Chapter 1

Trigger warning *Smut*

Emilia Jones's pov

“What the hell is this?”

The words left my mouth before I even fully stepped into the room. My hand still gripped the doorknob like it could somehow rewind the last five seconds.

Mandy’s bedroom smelled like sweat and sex.

And right there, in the middle of it all, was Mike. My Mike, with nothing but bare skin, hips moving as he buried his cock deep inside my cousin-Mandy like he belonged there.

Mandy’s legs were wrapped around his waist. She had the guts to wear the anklet I got her for her 18th birthday last year.

How shameless.

Her perfectly manicured nails dug into his back. His face was buried in her neck, the same way he used to bury it in mine.

For a second I just stood there, feeling my own heart slamming so hard I thought it might crack my ribs.

Was this fair? Did I deserve this pathetic betrayal? Especially that the loan shark’s threats still rang in my ears from twenty minutes ago.

“Pay by Friday or we take something that matters.“ Augusta threatened, his gun pointed to my temple. I had never trembled that much in my life.

I had walked all the way back to this dom with empty pockets and a sick stomach, hoping Mandy and I would came up with a solution to keep Augusta away from my neck. Instead I got this.

Finally, Mike’s head snapped up. His eyes locked on mine. He didn’t even pull out right away. He just froze, still inside her, like he was deciding whether to finish or pretend this was somehow normal.

“Emilia....” he started...almost nonchalant like I had just interrupted something important.

I didn’t let him finish. “Get off her.”

My voice came out low. The kind of voice I used when people tried to talk down to me at the design studio. But my hands were already shaking.

Mandy scrambled underneath him, yanking the sheet up like it could hide what I had already seen. Her cheeks were flushed and lips swollen. She looked at me with wide eyes that held zero guilt.

“It’s not what it looks like,” she whispered.

I laughed. It sounded ugly even to me. “Oh, so my boyfriend isn’t currently balls deep in you? Especially with no freaking protection?!! My bad. Must be a magic trick.”

Mike finally pulled out his cock out of her and sat back on his heels. He had the nerve to look annoyed. I fought back my tears. How typical, it's always the ones with tiny dicks cheating and acting like they're doing you a favour.

How did I not see this before? They always acted like they hated each other whenever we were in class, Mike never even let Mandy share the same plate. I guess I was the fool.

I saw the sweat shining on his broad chest.

The same chest I used to rest my head on after long days when things got hard. The same chest that used to make me feel safe.

“Babe, calm down,” he said, voice smooth. “You’re overreacting.”

I stepped closer. My sneakers squeaked on the floorboards.

“Overreacting? You were just fucking my cousin in her bed. The same bed I helped her move into this dump when we left home for Aston City. Remember that? Remember how we said we’d chase our dreams together? Fashion and design for me. Whatever the hell she claimed she wanted. Turns out her real talent is spreading her legs for my boyfriend.”

Mandy sat up fully now, sheet clutched to her chest. “Emilia, stop. You’re making it worse.” She forced a few tears out, but I saw right through her pathetic act.

I moved before I thought twice about it. My palm cracked across her cheek hard enough that the sound filled the small room. Her head snapped to the side....then a red handprint bloomed instantly.

“Don’t you dare tell me to stop,” I hissed. “You knew. You both knew. I trusted you. I shared everything with you. Even my own parents, I let them keep you because I loved you, because you are an orphan who had no one else in the world... And this is what I get?”

Mike was on his feet in a second, grabbing my wrist before I could hit her again. His grip was firm but not rough.

Classic Mike. Always careful with the hands so he could claim later he never hurt me.

“Hey. Enough,” he said, voice dropping into that soft, reasonable tone he used whenever he needed to make me the problem. “You’re upset. I get it. But this isn’t just on her. Things between us have been off for a while. You know that. You’ve been so focused on school and money and everything else. I needed someone who actually had time to fuck me.”

I stared at him. The words hit harder than the slap I had just given Mandy.

“Is sex all that matters to you? Pathetic!“ My chest tightened.

Tears burned the back of my eyes but I forced them down for one more second. I was keeping myself for him, we agreed to wait till we graduate and get married.

“So that’s the story?” My voice cracked anyway. “I thought we agreed to wait, you know I am currently having a lot to handle now.. Tuition fees, rent..food...“

He sighed like I was exhausting him. “See? This is what I mean. Everything is always about money and stress with you. Mandy just… listened. She didn’t make me feel guilty for wanting to feel good.”

Mandy stayed quiet now, eyes lowered, but I saw the tiny satisfied curve at the corner of her mouth.

She wasn’t the talent. Never had been. I was the one who stayed up sketching until my fingers cramped. I was the one making sketches for her so that she stays in college, because I thought I wanted us to win together.

I agreed to help her while she just stayed pretty and available.

I yanked my wrist free. Tears finally spilled over. I hated them. Hated how weak they made me look when all I wanted was to burn this whole place down.

“I loved you,” I said, the words tumbling out messy and raw. “I really did. Even when things got hard. Even when my parents called every week asking if I was okay and I lied so they wouldn’t worry. I chose you. Over and over. And you chose her. In my face like I never mattered.”

Mike stepped closer, hands raised in that gentle, apologetic way that used to work on me. “Baby, listen. You’re emotional right now. We can talk about this later when you’ve calmed down. Maybe we all just need space. Mandy and I… it just happened. It doesn’t mean what we had is completely gone.”

Gaslighting. Straight out of his playbook.

“Make me the crazy one. Make my pain sound like an overreaction. Make the betrayal sound like a temporary mistake that somehow still left the door open for you.“ I snapped.

I wiped my face with the back of my hand. My voice came out smaller than I wanted. “Don’t call me baby. Don’t touch me. Don’t act like this is something we can fix with one of your sweet talks. You broke it. Both of you.”

I turned toward the door because if I stayed one more second I was going to either scream or collapse, and I refused to give them the satisfaction of watching me fall apart completely.

That's when my phone rang in my pocket just as my hand touched the knob. I almost ignored it. Almost. But the name on the screen made my stomach drop even lower.

“Mom.“

I answered because some habits die hard.

Her voice came through shaky and urgent.

“You and Mandy have to come home fast, it’s Important.”