Page 38 of Tell Me I'm Not Dreaming

“I give them six months, tops. His ego will be enough to push Justine away,” lavender dimples answers.

Yikes ! Looks like I didn’t even need to be here . Between a ceremony that’s an hour late and this, my revenge started without me.

“Justine is my friend, and I love her, but she’s not innocent in all this. She chose to be a side chick. Hell, that’s why her parents aren’t here,” lady in red argues.

Holy shit ! Her parents aren’t here either?

“I don’t envy Jussie at all. She’s about to marry a narcissist; her parents aren’t speaking to her, and her step-kids hate her,” pink and pixie remarks.

They all get a text at the same time.

“Looks like she left her room and is ready to ruin her life. C’mon girls, let’s go witness this train wreck.”

Bridget and Silas look at each other. He chuckles, shaking his head, and she shrugs.

“You still want to stay here?” he asks.

“As tempting as seeing a train wreck is, I’m still hungry.”

“Reception only it is,” he picks up his menu.

Later, they enter the reception and find people mingling and talking. Bridget listens and hears folks talking shit about the ceremony.

“That was the sorriest wedding I have ever been to.”

“Who are you telling? There was barely anyone there.”

She and Silas take a seat at their assigned table to find they’re the only ones seated.

Silas pulls her closer to him and kisses her forehead, and she lays her head on his shoulder, scratching his beard.

One woman from the bar approaches them, lavender dimples.

“I thought that was you at the bar.” She smiles. “You’re Lamar’s ex-wife, right? The author.”

“Yes, that’s me. Hi, I’m Bridget.”

“I’m Taylor.” She shakes Bridget’s hand. “Where were you during the ceremony?”

Well, there goes my plan .

The plan was to act like they slipped in and sat in the back, but from the looks of things, that wouldn’t be believable.

“We were hungry after a long drive and decided to attend the reception instead,” Bridget explains.

“You didn’t miss anything. It was short and boring. Now that you’re here, things might get interesting.”

The other women from Justine’s friend group approach Bridget and Silas.

The lady in red, who Bridget learns is named Kiki, takes a picture with her.

Turns out, she’s a fan of her books. A few other people come by.

Everyone is so focused on the drama, they don’t notice that Lamar and Justine have arrived and have entered as Mr. and Mrs. Lamar Nelson.

The DJ raises his voice to get everyone's attention. “Ahem! I said, now entering as husband and wife, Mr. Lamar and Mrs. Justine Nelson.”

Justine and Lamar enter holding hands and are all smiles.

Bridget can tell it’s not real, at least not on Lamar’s part.

He gave Bridget that vacant smile far too many times to count.

She can’t imagine it’s real on Justine’s part either.

Not after everything she’s heard. They take their seats at the head of the table, and the DJ plays a mix of catchy dance songs.

No one hits the dance floor. No one. Finally, he plays a slow song for Justine and Lamar to dance to.

Most people are looking at their phones instead of the happy couple.

Bridget’s phone buzzes. It’s Lyric.

Lyric

Go to Tik Tok and look up #LamarNelsonweddingfiasco.

Bridget does, and it turns out a guest made a Tik-Tok to share the tea. The Tik-Tok video is titled “How to make a nigga regret leaving a bad bitch.”

“Hey, yall. So, I’m at this tired-ass wedding, but the bride and groom aren’t what’s important.

The groom’s ex-wife is. She came into the reception, and y’all, she’s a gorgeous, celebrated author.

And her date? Yes, honey. She brought a date, and he is fine as fuck.

This is textbook best revenge ever. Looking good and have a fine man on your arm to make your ex look like a fool.

Ms. Bridget, chef’s kiss. I love it, and I will be buying your book—and I’m not even into fantasy. ”

The video has gotten fifteen thousand views so far, and the number is climbing. Comments range from congratulating Bridget on her pettiness to incel losers calling her out. She shows the video to Silas.

He pulls her close and kisses her forehead. “Mission accomplished.”

“I have to use the ladies’ room. Be right back.”

Before she can get up, Silas pulls her toward him and kisses her.

Bridget’s mouth is inches away from his, “Behave. Remember, we promised Danielle we wouldn’t get arrested, and from the way Lamar’s looking at you, y’all gonna fight.”

Silas playfully rolls his eyes. “Baby, I’m from the Chi. I just have to punch that nigga once.”

Bridget leans her forehead against his then kisses him before heading to the bathroom.

On her way, she hears fast footsteps and turns around. Lamar’s in her face before she can say anything. “Who is that nigga, Bridge?”

“That’s Silas Magrady.”

“Don’t play with me, who is he?”

“Um, you left me. So, you have no right to trip about who I’m with. Where’s your wife, Lamar? Did you seriously just leave that woman in the ballroom?”

“Don’t worry about her. Who is this guy? Has he met the kids?”

“He’s the man I’m dating, and the kids have met him, and they like him.”

“Yeah, I bet they do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You probably pushed that nigga on them like you turned them against me.”

“Nigga, please. I’m their mom—they love me. You left me. They aren’t happy that I got hurt. Maybe if you apologized?—”

“Apologize! For what? For finally getting out of your overwhelming shadow? For finding someone who actually appreciates me?”

“Wow. You’re more diluted than I thought. You don’t want a wife, Lamar. You want a sycophant who worships you. It wasn’t enough that I supported you. I had to treat you like a God ’cause your ego couldn’t take people liking my work a little better than yours.”

“Please, the minute my books started getting more attention, you switched up, Bridge. More book tours, more signings. You took the kids everywhere. You couldn’t handle sharing the spotlight.”

“Motherfucker, you wouldn’t have any books if it wasn’t for me! I built your career. I wrote that shit. People weren’t even checking for your ass until I stepped in. I wrote your books; I fucking carried us, and you know it!”

“She wrote your books?”

They turn around and see Justine with tears in her eyes.

“Lamar, I told you that I fell in love with your words first, then I fell in love with you. Your words weren’t even yours,” Justine laments.

Bridget looks beyond Justine and sees Silas coming her way.

He takes her by the hand and walks her away from the drama. Behind them, Bridget hears Lamar fumbling to explain. Justine is weeping at this point.

They head downstairs and straight for the car, stopping in the lobby so Bridget can pee.

Minutes later, they’re on the road, listening to Tariq Brown’s podcast.

“She fell in love with his books first. Yikes!” Silas cringes.

“I know, right? That’s fucking weird. She fell in love with the parasocial relationship version of Lamar, not the real one. That’s fucked up.”

“The really fucked-up part is she’s going to stay with him in the hopes that she can turn him into her version.”

“ Ooof , she has a long road of disappointment ahead of her.”

“For real. I love your books, but I was already falling for you. If anything, they just made me love you more. Falling in love with someone’s writing and characters isn’t the same as falling in love with them. I know one thing, his ass regrets inviting you now.”

Bridget shrugs. “Oh well. Let’s go back to the hotel and fuck before we go home.”

Silas turns and smiles at her. “You’re reading my mind.”

They kiss and hold hands back to the hotel.