Escaping the Playboy

I was the only person at my own wedding who could see the comments. And the comments were not on my side.

My best friend had just stood up to sing for me, and broken down crying before the second verse. I thought she was sad to lose me. I went and held her.

That was when they started scrolling up in front of my eyes, right across the middle of everything, like my own wedding was a show and somebody else was running the live chat. [can the side character move?? she's blocking our girl's duet with the ML] [lmaooo she thinks our girl's crying because she'll miss her. no babe. our girl's crying because she never got her endgame with him] [it's FINE it's fine. ten more episodes and the ML finds out our girl only left him back then because she had no choice. then he dumps the side character and the grovel arc begins] [real talk, does the side character genuinely not know what those two are to each other? she plays the sweet little victim SO well. later she almost gets our girl killed just to keep her marriage, and the ML loves our girl so much he bankrupts the side character's whole family. side character ends up ruined and gone. ngl, satisfying] The cold went through me slow.

I didn't want to believe a word of it. Then I turned my head. And there was my husband. Mouthing along to every word of her song, like he knew it by heart. Crying. Not for me.

Chapter 1 I used everything I had left to make it to the end of the reception. By then Juliet was wrecked.

Her heels were gone, lost somewhere, who knew, and she was barefoot on the gravel drive, the soft skin of her feet scraped red.

She hung off Beckett like he was a tree, her whole weight on him, laughing and crying at the same time. "God, how is this tree so comfortable," she mumbled. "You finally found it.

Your happy ending." "I'm so happy today." "I'm so, so happy." For one second I let myself believe she meant it. That she was crying because she was happy for me.

Then the comments came back and took the last of it. [ugh my heart. our girl can barely stand and she's STILL out here toasting the ML. queen] [here we go here we go.

ML's about to offer to drive our girl home himself, and THIS is where the side character clocks something's off between them and makes a scene and pisses him off] [why is he just standing there?? her feet are literally bleeding.

PICK HER UP] A second later, Beckett bent and lifted Juliet off her feet. Then he turned and carried her toward me. Something moved through those flat eyes of his.

Something almost like worry. I had never once seen it there. Not for anyone. He shifted her weight and looked at me. "It's late. It's not safe for a woman to get home alone.

Let me drive your friend back?" Flat. Polite. Asking my permission, the way he always did. A perfect gentleman.

My nails went into my palms. "You sure?" My voice came out very calm. "Beckett. It's our wedding night." "I can call someone else to take Juliet home." His brow creased.

The screen tore past, fast. [lmaooo the side character thinks one line about the wedding night is gonna make him stay] [is her wedding night supposed to matter? our girl is THIS drunk and she wants some other man driving her home? she's stabbing the ML in the heart. like he'd ever let anybody else see our girl all cute and wasted] [waiting for him to shut her down so hard. side character melts down, and the contrast just makes our girl look even sweeter. love that for us] For a second his jaw tightened, like he was fighting himself.

Then he made me a promise instead. "I'll be back soon." He turned to go.

I pulled my mouth into something that wasn't a smile. "Wait." He looked back, almost annoyed. "I already said.

I'll be back soon." I pressed down on the thing in my chest that wouldn't let me breathe, closed my hand, and threw him my keys. "Take my car." He frowned, about to say no. "She doesn't get carsick in mine," I said.

He went still. Then he caught the keys out of the air. My car. My husband. My best friend in the passenger seat that should have been mine.

I handed all three over and kept my face still. Before he got in, he rolled the window down. "Wait for me." He drove off. Then I calmly pulled up a moving service on my phone.

Every box I had carried in the day before, I had them carry right back out. And I left the home Beckett and I had bought together. Paid for in full. In cash.

Chapter 2 How I met Beckett had nothing to do with Juliet. Which is the whole reason I never knew the two of them knew each other at all. Let alone how well.

By the time a friend set us up, I'd been single seven, eight years. Never met the one. The soulmate. Whatever you want to call it.

I went in expecting nothing and walked into a man built out of everything on my list. Old family money. A face you'd look at twice.

The kind of manners that actually respected a woman. His one flaw: he ran so cold and so rational he could come off like he didn't feel anything. But he was like that with everyone.

Even himself. A month in, he was driving me home after a date when we walked straight into a mugging.

The guy had a knife to Beckett's throat, and Beckett talked to him like the two of them were settling a bill. "Walk away now and I won't call the police." "But there's only one of you.

I'll hold you down with everything I've got and buy her the time to run." "There's a station two hundred yards from here. Not more." The mugger's eyes went red.

