Page 3 of My So-Called Perfect Life

My head is buried between my knees while I’m in the midst of a panic attack sitting on a settee in the bridal suite of the hotel.

I trace the intricate pattern of lace flowers on my dress. The dress I spent months and months saving for. The dress I absolutely love but is now soiled with visions of Mandy’s whore lips wrapped around Scott’s cheating dick. Every time I admire the flawlessness of the beading on my veil, it’s all I’ll remember.

I pick up my head and look at the beautiful bouquets on the table—the perfect combination of hydrangeas, peonies, and roses. Everything was planned to perfection. Now, it’s tainted. All of it.

The ring on my finger catches my eye. Just an hour ago, I thought it was the symbol of a great love. But now, it just signifies lies and betrayal.

“Why the hell did you show her the phone?” Mercy hisses at Amelia. “You couldn’t have given her theReader’s Digestversion? Instead, she got to see it in an up-close-and-personal HD video.”

The texts started coming through just as Amelia found the phone on the roof. The two of them read some that popped up on the screen before handing it over. They read the rest of the texts over my shoulder as they came in. That was when my dad herded us into the elevator and down to the bridal suite before anyone else caught wind of what is happening.

“You kept pushing me to tell her,” she defends herself. “What the hell did you want me to do?”

“Toss it off the rooftop. Step on it. Anything other than hand it over to her,” Mercy suggests with a flailing arm.

“I froze! It’s not like I had a My Sister’s Soon-to-Be Husband Is a Cheating, Lying Bastard plan in place and ready to go.”

“I’m going to kill that motherfucker!” my dad vows, stunning everyone in the room, me included.

My head snaps toward my sweet dad, who’s pacing the floor like a caged animal.

“Arthur,” my mother gasps, shock coloring her cheeks.

We are not a loud, boisterous family who swears a lot, except Amelia, much to my mother’s dismay. I don’t think I’ve ever heard my easygoing, low-spoken father even raise his voice, much less saymotherfucker.

“That worthless piece of shit hurt my baby girl,” he snarls, his anger evident in his stiff posture, clenched jaw, and red face. “On her wedding day! I gave that man my blessing, and he does this? No way! Not to my Sweet Pea. I’m going to kill him. No one hurts my girls.”

My grandmother, who has been quiet up until now, speaks up, “You should string him up by his balls before you kill him. It shouldn’t be an easy death.”

This is not something I ever thought I would have to worry about with Scott. He is charming, good-looking, down to earth, and above all, he made me feel like the most important girl in the world. I honestly never saw this coming. I can’t recall a single time I even saw Scott look at another woman.

My dad, now a tad bit calmer, says, “Your mother and I will go tell everyone that the wedding has been canceled.”

“We’ll sneak you out the back door,” Amelia adds.

I don’t say anything as my family tosses out different options on what I should do next.

Their words wash right over me as my disbelief fades, and the rage inside me bubbles back up. I shove the nausea and tears out of the way.

How many late nights at the office were actually due to end-of-the-month reports, and how many were for a servicing? Of his dick. By his assistant.

How could he plan a life with me while committing the ultimate betrayal with her?

I feel so damn stupid. Not once did I ever think Scott would be capable of this.

I guess that’s what everyone who’s been cheated on would say though, huh?

Embarrassment and humiliation fester as I stare at the clock.

In less than twenty minutes, everyone is going to know that my fiancé is a cheater. Or that I wasn’t good enough to keep him happy.

Damn, that’s a shot to the gut.

Actually, no, it’s not. This is on him,notme.

“What do you want to do, Dani?” Mercy asks.

I’m running the gamut of emotions. A fierce desire for revenge crawls up my spine, turning it to steel as I sit taller on the bench. My eyes volley between the phone and flowers sitting on the buffet table across from me.