Part 1My Girlfriend, My Best Friend, Their Secret Vows

We're playing "Never Have I Ever" at a bachelor party when my girlfriend, Veronica Smith, draws a card that reads, "I have never betrayed my best friend." The moment her words fall, the room freezes as if someone hit pause.

Everyone looks at me at the same time. Three seconds later, they wordlessly pick up the drinks in front of them and down them in unison.

I am the sole winner of this round, which means I get to ask the losers a truth question or give them a dare. Hence, without hesitation, I ask, "How did you betray your friend?"

To my surprise, everyone remains dead silent.

My close friend, Ian Lachlan, is about to take his punishment shot when Veronica, who has been silent for a long time, holds his hand down and looks at me. "Don't make things difficult for them. I'll tell you. The truth is, I've been with Ian for five years. I'm pregnant, and I can't let our unborn child be illegitimate."

In an instant, tears well up in his eyes, and he can't even bring himself to look at me.

Bridget Rochelle, my cousin, also comes clean. "To be honest, we've known all along. Ian and Veronica tied the knot in their hometown last year, and we all attended their wedding. Your adoptive parents accepted it too. They just asked us not to tell you for the time being."

At that moment, the party lights hit my eyes, and everyone's faces blur. Their confessions echo in my ears, one after another. Turns out, for seven years, I've been living a lie.

* * *

I parted my lips, but it felt as though something was lodged in my throat.

It took me a long while to force out, "Ian and Veronica had a wedding last year?"

No one answered.

I knew everyone in this private room. We'd wined and dined together, traveled together, and sent each other gifts during the holidays. But now, all of them hung their heads, unable to meet my eyes.

In the end, my cousin, Bridget Rochelle, broke the silence. "Yes."

I stared at her blankly, unable to process her words for what felt like an eternity.

Bridget and I had grown up together. When someone picked on me when I was a child, she would stand up for me. When a teacher reprimanded me, she'd buy me candy on the way home from school.

I had always believed that anyone in this world could deceive me, but not Bridget. Yet, here she was, siding with them.

I belatedly realized that last year, when my girlfriend, Veronica Smith, claimed she was on a business trip, she was actually tying the knot with my friend, Ian Lachlan.

I felt like such an idiot. I'd been worried that she would overexert herself, so I'd ordered late-night snacks for her and delivered them to her office. My heart had gone out for her, and I'd told her not to burn the candle at both ends.

Looking back on it now, it felt as though someone had gouged out my heart with their bare hands.

I looked at Bridget. "What do you mean? Do Ma and Pops know?"

Avoiding my gaze, she responded quietly, "They were afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it, so they never told you."

My fingertips went numb, and I could barely hold myself upright in my seat.

Ma and Pops knew all along. It hit me that Veronica wasn't the only one who had lied to me. Even my own family had helped them keep me in the dark.

At long last, I understood why everyone was so calm now. They had known all along that this day would come.

Veronica looked at me and said flatly, "I know this isn't fair to you, Jesse."

My eyes burned as I held her gaze. "You knew it wasn't fair to me, yet you did it anyway."

Her brows drew together, as if she didn't like the way I was talking to her. "What's done is done. Nothing will change even if you cause a scene now."

Ian sighed. "Veronica has done so much to make it up to you over the years, Jesse. Your younger brother's medical treatment, your job transfer, and the house you live in—which of those didn't she help you with? Everyone has been considerate of your feelings, too. Be reasonable and think about it."

"Exactly! You're the most fortunate one here," someone chimed in.

After hearing that, it felt as though my blood had run cold. I was the one who didn't belong in their eyes. Plus, I had reaped all the benefits.

Apparently, they had lied to me out of good intentions, and I was supposed to be grateful for it.

Veronica leaned back in her chair, as if she had finally gotten a burden off her shoulders. "Ian and I had a wedding. We'll host one for you, too. That will make us even," she said apathetically.

For a moment, I almost laughed out loud. That made us even?

"You still want to have your cake and eat it too." I scoffed.

Her expression darkened. "I'm attempting to preserve your dignity, Jesse."

I sneered. Everyone in this room was well aware of her and Ian's affair, and now, they were supposed to show up at our wedding.

Was that what she called dignity? Was she really that eager to make me an even bigger laughingstock?

Tears pooled in Ian's eyes, and he rasped out, "I know you hate me, but the baby's innocent, Jesse."

I looked at him, feeling a tight, suffocating ache in my chest. "What about me? Was I not innocent for seven long years?"

The color drained from his face. His lips quivered, but he was at a loss for words.

I picked up the glass of wine beside me and hurled it in Veronica's face. Wine dripped down her chin and trickled downward.

Ian sprang to his feet, shrieking my name at the top of his lungs.

Yet, my gaze remained on Veronica. "I don't want the dignity you're offering me, and I sure as hell won't grant you your fairy-tale ending, either. I wish you two bastards a lifetime of happiness together!"

Having said my piece, I grabbed my coat and walked out.

Chaos erupted behind me. Bridget called after me, someone tried to stop me, and others accused me of taking things too far. Still, I didn't look back.