I spotted Melanie quickly---the grey permed hair was easy to spot in a crowd. She looked as cold as ever as she sipped her iced coffee. I approached her slowly, muttering cusses under my breath and froze when I saw Lindsay and Drake seated beside her.
What the hell?
It looked like an intervention, only it consisted of the last people I wanted to see. Lindsay waved at me when our eyes met and I scoffed in disbelief.
I grabbed a chair and sat across from them, my gaze on Melanie.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked.
"Hey, Aria," Drake said.
He looked like he hadn't slept for days. His blonde hair---which was usually styled and gelled---was rugged and choppy, like he'd ran a scissors through it in the dark. His doe eyes stared into my soul. I couldn't believe I'd fallen for those eyes.
"You didn't come home last night," Lindsay said.
I turned to her. She wore a smug expression as she stared at me. I should've seen it---the way her eyes lit up every time he visited, how she cooked his favorite meals like it meant something. I thought she was just being a good friend.
Once, I'd asked Drake to take her to dinner because I was busy with work. Was that when it all started? The lies, the manipulations, the sneaking around?
I ignored her, turning to Melanie. I wanted to give her the last ounce of respect as an ex almost-mother-in-law.
"Why did you want to see me, Melanie?" I asked coldly.
Her eyebrow raised, surprised at my tone. Normally, I wouldn't have dared to meet her eyes, as I shrunk under her icy stare.
"I heard what happened," she started.
"I see."
She leaned forward. "You must have known something like this was going to happen."
"After all, my son is way out of your league."
I met Drake four years ago when I'd just started out working at Brown Industries. I was assigned to him as an intern and heard many rumors about him. I knew he came from a well to do family.
The expensive jewelries he bought me, the fancy restaurants he booked to celebrate our anniversaries, the flowers he bought me every time I stayed late at work, all pointed out the fact that we came from different backgrounds.
But I didn't see him like that. All I saw was the sweet man who bought me dinner when I worked late, the man who listened to my rants about work.
That was the man I fell in love with. He'd changed as the years went by. Even more so after he'd introduced me to Melanie---who hated me from the moment I told her I was raised by a single mother and had no father.
She never ceased to remind me just how different our backgrounds were and how I wasn't the right person for him.
"I'm pregnant, Aria," Lindsay announced.
My gaze flitted to her stomach hidden behind the table. I met Lindsay in college and we'd hit it off immediately. I was saving for an apartment when she'd offered me a room in hers and told me to stay for as long as I wanted.
Lindsay, like Drake, had rich parents and grew up fed with a silver spoon. Regardless of that, she had been a good friend to me.
She was kind and didn't mind sharing her things with me. I just didn't realize it included sharing boyfriends too.
"Congratulations," I said.
She frowned. "That's all you're going to say?"
I smiled. "What else can I say? You're perfect for each other."
"See? I told you she'd be okay with it," Drake said, meeting my gaze. "Aria is unbelievably kind."
"Kind?" I laughed. "I'm kind?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "You never complained once in our relationship, not when I refused to have sex with you because I didn't find you attractive or when I---."
It stung, hearing him say that especially in front of Melanie and Lindsay. I folded my fists as the anger coursed through my veins. I couldn't believe I spent years loving him.
Lindsay giggled, biting her lip as she stared at me.
The audacity.
"Is that why you cheated on me because I was not attractive to you?" I asked.
"Yes. I couldn't get it up with you."
It had been one of my fears---that the reason he'd been avoiding sex for the past year was because of that. Although, his words hurt me, I wanted to hurt him even more.
I tied my hair into a lazy bun, deliberately exposing my neck and the hickeys Damien gave me last night. Drake had always been the jealous type and I knew the exact place to hit him that'd hurt him the most.
His ego.
"I'm sorry, keep going," I said.
He hit the table, spilling Melanie's coffee. I moved my chair back to avoid the black liquid staining my dress.
"Who did that to you?" he asked.
"Did what?" I blinked innocently.
Drake was possessive; I'd thought it was one of the things that made him attractive but I was a fool. He didn't allow me to have male friends because he believed they would have a crush on me. I knew seeing the hickeys would make him so mad.
"The fucking hickeys," he jabbed my neck.
I held his finger and twisted, ignoring his screams and smiled.
"Now that we're airing our dirty laundry…" I twisted harder. "I orgasmed for the first time yesterday…with a complete stranger."
His eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. "What?"
I smirked. "It was the best sex of my life."
I faced Lindsay. "He was my first---I didn't know any better. What's your excuse?"
She scoffed in disbelief. "Bitch."
I released his finger and he shuffled backward in pain, glaring at me.
"I wish you both the absolute best," I said, standing up. "Melanie, I trust you'll handle things from your end and tell everyone the wedding's off."
I paused and glanced at Lindsay. "I'll come pick up my stuff later."
I turned to walk away, feeling lighter than I felt coming in.
"I told you dating a poor and fatherless girl was going to ruin you one day," Melanie's words made me freeze in my steps.
"What did you say?" I asked.
"You were right, Mom. I should have listened to you," Drake said, glaring at me.
In that moment, the image of the sweet man I once thought he was disappeared from my mind replacing in its stead, a pure asshole.
"My dad is late, but he raised a strong and resilient woman." I turned to Melanie.
"I'm proud of my background because it's what has made me who I am today. I wish I could say the same for your son."
I saw Melanie lift the drink but couldn't evade it in time. The black liquid seeped through my dress, rendering it see through.
I paused when someone threw a glass of water on Melanie's face and I turned to see Damien glaring at her. I stared at him in surprise.
"W-w-wh…" Melanie sputtered.
"Sorry," Damien's eyes met mine. "I just assumed we were throwing drinks around."
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
He wiped my face with his hand and draped his jacket over my soiled dress.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Damien," Drake called. "What are you doing here?"
I glanced at Drake and then back at Damien. "Do you guys know each other?"
Damien's lips tightened as he glared at Drake.
"He's my brother," Drake replied.
"Step brother," he corrected.
I inched away from him, confused. "What are you talking about? Drake doesn't have a step brother."
"How do you two know each other?" Drake asked, pointing accusing fingers at me.
I scoffed. Damien draped his hand over me.
"Aria's my girlfriend."