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“Brian and his family were happy because I was the perfect little trophy, as he liked to put it. They wanted a compliant, happy woman at his side who could pop out little perfect babies for them. Brian’s friends were happy because he had this elaborate wedding planned out in Ireland. We were all going to stay at a castle for two weeks leading up to the wedding. And my friends were happy because I was their connection to a bunch of Brian’s rich friends. Everybody was happy.”
The way she’d said that last part made my stomach twist. “Except you,” I said.
“A castle?” Max asked. “Uncle Stones, why don’t we ever stay in castles? What’s the point of all your money if you can’t occasionally book a freaking castle?”
“But I ruined all of that,” Lola said. “I caught Brian with one of my friends. They were…” she glanced toward Max, as if unsure how appropriate it was to share in front of her. “Together. He asked me if I could stay late to get some things in the office in order for him. But I finished early and was coming home, thinking he’d be happy I did the work so fast. It turned out he was just trying to keep me away from home so he’d have time with my friend.”
“Wait,” Max said. “So your fiancé was a scumbag, but where is the part where everybody is pissed at you? Shouldn’t he be the one getting burned at the stake?”
“They told me it was an accident. Just a one-time thing and that they’d both been drinking. Except I looked at his computer and found emails going back months. It had been going on a long time, and when I confronted him about it, he told me I needed to keep quiet because I was going to ruin everything for everyone if I ‘blabbed.’”
“Jesus,” I muttered.
“I tried talking to my friends. Only one of my friends, Kate, supported me telling the truth. Everyone else tried to talk me out of it. They said no relationship is perfect. Nobody is perfect. I was being selfish for thinking about dragging everyone into ‘my’ drama by telling the truth.” Lola shrugged. “So I told them I’d keep quiet and they were all happy. Then I told my parents and my dad tried to talk me into sticking with him. My mom understood and told me to follow my heart. So I did. I waited until his parents were throwing a party and I announced that he was cheating on me with my friend in front of everybody. Then I said I was going to the bathroom, and I escaped out of a window, got a few bags from my place, got Termite, and started driving.”
“Fuck, Lola,” I said. “You’ve been feeling guilty for that? Fuck those people. They deserved exactly what you gave them. Worse, even.”
“Maybe,” she said. “But if I really believed I was doing the right thing, why did I run like a coward? Why haven’t I so much as read any of the texts they’ve sent? Why have I been ghosting my best friend and even my mom for over a month now?”
“Because the people in your life tried to brainwash you into thinking you owed them something,” I said.
Max came over to sit closer, nodding enthusiastically. “Seriously. It’s like gaslighting, or something. You’re super nice, for an old lady.”
Lola shot her a look.
Max grinned, continuing. “And you know what shitty people do to super nice people? They take advantage. Good for you, dude. That’s what I say. You didn’t let them convince you to lay down and take it like a bitch. You stood up for yourself.”
“And then ran with my tail between my legs,” Lola said.
“So what? You don’t owe them an explanation. I mean, yeah, maybe you can apologize to your friend and anyone else who had your back. But I’m sure they’ll understand. We could invite this Kate lady to do something with us. I don’t know what people your age are into, though,” she tapped her chin in thought. “Maybe we could see if she wanted to play Bridge or something? Bingo?”
“I’m not even in my late twenties,” Lola said, folding her arms.
Max smiled, pointing. “There it is! That was a test, and you failed. Remember what I taught you? You’re old as soon as you get offended when people say you’re old.”
“We could meet up with your friend if you wanted,” I said. “And I’d very much like to meet all these other people you’re talking about.”
“What?” Lola asked. “Why would you want to meet them?”
“No particular reason,” I said.
“It’s because he wants to go ape on them,” Max explained. “Probably starting with this Brian dude. Uncle Stones wants to give him an innie nose.”
She wasn’t wrong. Lola had looked so fucking vulnerable and sad when she talked about what happened. She was curled up with her feet under herself and her arms folded. She’d barely been able to look at us while she told the story. I wanted to personally find every fucking asshole who had a part in putting her through that and toss them from the top of Stone Tower with my own hands. I wanted to find this Brian asshole who was too fucking stupid to realize what he had in Lola and make him regret every time he’d ever hurt her.
