Chapter 02

“My body was trembling, and my heart was beating so fast that I could barely breathe.”

“We were friends,” My voice made her stop and turn to look at me one more time.

I whispered, the tears caught in my throat would not let me speak.

“What did you say, dear?” Vivian leaned in, turning her ear toward me. “You thought I was your friend? We’re all adults here. This friendship was never real to me; I thought you knew.”

I was standing now, but my knees were shaking as I tried to hold back the pain and anger that pulsed in my veins.

“So, you planned everything?”

“Do you think I planned this?” Leonard’s voice tore through my chest. “I would rather not sleep with you; I don’t even remember what happened last night.”

He was mocking me, causing the laughter to intensify. A pain shot through my chest so hard that I could barely breathe. I looked into Leonard’s eyes and could only see contempt.

I wanted an explanation of everything that was happening. Since when were Vivian and Leonard together? Vivian was the only one who knew how much I loved Leonard, and she fed my fantasies, saying I was an interesting girl and that one day he would look at me and see how special I was.

Was she saying that while secretly dating him?

I had always been a quiet girl, absorbed in my studies so that no one would notice me. I avoided declaring myself to Leonard so as not to attract attention and be ridiculed; after all, he was the most desired guy on campus, and I was the skinny girl with the wide eyes. Not only that, but I wore glasses to hide my tired face, and my baggy clothes were only a refuge to go unnoticed.

Everything I did was in vain; now, I was being exposed like an animal at an auction.

“Did you see your photos?” I didn’t see when she approached. Vivian unlocked her cell phone and showed it to me. “They are spread across the campus website; soon they will be everywhere.”

It was a photo of me almost naked in Leonard’s arms. That was shameful; I had never been so exposed in that way. I tried to grab Vivian’s phone, but she was faster than me.

“Delete that immediately,” I ordered with a trembling voice.

“Too late, Roberta, everyone has already seen the slut you are.”

Her smile intensified, blending with the others. I looked at Leonard, then at Vivian. I didn’t understand why they had done this to me.

My eyes inevitably filled with tears.

Before I could shed them in front of them, I ran. More insults, more laughter; they all thought I was a useless slut, and I didn’t know how to defend myself. I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me.

I returned to my room, my heart pounding hard against my chest. There were still remnants of last night scattered everywhere. I remembered everything that had happened, and more tears streamed down my face.

I couldn’t run away forever from what had happened. A few hours later, I left the room a little calmer this time, but the surrounding whispers would not stop for a minute. My thoughts were frozen at the exact moment the two people I loved the most betrayed me.

I felt like I couldn’t take it anymore.

Someone printed my photos and went around spreading them across campus, posting them on the wall. I tore some down, but there were so many that I could not avoid humiliation.

If I had known that my quiet life would end when I desired Leonard, I would have avoided that feeling. Leonard had already chosen who he would be with, and nothing would change that. He looked at Vivian as if she were his world. What could I expect? She is beautiful; I am not.

Everyone was saying that I was an opportunist who had slept with Leonard to blackmail him, spreading the photos.

The spectacle was set, and I was the chief attraction. I never managed to convince anyone of my innocence; they wouldn’t listen to a person like me.

Ignore what was happening? I wanted to, but I couldn’t. They took things beyond my limits. I was tired of crying hidden in corners while continuing to be humiliated and watching my academic performance plummet.

I couldn’t concentrate on anything but my pain.

Not only that, but I thought that, with time, the pain would ease. Everyone would forget what had happened, but a month later, they were still talking about it. If I didn’t do anything about it, I would fail this semester. I couldn’t let them destroy my plans as well.

I left the last class ready to go back to my room when Vivian stopped in front of me, blocking my way.

There she was, my enemy, the girl with whom I shared my most intimate secrets. The face I had been avoiding for a long time.

“Tomorrow night is my engagement party with Leonard,” she said; her smile was fake and icy.

The invitation was not a gesture of peace; it was a new way to humiliate me. She wanted to see me crawl.

“Did you come to ask me if I forgave you?” My voice came out strangely calm, but the tremor in my hands betrayed my fury. “Or if you are going to spread more photos of me around?”

Her eyes narrowed; surprise gave way to scorn.

“Ah, the photos. Too bad for you that Leonard didn’t fall for your blackmail. But to answer your question: no. I just came to invite you, Roberta. I would be happy if you went. To put an end to the ridiculous rumors about you.”

Anger chilled my blood. There were no more tears. The pain transformed into an icy determination. I told my secrets to that woman, and she treated them with contempt and then used them against me.

Vivian shrugged, unconcerned, and continued. “You’re naïve, Roberta. Leonard is not the problem; you are. I did what was necessary and forgave you for sleeping with my fiancé. Accept this as a peace agreement.”

“I will go to your party, Vivian,” I said so quickly that she was startled, forcing a friendly smile that looked like a grimace. The lie came out before I could stop it. “But not to watch your show.”

Vivian’s smile faltered.

“I will go accompanied. With my rich boyfriend.”

She laughed loudly, the sound echoing in the hallway. “Rich? Boyfriend?”

“He’s a significant business executive in New York. Heir to an enormous fortune,” I continued to lie, feeling my stomach churn. I needed her to feel a minimum of doubt.

“Really?” The lines on her face drew into pure disbelief. “I’m excited to meet him.”

For a moment, Vivian stood still, frozen in front of me. She was trying to assimilate the idea that I might have something of value. Afterward, she turned on her heel and left, taking the news to the campus.

I knew. The next second, the entire university would be talking about my “rich boyfriend.”

I needed to make the lie real. Vivian and Leonard’s engagement was tomorrow, and I didn’t have a single man to prove my lie.

That desperation forced me into a radical solution.