Chapter 4

"Exactly! The two of them grew up practically in each other's arms. If they were going to have feelings for each other, they'd have had them long ago, wouldn't they? Would they really wait until you and Mortimer started dating to develop feelings? Stop overthinking it—there's no reason to be jealous over this!"

"You two breaking up and calling off the engagement over something like this—people will laugh when word gets out. This shouldn't be happening! They're just being playful. They're young. They'll settle down once they're married. Once you give Mortimer a child, he'll naturally mature."

I really did laugh, furious, and shot right back at them.

"He'll mature just because I have a child with Mortimer Simmons? Is a child some kind of ripening agent? Are you two out of your minds?"

Three merciless comebacks in a row—a declaration that I was done keeping up appearances entirely.

When Mortimer's parents heard that, they flew into a rage, took it as license to climb all over me, and laid into me all over again.

"Oh my! Millie Mann, you have no respect for your elders! Do you have any upbringing at all? Your parents raised you all these years and never taught you the least bit of sense? No matter what, we're still your elders—how can you speak to us like this?"

"This is absolutely lawless! Did Mortimer spoil you into acting like this? I'm calling Mortimer right now, and I'll make him see exactly what kind of woman he's found!"

Mortimer's mother wailed as she made the call. Before she'd even hung up on her end, the line connected to Mortimer.

Then I heard her sobbing and howling like someone had died in the family, grieving as if there'd been a death—all she was missing was a horn player to back her up.

"Oh God, my life is so wretched! Mortimer, come home right now! Come listen, come see for yourself—what kind of woman have you found? She talks back, she defies her elders, she's utterly unforgivable!"

"Ha."

I gave a cold laugh and offered a compliment into the phone.

"Quite the vocabulary. You must have done plenty of wailing at funerals."

With that I hung up, blocked their entire family, ignored all of them, and made a point of telling my parents not to answer any calls from them.

Three days later, Mortimer, unable to let it go, showed up at my door, an indignant Phoebe Gray at his side.

"Millie Mann! You've gone too far! Do you have any idea you made my mother so angry she ended up in the hospital? You haven't apologized once, haven't visited her even one time? When did you turn this cold-blooded?"

Phoebe, emboldened by his backing, jabbed a finger at me and let loose.

"Millie Mann, you have no conscience! His parents treated you so well, and this is how you treat them? Aren't you afraid of what's coming to you?"

"What's coming to me?"

Phoebe actually made me laugh.

"What exactly is coming to me? The ones in this world who really have something coming are those disgusting men and women who hide behind 'childhood sweethearts' and 'pure friendship' while carrying on something murky and sneaking around behind everyone's back!"

"And when someone catches on to their little schemes, they turn right around and accuse that person of being petty and small-minded, all while playing the pure, saintly innocent online, marketing a fake image and fooling their followers."

I let it all out in one burst, throwing back the whole bellyful of insults Phoebe had loaded up to spit at me—and drove her straight to tears.

"How can you say that about me?!"

She burst into tears and buried her face in Mortimer's chest, pressing tightly against him.

"Mortimer, your girlfriend actually says that about me? We've been childhood sweethearts! We've known each other for twenty-four years. Even after you get engaged and married to her, we'll still be childhood sweethearts!"

"You're right, I know. It's not your fault—she's just being petty."

Mortimer shot me a vicious glare and pulled Phoebe in even tighter.

He looked like he wanted to tear my flesh and drink my blood, and he flatly demanded that I apologize to Phoebe.

"Millie Mann, don't forget your place! I can swap out girlfriends anytime, but there's only one Phoebe! She and I grew up together—she can do whatever she likes, and you don't get to talk about her like that! Apologize to Phoebe right now!"

"Apologize? Fine. I'll apologize to you both on my live stream. That'll seem more serious."

"Live stream?"

Phoebe went pale with fright and clapped her hands over her face, letting out a sharp, ringing shriek.

"You're live streaming?!"