Eden's Pov
Eliza got up from the floor slowly, gritting her teeth so hard I could almost hear the enamel grind. "You should be saying that to this whore, Mom," she hisses, her finger jabbing through the air toward me. Her whole arm is shaking.
"Whore?" My mother repeats the word slowly, as if tasting something foul. She turns her head to look at me, her eyes narrowing. "You're calling your sister a whore?"
"I just caught her f-cking my husband!" Eliza screams, the sound raw and tearing from her throat. She claws her hands through her hair, scattering it wildly around her face like a complete lunatic. Across the room, Xavier flinches hard. I'm sure he's thinking of ways to bury himself alive right now. He knows, just like I know, that my mother wouldn't take this lightly. Not at all.
Mother's eyes went wide. She turns fully to me, her expression shifting from anger to something more urgent. She cups my cheek, her thumb stroking my skin as she searches my face. "My poor baby," she murmurs, her voice dropping into that low, protective tone. "Are you okay? Did he —" She can't even finish the question.
"No..he didn't, Mommy. Eliza came in earlier," I shake my head, bending it down to keep the pitiful expression perfectly in place. I let my lower lip tremble just a bit. I had to play along. This could work so well in my favour if I just stuck to the script.
"Mom," Eliza groans, her voice breaking as her eyes finally brim with real tears. She sounds so pathetic.
But my mother isn't looking at her. Her face twists from shock to a cold, hard anger. She moves from my side, but she keeps that dark glare locked on Xavier. In two quick strides, she's on him. She grabs him by the collar of his stupid, half-buttoned shirt and slaps him hard across the face. Once. Twice. The sharp cracks echo in the room. My lips part in genuine shock. Even Eliza's hand flies up to cover her mouth unconsciously.
"What did you do to my daughter?!" Mother growls, her voice guttural, almost unrecognizable.
"Mom, it wasn't him," Eliza tries, her words rushing out in a desperate plea. "You know how Eden obviously is! She must've made a move—she probably seduced him!"
Mother stopped hitting Xavier, who was already quivering, pale and unable to form anything more than a terrified mumble. But she didn't let go of his collar. Her face turned to pure disgust as she met Eliza's gaze. "Really?" she asks, her voice dangerously quiet. "How do you know?"
"I walked in on them!" Eliza wails, throwing her arms out. "She's still in her bloody underwear! What more proof do you need?"
"He could've tried to rape her, for goodness sake!" Mother roars back, her patience snapping. "Your animal of a husband was on your sister and—"
"I didn't rape her."
Xavier finally found his voice. He pushed past my mother's grip, his movements jerky. He went straight for Eliza, grabbing her hands in his. "Baby, believe me... please. She came to me. She was all over me and... I just lost control. I didn't want to do it... I would never do it on purpose."
Oh. So we're playing *that* card now. He's throwing me right under the bus to save his own skin.
Perfect.
I let the dam break. I broke into loud, heaving tears, the kind that makes your shoulders shake. "How could you say that, Brother-in-law?" I wail, making sure my voice cracks with just the right amount of betrayal and horror. "You forced me in here! You gagged me too and threatened me! You said you'd tell Eliza that I came on to you first if I ever told anyone!"
I see the color drain completely from Xavier's face. He wasn't expecting that. He thought I'd just take it.
"That's it." Mother's voice cuts through my sobs, flat and final. All the fight seems to leave her, replaced by a cold, terrifying resolve. She pulls her phone from her robe pocket. "I'm calling the police."
***
A few hours later, I'm planted in the living room, watching and observing. My father's gaze is a slow, heavy thing. It moves from Eliza's tear-streaked face to my mother's rigid posture, then back again. The air in the vast room feels thick, like you could punch it and it would push back.
Eliza had bawled her eyes out for the last hour, begging them to grant Xavier bail. I knew she would find some way to spring him from whatever holding cell he was currently decorating. I can't help but wonder if she has something physically blocking her eyelids, or maybe her sanity. Maybe cheating isn't a deal-breaker for her. But it clearly is for my parents, who look like they've just swallowed something sour.
"You're going to take him back?" My father asks. He scrunches his face up in this newly found disgust, like he's just smelled something foul. I sit next to him on the large sofa, trying to look appropriately solemn.
Eliza had called for this whole meeting and I just want it to be over. I still have a pool party to attend in a few days, and I haven't even started to get ready for that.
"Yes, I am," she sighs. She crosses her legs, trying to project some kind of control, but her hands are shaking.
Mother is sitting close to her, too close. And from the specific, icy glare she's aiming at the side of Eliza's head, I know that the floral cushion between them isn't a suitable barrier to avoid another life-changing slap.
"You're going to stay married to that pig?" Mother questions. She says it slowly, hoping to reconfirm the insanity she just heard.
Eliza stares deeply at me with her red-rimmed, swollen eyes. "Yes, I am. He still loves me. He just got carried away by Eden's antics." I don't know if she's defending him, staking her claim, or just marking her territory. Whichever it is, the whole performance is pointless. I didn't actually want her man. A prize that can be attained by everyone and anyone isn't really my thing.
"You want to stay married to a rapist?" Mother's voice is flat.
"Mom, he isn't a rapist! Why don't you get it? You'll always believe Eden! It's always; Eden! Eden! Eden!" she screams, her voice cracking. "You never even care about my well-being! I've struggled so hard, I've done everything to make you see me, but it's still her...you treat me like I'm nothing. Well, I'm not going to let her take him. She's had many wins over my things in the past."
I part my lips to retort, something sharp and quick, but my father clears his throat, cutting me off.
"Your husband attempted to rape your sister," he states, his voice low and steady. "Who knows who he'd come for next? Your mother?" He scoffs, a dry, humorless sound.
"No, he won't come for anyone because I will be leaving this house once he's bailed. I'm done with you." She declares it like she's just won something.
Mother glances at her, then over at my father. It's almost like a random creature has just spoken in a foreign language. She brushes off Eliza's comment entirely and offers a thin, calculated smile. "The lawyer will be here to finalise the divorce tomorrow. We worked too hard planning this wedding. It's been just two days, and this pig already messed it all up," she sighs, as if discussing a ruined party theme.
"Mom, aren't you—" Eliza tries to interrupt.
"We could have Eden marry Lorenzo instead. Give the guests something," Dad cuts her off, his idea landing with a dull thud.
A slow, nasty smile curls on Eliza's face as she stares at me. She knows fully well that I don't want the Lorenzo guy. I don't even know him.
"No.." I say, holding her gaze. I move a little closer to my father, putting on a bright, innocent smile. "Why can't we have Eliza marry him instead?" I turn to look at her, watching her dazed expression with satisfaction. "It's only fair. I 'seduced' her husband, so she can take mine."