CLAIMED BY MY EX'S DAD

“Congratulations, Natalie!”

The crowd chorused, their voice blending into cheers as the photographer took a group photograph of Natalie Ashford with family and everyone that had come to celebrate her graduation with her, proudly holding her cybersecurity degree and she is more than happy to begin the next phase of her life. 

She scanned through the faces of people surrounding her and the crowd, hoping to see Matt, her boyfriend of two years, whom she met in school but he was nowhere to be found. 

“What has happened to Matt?” She mused inwardly, trying to mask her concern. 

She had spoken to Matt earlier and he promised to come and officially introduce himself to her parents as her boyfriend since they've been dating in secret because Matthew wanted to keep things secret.

Natalie felt reluctant at first when Matt said he wanted a secret relationship. Natalie asked for an assurance, and he promised not to touch her until she was ready to give herself to him, and Matt truly waited until their relationship was twenty months old before taking her virginity. She was sure he loved her by then, so not telling everyone meant nothing to her. 

Natalie’s parents have constantly talked about how good it is to marry and have children early, but she kept dismissing it, saying she would bring a man home when she's ready. 

Natalie’s mind wasn’t peaceful, her mind going through their last conversation, but she forced herself to smile, masking the growing ache in her chest as the guests kept celebrating with her.  

“Why is Matthew not here, Nat? Don't tell me he forgot this important day of your life? Did you guys fight?” Lily, Natalie's younger sister whispered into her ears as they settled for a celebratory drink with family and friends. 

“Matt isn’t like that, I'm sure he'll be here soon,” Natalie whispered back, shutting Lily’s mouth the same way she does whenever she tries to talk bad about her boyfriend. 

Natalie became more concerned when the event ended and she didn't see Matthew. She had called him for the umpteenth time, but he wasn't taking calls. 

Worried and knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep until she heard from him, she went over to his house. She put passcode and entered, but the joy and anticipation she had while coming disappeared as she entered. 

A woman's clothes were scattered on the floor as she entered and she heard a feminine voice speaking to Matt from the room. Their laughter slowly changed Into moaning loud sounds as she was still trying to process what was happening.

“Hmmm yes, I want to feel your cum inside me.” 

Her heart skipped a beat, and her brain went dead as she tried to recognize the voice that looked familiar, but she shook her head, saying it couldn’t be real. She didn't want to imagine things and later felt guilty about doubting Matthew's love for her.

She slowly crawled to the door, each step heavier than the last, until she was standing in front of the door that was wide open, but the sight she saw broke her heart into million pieces. 

“Camilla?” she called, her hands flying to her mouth from shock, her eyes moving from her boyfriend to her best friend of fifteen years as Matt thrust hard into her, his head was buried in her chest while Camilla gripped his back, whispering sweet words to each other.

‘No, this isn’t happening.’ she gripped the door not to fall down.

Camilla had been her best friend since childhood and had told Natalie she wouldn't make it to her graduation because she had been selected to attend a seminar with her boss in the UK. 

Has she been here since yesterday, mocking her when Matt was promising her the world when they spoke earlier in the morning?

“So am I better than Nat in bed?” Camilla said, her voice filled with mockery.

“Don't mention her again,” Matt said, flipping Camilla over to change position and slapping her buttocks. “She's just a naive girl I dated to use as my toy and she's not even worth it. Everything about her is boring. Sex with her is just so tiring.” 

Camilla chuckled, “Don’t mind her, she acts like she knows everything when she's nothing.” 

Their words felt like a knife and it pierced her heart that she felt like vomiting and held her heart to stop it from jumping out.

Thinking back now, she realized she had been blinded by her emotions to see that Matt never loved her. She didn't know any of his friends, nor family while he knew everything about her. 

The thoughts of how he stopped calling like before and taking her calls after taking her virginity two months ago crossed her mind and tears dripped down her cheeks.

Her mind was filled with different thoughts, leaving her confused, but she wouldn’t let it break her.

She wiped her tears and scan the room and saw a flower vase on the table. without warning, she took the flower vase and threw it at them. 

The vase made a loud noise as it hit the headboard of the bed and shattered, and the shards flew. 

Camilla shouted and hid under the duvet, while Matthew flinched and used his hand to protect himself. 

The silence stretched between them, allowing them to see what was happening and Natalie who was standing in front of them with fury in her eyes.

“You crazy bitch!” Matthew yelled and quickly wrapped his hand around Camilla to protect her when she was trembling, his eyes filled with fury. “Do you want to hurt her?” 

Natalie felt hurt that even in that situation, Matt was still concerned about Camilla and not her. But she didn't allow it to stop her. Instead, she laughed and stood her ground, looking confident as if she hadn't just caught them cheating on her.

“Really, Matt? And you Camilla?” she chuckled. “Is this the best your pathetic lives can do? Betraying me on a day like this? Do you think you can betray me and go free?” 

“What are you doing here, isn’t today your graduation? Are you not….” he asked, still trying to catch his breath from the sudden crash.

“Oh please, shut the fuck up, Matthew.” she cut in sharply. “You think you have the chance to speak now because of this…..? And you, Camilla,” she said, pointing to Camilla. “Are you not supposed to be in the UK? You didn’t attend my graduation because you wanted to fuck my ex-boyfriend?” she laughed bitterly.

“Is that why you want to kill us? Because you are jealous of me, of what we shared?” Camilla asked, still trembling.

Natalie arched a brow, forcing a smile. ”Jealous?” She laughed mockingly. “The only one who is jealous here is you, Camilla. You’ve spent your life wanting everything that I have. You even wish you had a family like mine, and you see Matt, you can have him. He’s a cheating bastard just like you, so I gave you. Have my leftovers as always.” 

“Watch your mouth, Natalie. I won’t have you insult my girlfriend and me because we fell in love,” he said firmly. 

His words got to her, and she felt cold and went silent while sniffing to force the tears threatening to fall, but she was still grateful he did it now and not later.

“I never loved you, Natalie. And sex with you was boring, gosh, I hate it. You are no fun at all, so why would I stay with you when there’s someone like Camilla who I enjoy sex with. I love Camilla now, and I want to be with her.” 

She felt like dying from the humiliation. She had just caught him cheating on her, and instead of apologizing, he was breaking up with her in the cruelest way.

“Get the fuck out of my house, and find something to do with your boring life,” he said with irritation.

“You both are pathetic, and I'll make sure you regret this,” she said, shaking her head as Camilla snuggled under him. 

Natalie left his apartment, tremblinh like she just did the scariest thing in her life. Not only has he been lying to her all these years, but he also made her feel worthless, as if she's nothing.

The tears she’s been holding streamed down her cheeks as she walked down the pavement. She couldn't believe Matt was gone just like that, despite how much she put to make their relationship work.

A thought crossed her mind as she settled into the taxi. With shaking hands, she took her phone, scrolled through her contacts, and dialed a number. 

Her heart was racing, telling her this wasn’t the way forward even as she dialed the number, but she was done being a good girl.

“Hello?” the person said.