He didn't take the deal. He pulled the knife back and drove it at Beckett. I didn't think. There was no thought in me at all. I just couldn't let it land on him.

So I threw myself in and got my arms around the guy, and the blade went into my back instead, deep, and the pain was so big I couldn't do anything but breathe through it in huge gulps.

Beckett pulled me into his chest. Called 911, steady. Pressed his shirt to the blood that wouldn't stop. And asked me one thing. "Why didn't you run?" I said, "Beckett.

I want to be your girlfriend." He went still. Rare, for him.

Then his brow drew together. "I don't know how to love a person." "I know how to love you," I said. "Enough for both of us." That is how I went.

All the way in, no hands out, straight into Beckett's world. We were together. And he was right. He didn't know how to love a person. But he tried to learn it. For me.

He learned to bring me roses on the dates that meant something. Learned to be at the curb on time, morning and night. Learned to cook for me.

I thought: if he is willing to learn me, that means he loves me. It never once crossed my mind that, with me, he was only copying the shape of how a person loves.

And copying the shape of it is not the same as falling. The comments were the ones who told me about him and Juliet. They'd gone to the same high school. Just classmates, back then.

Years later they found their way back to each other in their early twenties, and for three years the two of them were everything. Then her mother got sick. Badly.

And the debt came down on the whole family at once. Her brother leaned on her hard. Marry up, save us.

So she let them hand her to an older man with money, a deal dressed up as a wedding. She wanted to run. She couldn't leave her mother. So she went to Beckett in tears and ended it.

She told him she didn't want to grow up alongside him. That she'd found someone rich and right, and she was just going to marry him.

And from that day, Beckett folded the old version of himself away. Went quiet. Went still and careful and cold. He got into the Ivy League. Finished. Built a company with a partner.

A smooth, clean road, the whole way down. He learned me the way you learn lines for a part you didn't write. On time. On cue. Word for word. None of it was his.

He'd given all of that away years ago, to her. And the comments had been calling it from the start. They knew exactly how this story ended.

They just had the wrong girl pegged as the one who'd lose.

Chapter 3 [if the side character hadn't shoved her way in, the ML and our girl would've gotten back together at that reunion a year ago!] [and she played SO generous about it too. "oh you two should really catch up!" babe. those two already know every freckle on each other] [our girl's backstory is so tragic I can't. she clawed her way up from nothing. that marriage to the older rich guy fell apart, and she took what she walked away with and went back to finish her degree and build a whole career. selfmade. actual maincharacter energy] [real talk, what does the side character even have going for her? family's got a little money, big deal.

Ivy League degree, big deal. she's STILL only fit to carry our girl's bags] [wait why isn't the side character following the script though? isn't she supposed to scream at the ML so he finally sees how sweet and good our girl is?] [you don't get it, the fake little martyr's off having her "I'm leaving home" tantrum lol. doesn't matter how big a scene she makes. our girl threw up so hard the ML HAS to stay and take care of her tonight, no way he goes home, so he won't even notice she's gone. waste of effort!] Beckett wasn't coming back.

Obviously. His text came through instead. Beckett: [Emergency meeting came up at the company. Courthouse, eight sharp tomorrow.

We sign then.] I closed my eyes and leaned back, calm. Right then I was so glad we'd done it in this order. The reception first. The license still unsigned. Nothing was final.

Everything could still come undone. I got home at three in the morning. Mom didn't ask what happened.

She just changed my bed to the sheets she'd washed and linedried that afternoon, poured me a glass of warm milk, and patted my shoulder. "Get some sleep." And I did.

I slept all the way through and opened my eyes to one in the afternoon. Two missed calls on my phone. Two unread texts. Both from Beckett. For Beckett, two was him panicking.

Last night he'd promised Juliet he'd be right back. Three times. I gave the screen a cold little smile and opened his messages. Beckett: [It's eight fifteen.

You're late.] Five minutes later. Beckett: [I offered to take Jules home because I didn't want you worrying about her.

If that's what you're angry about, I don't understand it.] I deleted the whole thread and didn't answer. Then I opened Instagram.

Juliet had posted something new. [slept till eleven and woke up to a latte with a little heart already poured in it. how is one person allowed to be this lucky?] My grip tightened on the phone.

The blood went out of my fingertips. There was nothing in the photo to give it away. Nothing anyone else would catch. But I knew. Beckett made that latte.

