Chapter 3

Emily’s POV

I rushed to the villa. I was devastated, sad, and angry at the same time that I had been betrayed after what I had seen and heard today.

Leo is not who I thought. He used me! He cheated on me! But how many times? Or when? And why? I had doubts when we were together, but then, I saw absolutely everything!

I was angry with him and her!

He who told me he only loved me and blah-blah-blah! And the bitch who kept telling me that she and Leo were just friends.

Annoyed, I remove the ring from my finger and throw it in the trash. I don’t want that engagement ring anymore, it doesn’t mean anything anymore because he didn’t care about me from the start. I couldn’t believe it.

Leo and Melina. Leo and his childhood friend. I had noticed that they were close, really very close for simple friends. I also remember that day, that day when I started having doubts about their so-called friendship. I should never have forgiven him that day, if only I was smarter and less stupid.

***

[Flashback]

I had finished my work early, so I decided to surprise Leo, my fiancé.

I went to our house and entered the house quietly, however, I heard voices in the kitchen. Those of my fiancé and Melina. What the hell was she doing here? She must have been in Spain, as Leo told me! Then why was she here?

“When will we meet again?” Melina asked.

What does it mean?

“I don’t know, Melina,” said a deep voice that was none other than my fiancé’s, Leo’s.

I was listening to their conversation when suddenly my phone rang. Shit!

“Who is here?” said Leo.

I decided to show myself, and I saw Leo’s head crumble.

“Emily?”

“Yes, honey. Aren’t you glad to see me?”

“Yes, yes, but I thought you would come back at 10 p.m.”

“I finished early,” I replied coldly.

My heart sank when I saw Melina. She was dressed in my fiancé’s t-shirt, and the worst part was that she was not wearing any shorts. She was in panties! Or rather in a thong!

“Melina, weren’t you supposed to be in Spain?” What the hell are you doing here in my fiancé’s t-shirt?

Leo and she didn’t answer me and lowered their heads, which made me angry.

“You don’t have a mouth? You fucking piss me off! Kiss my ass!”

I left the house ignoring Leo’s cries.

[End of flashback]

***

I remember very well what Leo said to me. This moron told me she was wearing his t-shirt because she had no spare clothes. No kidding! She could have put my clothes on and avoided walking around in a thong. And he also told me that the reason she didn’t go to Spain was because her mother was ‘suffering’ and she didn’t want to leave her alone. Yeah, that’s it! If she didn’t want to leave her alone, why did she go to my fiancé’s house? Surely to console herself. Pffff! Comfort herself in his bed, yeah!

I hadn’t spoken to Leo for a week, however, I was so in love with him that I forgave him, and today I truly regret believing in him and his love. He was making fun of me from the start, and that’s what annoys me the most. The fact of having believed in his words of love, of having placed my trust in him puts me beside myself.

Why did I believe him? Why did I fall in love with him?

There is only one answer to that. I was too naive! I believed too much in fairy tales, in prince charming, but fortunately now, I opened my eyes. I have matured.

“Are you home, sweetie?”

I jump, and turning around, I see my grandmother laughing.

“You scared me, Grandma!” I say, putting a hand on my chest.

“This is my revenge for what you did to me yesterday. Remember? When you walked in and screamed like crazy?”

“Yes, I remember Grandma, no need to remind.”

“What were you thinking about?” she asks me.

About Leo and Melina.

“Nothing,” I lie while sitting on the chair.

“Liar.”

I sigh. “Grandma, I don’t feel like talking about this right now.”

She nods before staring at me for several seconds. Why is she looking at me like that?

“What?”

“What what?”

“Grandmother, you have been looking at me for several minutes without saying anything. What is the problem? Something is wrong?”

She nods in response. “You’re not going to like this.”

Oh no! I’ve already had my dose, and she has to add more? Why am I always so unlucky?

“What? Why?”

“Tonight people will come to dine here.”

“Okay, but what’s the problem?”

“Emily, these people are your parents.”

“WHAT?” I shout as I stand up.

Tell me I’m dreaming. I’m really pissed off!

My parents? Did she say ‘my parents’? Damn, tell me I’m dreaming! Is it bad news day or what?

I think I’m going to pass out.

