has happened! Look at the link I just sent you!"