Because I'm the one who loves lattes. One birthday, the only thing I wished for was to wake up to one with a little heart poured in, every single morning. He went and learned how.

He only ever learned the one design. The heart. And the tip of that heart pulls off into one long tail, thin and curved, just like the one in her photo.

Beckett had liked her post. [poor thing, our girl's lived alone all these years. finally she's got the ML with her] [lmao the side character's probably still sitting around waiting for the ML to come coax her and make up. babe. you missed your window this morning and it's gone for good. per the old script she could've at least scraped a "the ML's exWIFE" title. now? best case, exgirlfriend] I set the phone facedown on my knee.

Exgirlfriend. Not one of them had any idea. Not the comments. Not Juliet. Not the man pouring his one little heart into someone else's cup.

I knew the exact shape of every line he was capable of drawing. And I was the only one who'd ever noticed he only had the one. Chapter 4 I didn't answer the comments.

I went straight to Juliet's post and left one of my own. [Shame Beckett only knows how to pour the one design.] That got Beckett on the phone fast.

His flat voice had something new under it. An edge. Almost an accusation. "Camille. Is this really necessary?" "You're the one who told me Jules has a bad stomach.

She was wrecked last night, didn't touch a bite. I made her a coffee so she'd have something in her.

That's all." "First you skip the courthouse, then you go put a comment like that on Jules's post. When did you turn into someone this unreasonable?" I closed my eyes.

Pulled in a breath. Pushed the heat in my chest back down. Before I could open my mouth, the phone got taken from him.

Juliet's voice came on, soft. "Beckett, don't talk to Cami like that." "This is all my fault. I shouldn't have had that much to drink last night.

I ruined your wedding night." Her voice drifted closer to the speaker, full of worry. "Cami, don't be upset. And don't... don't blame Beckett." She let out a slow breath.

Her voice dropped lower, almost a whisper. "Don't get the wrong idea about us.

I swear to you, there's nothing between us." "Beckett really does love you." She said it like she'd known him her whole life. "If he didn't truly want you, he never would've stayed this long.

He never would've married you..." Her voice stopped dead. A rustle of fabric. Beckett had the phone back. And in the halfsecond before he hung up, I caught it. Low.

Pressed flat against something that hurt. "Juliet. Is that what you think?" Then the dial tone. Something rose up in my chest with nowhere to go.

The screen dimmed and went black. [I can't BREATHE. nobody understands the ML's quiet drowning love the way I do.

I'm losing it] [the woman he actually loves thinks he's into someone else?? who could survive that.

ML stop holding it in and just tell our girl the truth already] [the side character must be reeling. ran off on her little dramatic exit, then went and lost it in our girl's comments thinking that'd win the ML's attention. babe his head is FULL of our girl right now, he's not even looking at you] [dying. the side character actually thought she mattered to him, and he STILL hasn't noticed she left home] I took my eyes off the screen.

The corner of my mouth went up. A short, dry sound came out of me. So that was it. That was Beckett, actually loving someone. He knew how to love a person after all.

He just never learned how to love me. I didn't read the rest. I called a realestate agent and put the place, mine and Beckett's, up for sale.

Newly finished, and I priced it to move. A buyer locked in within the hour. Per their request, I cleared out every last piece of furniture.

Six months we'd spent on that place, the two of us, building our little nest one piece at a time. I looked at it now, stripped down to bare walls and echo. I thought I'd be sad.

Chapter 5 I wasn't. Instead, something let go.

The weight I'd hauled around for the better part of a year set itself down all at once, and for the first time I could breathe all the way to the bottom of my lungs.

The man who'd only ever learned to love me, I could finally set down too. For good. For the next few days I didn't reach out to Beckett.

But I kept catching pieces of him in Juliet's posts. The two of them hit a couples' spot the whole internet was posting about. They went back to their old high school.

They even took a trip they'd promised each other years back, when they were young. By the time they got home from it, I had the sale contract drawn up and waiting with my lawyer.

One signature from Beckett, and every thread between us would be cut clean. So, for the first time in a long while, I called him.

The comments lit up on the spot. [look look, the side character finally cracked, she's calling the ML] [lmaooo what is even the point now?? the ML and our girl are one breath away from happening, and she's STILL sitting there waiting for him to come coax her. babe. your whole house got stolen right out from under you] [right?? and that whole "I'm selling the house" stunt to rattle him, like that's gonna make the ML sweat] [popcorn's ready. waiting for the side character to throw an enormous fit over the house. bigger the better, more unhinged the better. makes our girl look even softer and purer next to her. pour the fuel. let's GO] [I'm so excited, our girl and the ML are finally getting their endgame] He picked up.