First I find out that my ex-fiancé has been cheating on me with his ‘childhood friend’ for God knows how long, and now my grandma tells me my parents are coming to dinner tonight when she told me that she had cut off all contact with them. I wonder what will be the next piece of news that will finish me off.

“Emy? Emy? EMY!” my grandmother repeats, shouting my name.

I jump up and stare at her, placing a hand on my chest. “Yes, I hear you. Go ahead, shout louder!” I say sarcastically, staring at her.

“Sorry, but it’s just that you weren’t listening to me and…”

“Yes, I wasn’t listening to you, and I don’t want to. Do you realize what you just told me?”

“Emy…”

“No!” I cut her off, shouting. “I thought you cut off all contact with them, so why are they coming here tonight? For what?”

She lowers her head without answering me, which annoys me even more.

I really don’t want to see them after what they did to me. I don’t even know what I’ll do when they’re in front of me.

Ignore them? Hit them? Kill them? Or just ask them why they didn’t believe me and why they were happy for Leo and Melina’s wedding while I was rotting like shit in prison?

Yeah, that’s what I can’t figure out. Not only did they accuse me of murder without proof and without even giving me time to prove that I was innocent, but they also attended my ex-fiancé’s wedding party.

Seriously? What kind of parents are they? How can they do this to their own daughter? Their flesh? Their blood? How?

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I no longer heard my grandmother who had been talking to me for a while, waving her arms in all directions.

“Emily! I talked in the air for ten minutes and you know very well that I hate it! Pull yourself together, child!”

“It’s you who should pull yourself together, Grandmother.”

“I know you’re not happy that your parents are coming but…” she said without continuing her sentence.

She really pisses me off leaving her sentences hanging. It’s not hard to finish a sentence!

“But?” I repeated, annoyed.

“But they told me they had something really important to tell me, and that’s why I agreed to let them come here tonight.”

Something important? Interesting!

“Do you know what this is about?”

“No, your mother didn’t want to tell me on the phone, she wanted to tell me face to face.”

“Did she call you?” I ask.

“Yes,” she answers me.

“When?”

“An hour ago. Please, Emily, don’t blame me, I just wanted to know what she had important to tell me, that’s why I agreed to let her and your father come here. If it was for something else, I would have refused. I beg your pardon.”

My heart sinks when I see her lower her head as if she has just done something stupid. It’s me who should apologize and not her. It was me who did wrong.

“No, don’t worry, Grandma. I should apologize for getting carried away,” I say, taking her in my arms.

“You’re not mad?”

“Not anymore. I’m so sorry I got carried away, Grandma. But I have a question.”

“Yes? Tell me.”

“Do you think it’s a good idea that they see me here? They won’t try to convince you to kick me out?”

“Don’t worry, honey, I’ll never kick you out, you have my word.”

She takes my face in her two hands before giving me a kiss on the forehead. I feel so good with her, she’s the only one who has been there for me.

“What time are they arriving?

“At 8 p.m. You have plenty of time to get ready.”

I nod my head and go up to my room. I then head to the bathroom to take a cold shower because I really need it after this hard day. If my parents come here, it’s really very important.

***

I get out of the shower and check the time on my phone. I put on a simple dress and put on light makeup before going down to the kitchen where my grandmother is wearing a red dress that suits her perfectly!

“Wow, Grandma! You are beautiful!” I exclaim.

She smiles at me and walks over to me before stroking my cheek. “You too, Emily. You look so beautiful in that dress.”

“Thank you, Grandma.”

“You’re welcome, my dear. Can you help me lay the cutlery?”

“Of course!”

I help her put the cutlery, and when everything is ready, we go to the living room while waiting for the arrival of these two imbeciles who serve as my parents.

I wonder how they will react when they see me. Will they be shocked? Angry? Disgusted? Or happy? Pff, I’m sure they’re going to be pissed off.

When I saw my grandmother wring her hands, I knew something was wrong. She seems extremely nervous, which is quite rare for her. Why is she so stressed?

“Are you okay, Grandma? I see something is bothering you. What’s going on?”

She gives me a forced smile before answering me. “It’s just that I’m very nervous. I wonder what they have to say and it must be really important because they come here. They only come to my house when it’s urgent. I have a bad feeling.”

Me too, by the way.

“Don’t worry, Grandma. Everything will be fine. I’m here,” I say, trying to calm her down.

But it’s my turn to stress when I hear the doorbell ring.