Chapter 2

L A N A

I am frozen, my body turning to complete cement as my eyes lock onto what is in front of me.

It's Tyler... and Elizabeth. They're... sleeping together...

He has her pinned against the wall, standing between her legs, his lips pressed against hers as he thrusts into her relentlessly. She grips onto his shoulders desperately, attempting to suppress the vile sounds coming out of her mouth.

I still haven't moved. Not until my mind finally registered what is going on in front of me. I stumble backwards and finally, they take notice of me, both their heads snapping towards me as their eyes widen in shock.

"Lana," Tyler starts, his voice laced with panic as he immediately drops Elizabeth to her feet, grunting as he stumbles away from her and scrambles to get his pants back on.

"This isn't what it looks like..." He says, and hearing his voice makes my heart race even faster.

I still haven't said a word... I don't even know what to say.

Elizabeth stares at me with a flushed face. She quickly tugs at her dress, pulling it back down her legs and steps away from the wall, her eyes glancing between me and Tyler. But she doesn't say a word either...

The room is spinning, and I step back until I feel the doorframe beside me, immediately using it to steady myself. My legs suddenly feel too weak to keep me standing. The air feels toxic, and I feel myself suffocating, like the room is closing down on me from all sides. I'm drowning, each breath harder to take than the last, and finally, after what felt like so long... I am finally able to get a word out.

"How long?" The words barely escape my lips, a whisper drowned out by the roaring in my ears. Part of me is heartbroken, betrayed, and furious that he would do this to me, at our engagement party of all days... But another part of me knew that this would happen, knew that they were doing this behind my back, and now this is all the confirmation I needed.

Tyler attempts to regain his composure and make his way over to me, and I immediately feel the disgust appear on my face.

"Lana, please, let's talk about this privately..." He tries to reason with me, but at this point, I can't even stand his voice. More tears well in my eyes despite my efforts to blink them away, and I stumble backwards as soon as he tries to reach for me.

My eyes travel back to Elizabeth, and see that her nervousness has suddenly disappeared, and is somehow replaced by pure irritation, not a hint of remorse on her face. I turn back to Tyler, who is standing across from me, waiting for me to say something, and that's when my sadness immediately shifts to anger.

Before I know it, my hand swings forward and I slap him across the face, his head snapping to the side as he grunts sharply before exhaling deeply and slowly turning back to look at me, as if he was expecting me to do that.

"How long have you been fucking my best friend, Tyler?" I let out, my voice now rising. "How could you betray me like this? How could you destroy everything we've built?!" I question him, my voice echoing through the halls behind me. He doesn't answer, and instead, he tries to take another step towards me.

The walls seem to close in, the room shrinking with each passing second. I can't be here. I can't breathe, and I need to get out of here.

Without another word, I turn around and walk away, my heels violently clicking against the marble floor beneath me as Tyler's protests fade behind me. Tears cloud my vision as I struggle to focus on where I'm going.

I come back to the main hall, finding the party still in full swing. Guests laugh and dance around me, all of them oblivious to what has just happened. I need to get out, to escape the suffocating facade. How long has he been doing this for? Had he been playing me for a fool this whole time? They both were... the man I loved the most and my best friend...

"Lana?" A familiar voice snaps me out of the chaos in my mind. It's Diane. She walks over to me slowly, confusion and a deep frown written on her face, eyeing me from head to toe.

"What is going on with you?" She asks, and I can't tell if it's genuine concern or irritation.

I shake my head, unable to form words as I feel more tears well in my eyes. The betrayal replays in my mind, over and over again, the memory pressing down on me, threatening to crush me.

Before I can respond, Tyler's voice rings out from behind me.

"Lana."

I freeze, every muscle tensing once again. The room quiets down as eyes turn toward us. The music in the background slowly dies down, and the air falls dead silent...

Everyone can now see how much of a mess I am, how much I'm crying, and that's when murmurs and whispers begin circulating through the room. I glance around nervously, before I refocus my gaze on Tyler, watching as he strides forward, his expression a mask of concern.

"Tyler?" A voice speaks out, and I turn to see Tyler's mother, Margaret, beside Tyler's father, the two of them glancing between us with confusion.

"What is going on?" She speaks out, her voice echoing through the silent room.

Tyler finally stands at the centre of the room, glancing around at all who have their eyes on him.

"Everyone, I need to address something..." He begins to say, just as the murmurs quiet down, everyone eager to hear what he has to say.

Tyler takes a deep breath, his gaze locking onto mine. "I didn't want to do this here, but I feel I have no choice..."

I remain silent, bracing myself for what he is about to say, how him telling everyone he's been cheating on me will impact all of us, how our family and friends will take this, how we will have to call the entire wedding off-...

"Lana has been unfaithful to me."

My thoughts are immediately interrupted by the words that leave his lips.

My heart drops to my feet, and for a second time tonight, I feel myself lose feeling in my legs, making it difficult to keep myself standing. Gasps echo throughout the hall, and the room spins as his words sink in.

He's telling everyone... that I'm the unfaithful one?