Trust Me .(60)
As we’re walking towards another store, we pass the lingerie store that Maddox, Brooklyn, and I stopped at on Friday night. I notice the black lace corset and thong set that Maddox pointed out in the window and without giving it much thought, I head inside the store to purchase it. Holly wanders around the store with Brooklyn, giving me a little privacy to purchase something sexy for my man. I’ve never worn a corset before. I’m already making plans to wear it on our next date night. I can’t wait to see the look on Maddox’s face when he discovers it underneath my clothes.
When we get back into the main hall of the mall, Holly and Brooklyn head into the toy store. I see the jewelry store out of the corner of my eye, so I tell them I’ll catch up with them shortly.
I head over to the window that displayed that beautiful chocolate diamond ring I saw the other night. The large diamond in the center is the perfect shade of chocolate brown, the color of Maddox’s eyes which is what drew me to it in the first place. The large stone in the center is surrounded by smaller circle diamonds, all set on a thick platinum band. It really is the perfect ring. My heart speeds up at the sight of it.
While I’m standing there fawning over the beautiful ring in the window, I hear a voice clear behind me. I straighten up expecting to see Holly behind me, but when I turn, the woman in front of me definitely isn’t Holly. She’s tall and thin with shoulder length dark brown hair. Her hazel eyes are glaring daggers at me. “Yes?” I ask, the uncertainty evident in my voice.
“You must be Avery. I’ve heard so much about you.” She reaches her perfectly manicured hand towards me. I hesitate slightly and then take her hand in mind.
“And you are?” I ask, my voice dropping off at the end as if waiting for her to fill in the blank.
“I’m Vanessa. Maddox’s girlfriend,” she says very matter-of-factly. The room starts to tilt and a buzzing starts in my ears. Did I just hear her correctly? She’s Maddox’s girlfriend?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I reply.
“Maddox and I have been dating for months. In fact, we’ve been dating the entire time he’s been entertaining you on the side.” She glares her wicked eyes into my teary ones. “See, I know how he is. Everyone knows how he is. So, I let him go out and have a little fun on the side so he gets it out of his system. When he came over last night, he told me that he was almost done having his fun with you.”
The room spins and I find it hard to catch my breath. “He was with you last night?”
“Of course he was! We left Jack’s together like we do almost every weekend! You don’t really think he goes home after he leaves your house in the middle of the night, do you?” Vanessa raises her perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me. Then she takes her phone out of her purse and shows me a picture of her and Maddox at Jack’s Pub, her pressed tightly up against his body, both smiling at the camera.
I can’t even look at this woman standing before me anymore. My mind is reeling and my stomach is clenching so hard I feel like I’m going to throw up. “He goes home and gets his truck and comes to my house. So any fantasies you have in your head about playing house and a happily ever after with him are over. You see, Avery, you’re like the forbidden fruit. You’re his best friend’s sister. The one he’s not supposed to have. You were too tempting for him to ignore.” Vanessa puts her hands on her hips and looks at me very matter-of-factly. “But, now we’re discussing our future together. He’s about to dump you like yesterday’s take-out trash. We were just discussing last night whose house we were going to move into. He knows I want a winter wedding so we’re trying to tie up all the loose ends to making that happen within the next few months.”
I feel like I’m having an out of body experience. I’m standing here watching this woman humiliate me as the people pass by without a care in the world, without realizing my entire life is crashing around me. Maddox has been with someone else this whole time? I fight the tears that are forming in my eyes. There’s no way I will give this woman the satisfaction of seeing me cry. As I stand there and stare back at this beautiful woman, I realize my greatest fears have come to life. It has happened again. I’ve been made a fool of again. Did they sit back and laugh at me?
Vanessa looks at me with pity in her eyes. “I’m sorry you had to get hurt in all of this.” She reaches out and touches my shoulder, and I pull back like she’s just burned me. “I’m done sharing Maddox with you and everyone else out there. He’s mine, and he will be mine forever. Check his phone and you’ll see calls from me. It’s time to get out of my way, Avery, or I will barrel over you without even a second glance back.” She turns on her fancy high heels and heads in the opposite direction.