Page 3 of My Ex-Fiance's Best Men

“We know her well enough to understand that what Matthew did is sick and twisted. It was an attempt to humiliate her while also ruining what was supposed to be the most beautiful day of her life.”

“You don’t do that to the woman you claim to love,” Theo adds.

“As Matthew’s former groomsmen and best friends—as he often called us—we cannot condone this kind of headline-grabbing garbage.”

“Hold on, what is he talking about? What headline-grabbing garbage?” I ask.

Penny hits the pause button again and gives me a flat, awkward smile. “Matthew didn’t just post that message on the wedding group chat. He leaked screenshots of his conversation with you from last night. TMZ picked it up.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t look pretty to anyone looking in from the outside, Phoebe. But those of us who know you get it. We know the truth. What he did was horrible, unnecessary, and mean.”

“He called it a ‘wake-up call.’”

“Yeah, well, the only thing waking up today is my desire to punt him into the Hudson,” Penny mutters. She hits play.

“We stand with Phoebe,” Dominic says.

“And anyone who thinks what Matthew did is okay is just as sick and twisted as he is,” Theo says, shaking his head.

“None of it was okay,” August concludes and the video starts again. The comment section has blown up.

“Internet chaos promptly erupted as soon as they posted this,” Penny says as she taps into the replies. Of course there are two sides to every story, but way too many people are just downright mean.

Matthew Hearst was too good for Phatty Phoebe, says one comment.

“They used to call me that in high school,” I sigh deeply. “The bullies are now hiding under anonymous TikTok usernames.”

“Girl, you dodged a damn missile,” Penny says. “Hate to say I told you so.

“You love to say it.”

“Well… yeah.”

“He’s humiliating me. Fat shaming me. Making me feel unworthy. I kept trying to see the best parts of him,” I reply, on the verge of another round of tears. “But look at what he’s doing now: making me feel like I’m not worthy of any guy’s time or affection.”

“Screw that!” Penny snaps, then whips out a cool grin as she points at the comment section. “Read what else they said.”

“Why, so I can feel even more miserable?”

“Forget the groom. Take the groomsmen on your honeymoon,” Penny reads aloud another comment.

“Why are the backup dancers hotter than the lead?” Penny laughs as she reads another.

“Oh, boy,” I mutter. “This is becoming a huge sparkly shitshow, isn’t it?”

“Correction: this is karma girl,” Penny says. “Matthew wanted attention. Now he’s getting dragged by three Greek statues in tuxes. He thought he was going to tear you down and then ride the wave. He got engaged to a Baldwin heiress, then humiliated her in public for notoriety. Imagine if you’d actually married him!”

I know she means well—even if I still feel broken.

“Take your revenge honeymoon, Phoebe. Be the story,” she adds, while I laugh bitterly in between sobbing fits.

I crumble, feeling like the world is about to cave in on me. I was always the lesser of the Baldwin sisters. The “chubby butpretty one,” TMZ used to call me. Crystal was the headliner, the Manhattan princess, the apple of the Hamptons’ eyes.

When Matthew came into my life, when he proposed, I thought it was finally my turn to feel like a beautiful and desired woman.

What a terrible joke.