I Teach My Buddy's Girlfriend a Lesson

I finished plating the last dish and brought it to the table.

I had just helped Sarah Paulson, Shane Seridan's mother, over and gotten her seated when Shane walked out of the bedroom with his girlfriend, Lydia Forestwood, wrapped in his arms.

Seeing the table full of delicious food, he casually remarked, "I didn't think you'd actually be this capable."

At those words, Lydia's expression darkened. She slammed her fork down on the table with a sharp clang, her tone displeased.

"Are we eating or not? You talk too much nonsense!"

This sudden outburst startled both Sarah and me.

Shane immediately started fawning over her shamelessly. "Babe, I was wrong. I shouldn't have praised Joanna. When it comes to being capable, that's obviously you. You can go all night without a break. She can't even compare to you."

The comment made me deeply uncomfortable. It was textbook manipulation—praising one person while stepping on another, laced with inappropriate sexual innuendo.

The worst part was that Lydia ate it right up. She lightly tapped his chest, her anger instantly transforming into laughter.

"You're terrible! There are other people here, you know."

My hand paused as I scooped some pasta onto a plate. After considering for only a second, I shot back, "Shane, when you compliment your girlfriend, please leave me out of it. Thanks."

The moment the words left my mouth, Sarah hurried to smooth things over. "Jo, Shane's clumsy with words and doesn't know how to speak properly. Don't hold it against him."

But then Lydia glanced at the garlic butter shrimp and suddenly erupted at me in fury. "You clearly knew I'm allergic to seafood, yet you deliberately made this dish. Are you trying to make me look bad?"

I looked completely baffled. Not wanting Lydia to misunderstand, I quickly explained, "When I was buying ingredients, I asked Shane if there were any dietary restrictions. He said there weren't any."

Allergies were no small matter, and severe reactions could be fatal. This was not something to joke about.

Shane scratched his head, his tone innocent. "Did I not mention it? But I know everything about what Lydia likes and dislikes. I couldn't have forgotten to tell you."

His vague answer absolved him completely while shifting all the responsibility onto me.

When Lydia heard this, she immediately flew into a rage. "I know exactly what you're scheming now! You deliberately wanted to provoke me, then paint me to Shane as hot-tempered so he'd break up with me, and you can take my place."

She wasn't finished. "Let me tell you something—stop daydreaming! If Shane were interested in you, he would have started pursuing you ages ago. I wouldn't even be in the picture.

"Bottom line is, he's not the slightest bit interested in you. Give up now and stop trying to drive a wedge between us."

The more she spoke, the more outrageous she became. I could feel my anger boiling over.

With Sarah constantly trying to calm the situation, I could only suppress my fury and continue explaining.

"Sarah injured her leg, and since this is your first time visiting, we were worried about not treating you well enough. That's why she asked me to come help with cooking."

I kept my voice level. "It really was Shane who didn't tell me about your shrimp allergy, but this is a minor issue. There are over ten other dishes. You just don't have to eat that one.

"And please rest assured, I have a fiance. I have zero interest in Shane. He's yours."

When I finished speaking, Lydia let out a cold laugh. "Don't try that playing hard-to-get act with me. I can spot a schemer at a glance.

"You constantly use the childhood friend card as an excuse, throwing yourself at Shane all day long. These cheap, desperate tactics are utterly disgusting. Anyone would curse you out for it."

A string of cold mockery and ridicule painted me as utterly worthless.

Throughout all of this, Shane kept suppressing his laughter. He even gave Lydia a thumbs-up. "That mouth of yours is something else, Lydia. She actually can't win an argument against you."

He was completely in spectator mode, as if none of this concerned him.

I was so angry I could feel smoke rising from the top of my head. "Shane, do you think you look cool fanning the flames like this?"