Reborn, No More Scapegoat

Jake Carter called and asked to meet. We settled on the small hometown diner we used to hit up.

He couldn't look me in the eye the entire time, and we didn't exchange a word during the meal. It wasn't until we were about to leave that he finally pulled a property deed from his bag.

"This is for you," he said. "I accept my defeat. Consider it compensation for your emotional distress. Your name is already on it."

I didn't bother with polite refusals. I took the deed, mumbled a quick thanks, and got up to leave.

Jake scrambled to his feet, calling out from behind me with the one question he'd been burning to ask all along. "If you loved me back then, why did you let Brenda get to me first?"

I turned around, looking him in the eye for the first time all day. "Are you really going to pretend you never knew how I felt? You were just playing dumb the whole time."

"I-I'm sorry," he stammered. "Can we still get dinner together tomorrow?"

"Forget it. I don't need your apology," I said blandly. "You were a victim in this mess, too. As for dinner, don't bother. I'm resigning from the company tomorrow, and it's best if we don't see each other again."

The iron wire ring I once treasured as proof of love had turned out to be a cage. Stepping out of the diner, I threw the rusted ring straight into the trash.

From now on, I would live for myself.

Every time Brenda Carter slipped away to meet her secret lovers, she told her husband, Jake Carter, that she was staying over at my apartment.

This time, after calling her dozens of times with no answer, the furious man marched to my place.

Heavy, frantic pounding rattled my front door as Jake yelled at the top of his lungs, "Open up, Jessica Kemp! I know you're in there! Every time you go out to wild out, you drag Brenda into your mess.

"She's an innocent girl. How could you have the heart to drag her down into your gutter?"

He didn't stop, his voice echoing down the hallway.

"You took her to that bar where she drank that roofied cocktail and got assaulted, and she ended up pregnant. Her reputation is ruined! Do you have any idea what that kind of trauma does to her?

"Every time you had an abortion, Brenda was the one holding your hand! When you got in deep with loan sharks, Brenda bailed you out! She has been nothing but a loyal friend to you, so why won't you just leave her alone?

"I've turned a blind eye for a long time out of respect for her friendship with you, but if you don't clean up your act and stop harassing her, don't blame me for what comes next. Open this door right now and let her out!"

His voice was booming, drawing the attention of the entire building. Before long, some of the neighbors started chiming in through the walls.

"Jessica, you're still so young. Why are you throwing your life away like this?"

"If you want to ruin your life, fine, but don't drag Brenda down with you. You've completely ruined that poor girl's future!"

The shouting outside grew louder, but inside, I stood frozen in disbelief.

I had no idea about any of this. I wasn't sleeping around. I hadn't been pregnant, and I certainly didn't owe a dime to loan sharks.

Brenda had whined to me about how bored and lonely she was in her marriage, begging for some excitement. To keep Jake in the dark, she used me as her perfect shield.

I didn't want to see her marriage implode, so I idiotically kept her secrets, not expecting her to weaponize my silence.

She pinned all her trashy affairs, accidental pregnancies, and debts onto me, ultimately making me take the fall for a crime that ended my life.

The blinding terror of my death in that past life was still fresh in my mind. But now that I was reborn, I refused to play the sacrificial lamb again.

The Carters were one of the most prominent families in the city. Marrying Jake was Brenda's golden ticket out of her working-class roots.

Jake's parents had always looked down on her humble background. If they ever found out she was actively stepping out on their son, she would be thrown out onto the street without a cent.

Looking through the peephole, I saw Jake flanked by a squad of burly security guards. If I refused to open the door, they would definitely break it down.

The moment I turned the lock, Jake shoved his way inside and pinned me forcefully against the wall.

"Where is she?" he demanded, his grip tightening. "Where are you hiding Brenda?"

His eyes burned with pure, unadulterated disgust. It cut deep, considering how close the two of us used to be before his marriage.

I gritted my teeth, staring right back at him. "I don't know. And I didn't drag her anywhere."

Jake shoved me away with a sneer. "You don't know? Fine. Search the place! Tear it apart until you find my wife."

My apartment was tiny. Even if they flipped every mattress and emptied every closet, they wouldn't find a trace of Brenda. Because she wasn't here.

Jake completely lost his patience, marching back over to rip me up by my collar. "Where the hell did you hide her?"

In his mind, Brenda was innocent and pure. Any wrong turn she took was because a lowlife, debt-ridden slut like me had manipulated her.

I looked at his furious face and decided it was finally time to break his illusion.

"Why don't you go ask Michael Brooks?" I spat, a cold smile touching my lips. "I'm sure he knows where your pure, innocent wife is right now."

Michael Brooks was a regular worker at Jake's company. He also happened to be the side-piece Brenda was currently sleeping with.

Jake's face went dark. "What are you trying to say?"

I let out a mocking laugh. "Come on, Jake. You always brag about being the smartest guy in the room. Can't you put two and two together?"

He flew into a blind rage, his fists clenching. If I weren't a woman, he would have leveled me right there.

"Brenda has done everything for you, and you don't even have the decency to be grateful!" he roared, his voice shaking. "Instead, you stand here spinning disgusting slanders against her. I feel sorry for her. She threw her kindness away on a parasite like you.

"We've been married for years. I know who my wife is. I wouldn't believe a word of your pathetic lies."