Page 57 of I Love You, It’s Ruining My Life

“I live here,” Stef scoffed, as if it were obvious.

“Jack says otherwise, especially when the apartment is in his name,” I pointed out, “And he changed the locks when you broke up in August.”

“Well, I got half of everything, and that includes…” she started.

“The prenup says otherwise,” I deadpanned, even though I wasn’t entirely sure there was one. I didn’t think Jack was stupid enough to get married without one again, not after everything that happened with Natalie. Stef pouted, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Considering he,” I said, nudging the door open to reveal the man I assumed was Matt, “screwed Jack over so badly the first time, I’m pretty sure you don’t have any claim to the penthouse. Plus,” I said, turning to the man, “does Natalie know you’re here, Matt? Or should I tell your wife you’re sleeping with her ex-husband’s ex-wife? Jack did you both a favor by not telling her, but I’ve had a really bad day, and I’m not afraid to. So, try me.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Stef said, rolling her eyes. “You’re too nice. Plus Matt’s leaving…”

“How much?” Matt asked, getting his wallet as Stef’s jaw dropped. “Nat doesn’t need to know anything.”

“Are you KIDDING ME?!“ Stef screamed, spinning to look at him. The two immediately started yelling at each other, and I didn’t have time to play these games.

“Ten. Minutes!” I yelled over both of them, “Get out. Don’t even think of taking Jack’s electronics; I know you’ve been leaking things to the press.” Stef mumbled something about it being Jack’s fault for having easy passwords, but the two of them at least scrambled to leave.

Meanwhile, I worked on changing all of Jack’s passwords, and poked through to see if Stef had left any kind of digital trail. She hadn’t been smart — she was logged into all of her socials, and had clearly been sending everything to her friends. Multiple conversations about how she’d been ruining Jack’s dreams as he had ruined hers.

But what surprised me the most were the messages Stef was getting from Maya.

Maya Phillips

So Nalini knows I gave you those pictures.

I might lose my job. And you promised to help me.

You still haven’t paid me. I need that money.

And why was she saying you were trying to stop RaineFall from happening? You told me you were working to make sure she was out of the way, so we could get new music.

Should I have looked at Stef’s messages? Probably not. But I hadn’t been digging through them; they were already open on the computer — which in my eyes made them fair game. I hadn’t thought I’d find this sort of information on Maya, but it made sense — and I took a screenshot just to be on the safe side. I wanted her to leave my family and me alone, and if it came to needing a restraining order, I wanted to have all the evidence I needed to make sure it went through.

Mel arrived minutes after I’d finished kicking them out, followed closely by Noah. She told me she was already talking to lawyers, so I figured I’d let her handle it. I was still angry, but I had finally gotten to the point I no longer felt out of control.

The irony of this mess was even though Stef clearly had been trying to drive a wedge between us, she’d helped reforge the bond with my brothers. But it didn’t mean I was going to let Stef or Matt get away with this. I pulled up a number I'd forgotten to delete during Jack’s first divorce, knowing it was petty, but doing it anyway.

“Why are you calling me?” Natalie asked, not exactly mad I'd reached out, but definitely wary.

“I just thought you needed to know something,” I said, telling her the entire story of how I’d found Matt and Stef. Because I needed to know he’d face some consequences, and this was the only thing I had control over. Was the little piece of revenge worth it? I wasn’t sure yet, but I had a feeling it would be.

Chapter forty-five

Nalini

By the time Cassidy and I got back from yoga, the photographers were gone. She’d looked at me strangely the entire drive back, and I was certain she had questions from things she’d overheard in the lobby.

“I was thinking of having a girls day,” I suggested as we got back inside the house, “Your Dad had to go to New York for some business, and he’s going to get back late. I’m thinking… pizza and makeovers?”

“Are you dating my Dad?” Cassidy blurted out, and I immediately sat down on the couch. “Yes,” I said, deciding it was better to tell the truth — even if the plan had been to wait for Kam to get back to tell her, “for about a month.”

“Finally!” she exclaimed, more excited than I expected, “Why didn’t you tell me? I gave Dad permission like forever ago! I tried to hang up mistletoe during Christmas to make you kiss, but Uncle Noah told me no. But you were already dating?”

“I wanted to take things slow, and we didn’t want to get your hopes up,” I admitted, “So, we decided to wait to tell you until we were ready.”

“Then why did you tell the internet first?” Cassidy demanded, “Like it’s all anyone at your yoga class could talk about. They didn’t even notice I was there listening!”

“Someone figured it out and decided to tell the internet before we wanted them to,” I explained, “And we’d already decided we were going to tell you today. Things just got crazy, and then your Dad had to leave, and we wanted to do it together. I’m sorry it didn’t turn out that way.”