Perched behind one of the vanities in the lounge, I had just finished applying a layer of clear gloss while openly admiring the reflection of my newest, most prized accessory in the mirror, right before my head was aggressively yanked back, hard enough to loosen my wig from my roots, making my body slump down in the chair.
“What the fuck?!” I barked, jerking my head around just as Brandi lashed out with her hand, whipping me across the face with her palm.
The force of her swing had my head snapping to the side, and the pain lingered on my cheek as my aggression toward her from the sting ignited like a matchstick set to burn right out of the box.
“You slimy fucking whore. I knew it was you. I ordered you to stay the fuck away from them.” Brandi screamed her accusation and insult at the top of her lungs. Her eyes filled with rage as her hands balled into fists at her side, ready to have another go at me.
“I-what—holy—” She took another swing and I swiftly ducked down, falling off the chair and onto my ass in the process, finding myself now staring up at her as she threateningly stepped over me.
“I told you they were mine.Mine. And you had the fuckingaudacityto come in here and take not one, butbothof them from me.” Brandi’s voice shook with her words and all the violence she could possibly muster.
That’s where all her bullshit stemmed from. Jealousy.
I knew for a fact that Lucas and Levi would’ve expected more from their wife than this—for me just to sit down and take her shit like a weak bitch. I refused to be her prey or a punching bag, and I had far too much dignity to let someone like Brandi take me down without a fight. I also didn’t give a fuck about what she had to say. I knew the truth, and I was about to hand her all of it on a silver fucking platter.
Picking myself up from the floor, I reached for the glass bottle of water that had been left on the corner of the vanity and gripped it by the neck.
“They aren’t yours,” I declared smoothly, feeling the cooling sensation soak into my palm as I admired the impressive weight of the glass, staring down at it and watched the condensation slide down the side before dripping to the floor. “They never were. You’re nothing more than a liar and a coward.”
My eyes met hers as I sneered with animalistic aggression, becoming territorial over the two men I would fight tooth and nail to keep.
“How-how dare you fucking talk to me like that, you-you—” Brandi stuttered as I interrupted her words by smashing the bottle on the edge of the vanity. The base shattered on impact with sharp and jagged edges now on full display, just like my own.
Startled, she took a cautious step back, and without faltering, I made my move. Lunging forward and backing her pompous ass right up against the wall with her throat collared by my hand. Brandi’s pulse quickened, beating rapidly against the center of mypalm as I pinned her in place with no room for escape, and I smiled like I’d won the fucking jackpot at High Rise.
“Call me a whore again and I’ll show you exactly who the fuck I am, Brandi.” I snarled, pressing the sharpest point of my weapon into the vulnerable underside of her jaw. The abrupt movement caused my loosened wig to slide the rest of the way off my head, falling to my feet, revealing me for who I truly was.
“You-you’re—oh my god—”
The door to the lounge flew open, interrupting her as it slammed with a loud bang against the wall, and two dominating men entered. Brandi’s attention veered immediately to them, her eyes softening into those of a meek and obedient pet.
Oh, here we fucking go… I knew this card all too well…
“Levi, Lucas, help!” She began submissively pleading her case to them; whimpering, eyes filling with fake ass tears,the whole nine-fucking-yards. “She attacked me out of nowhere. I don’t—it was completely unprovoked. I-I was walking past her and she just fucking snapped.”Oh, come the fuck on.
“Liar!” My hand holding the broken bottle started to tremble as I squeezed her throat a little tighter, my eyes never leaving my reflection in the glass as I fought the urge to drive it under her skin.
She was making me sound crazy, and I could feel the feral urge to shut her the fuck up, to end her tirade and fake cries. It was calling like a sweet siren, begging for me to give in.
Do it.
Do it.
Do it.
“The new girl is a fucking lunatic. Just look at her. Look at what she’s done to me—threatening to kill me right in front of you.” Brandi’s panic escalated the longer I held her in place, the harder I squeezed, slowly cutting off her ability to breathe. “Fucking do something,Lucas!” She shrieked as his name came out, nothing more than a strained wheeze.
I wanted to see her dead, whether by strangulation or brutal stabbing.
I was losing myself to the fury and rage she had ignited within me.
“Let her go, babygirl.”Levi.
“Come here, princess.”Lucas.
With a killer smirk of satisfaction, I released my hold on Brandi, dropping my hands to my sides as I took slow, precise steps away from her, stopping right between my husbands the second I could feel their warmth sinking into my skin.
“You can’t be fucking serious right now? Levi, she just tried to shove broken glass into my neck. Why are you defending her?” Cradling her marked throat, Brandi’s eyes bounced between the three of us, frantic and now unstable as she unraveled at the sight of what she couldn’t have—what I had. “Can’t you two see that Evie’s a fake? That’s not even her goddamn name; she's been wearing a wig this entire time, lying to you both about her identity.” No one spoke or reacted to her accusation, allowing her to fall into her spiral. “She’s that fucking has-been actress everyone’s looking for!”