Before I could get a word out, Beckett spoke first. "Not angry anymore?" Something cold moved through me. So this whole time, he'd been waiting. For me to break the ice.

To say sorry, even. I wasn't angry. I just didn't care anymore. "Let's meet," I said. "Beckett." A beat of silence on his end.

Then a low laugh in his throat, easy, like none of it weighed a thing. "All right.

I'll come home tonight." "You don't need to come home," I said. "We can just meet somewhere out." A pause. "Why?" For a second I almost told him.

Then I decided to save the house for tonight, in person. "It's not really convenient," I said, and left it there. The young couple had moved into the place already, after all.

Hard to sit down and talk business in a home that wasn't ours anymore. What I didn't expect was that Beckett would drive back to the marriage home anyway, that evening.

I booked a Sichuan place, sent him the address, and went back to work on my company. When I finally came up for air and checked my phone, he'd texted half an hour before.

Beckett: [Jules is having dinner with us tonight.] Beckett: [Whatever else is going on, the two of you are best friends.

And the truth is, you're the one who misread her.] Beckett: [Apologize to her properly and we can put this behind us. You and I go on with our lives, you two stay close.

Same as always.] Beckett: [Also, Jules can't do spicy, so skip the Sichuan place. She offered to cook a few things at our place instead.

Swing by the grocery store on your way home and pick these up.] A long list of ingredients came after. Mostly seafood. Juliet loves seafood. I knew that.

What I hadn't counted on was that Beckett had forgotten I'm allergic to it. He had every dish Jules liked down cold.

He'd forgotten the one thing that could put me in an emergency room. I left the whole string of texts sitting there, unanswered, and reached for my phone to call him.

To stop him from going back. Chapter 6 My phone went off in my hand before I could dial. I picked up, and Beckett's voice came through low, holding back fury. "Camille.

You let friends of yours move into our place and didn't think to ask me?" "This is our home.

You just hand it over to some couple to live in?" I hung up fast. "I'm on my way." By the time I got there, his face was carved out of stone.

He had Juliet tucked behind him and was smoking, head down. The young couple who'd bought the place had the doorway blocked, all teeth and claws.

The guy was in nothing but a pair of shorts, halfyanked up. The girl had thrown a robe on, the color still high in her face.

The second they saw me, they came at me. "What is going ON? You didn't tell your husband you sold it? Is that even legal?" "We already wired you the money.

You back out now, you're paying the penalty!" "And we already called the cops. This gets sorted out tonight.

All of it!" I apologized, again and again, got them down off the ceiling, and only then turned to Beckett. Before I could speak, he ground it out through his teeth. "Camille.

You want to let friends crash here, fine. But shouldn't you have said something first?" "Do you have any idea what these friends of yours were doing in our home?

I opened the door and they were on the couch." He stopped short, pulled in a breath, and swallowed a thousand words back down.

Juliet picked it up, her face the picture of discomfort. "Cami, whatever else is going on, this is yours and Beckett's home." "And your two friends, doing that out in the open, in your marriage home.

It really isn't very appropriate, is it." Watching the color come and go in their faces, I let out a small laugh before I could catch it. No wonder the couple was so angry.

These two had walked in on something they were never meant to see. "You're laughing?" Beckett looked at me like he'd never met me. "You don't think you owe me an explanation?" I put the smile away and took the document out of my bag.

The one I'd had ready for a while now. "Sorry about this. I was going to tell you over dinner.

I didn't think you'd bring Juliet back here." I held it straight out to him. "They aren't my friends." "Technically, this place is their property now." "This home.

I already sold it to them." [oh it's ON now] [the side character's about to threaten the ML with some fake "I sold the house" thing, I am SCREAMING, like he'd ever believe her garbage. the harder she pushes the more he can't stand her] [waiting for the ML to turn and walk and the side character to crumble into sobbing] With everyone watching, Beckett stopped dead.

The word didn't seem to fit in his mouth. "Sold it?" I opened my mouth to explain. He'd already pulled the document out of my hand and thrown it aside.

Pages scattered, drifting down all over the floor. He shut down every word I might've said, his eyes full of disappointment. "Camille. Haven't you made enough of a scene?

You'd really make up a lie like this just to threaten me?" "I left you alone all these days on purpose. I thought you'd cooled off.

Thought you'd finally seen what you did wrong." "And it turns out, all you were—" Chapter 7