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“That sounds like a pretty plausible lie.”
“Well there’s more…..someone in the crowd yelled out ‘Is he ok?’ and without thinking Brian blurted out ‘Just a touch of food poisoning’ off the top of his head.”
“Oh no! Food Poisoning?! Oh my God! Don’t tell me everybody thought the Armani food made was responsible?!”
“You got it! All those rich folks immediately started looking all queasy and green like they were seasick! They started holding their stomachs and rushing toward the door just as Edward was coming in.”
“I figured he’d return to the party. He didn’t even care about what happened to me…..”
“That’s exactly what I thought too, so as soon as I saw his despicable face I got so fuckin’ mad I hauled off and I socked him right in the jaw.”
“Oh my God Michael! Did you knock him out?”
“No. Not at all. I didn’t even make a dent in his rich pretty face. It barely phased him actually.”
“But the big brute attacked you anyway didn’t he?”
“No. He wouldn’t hit me. He just said, “Michael please listen. You gotta…..”
“You gotta…..what? What did he say?”
“I don’t know! Some other big guy punched my lights out! I guess he had some kind of bodyguard at the party. I was out for several minutes. When I woke up I heard someone asking Edward if he wanted to press charges against me but he said no. He told them to get me some medical attention instead, but I declined that shit and came straight home.”
“That is crazy! I just can’t believe the whole horrible evening. And to think….it started out so wonderful…”
The memory of the sheer joy I had experienced at the start of the evening started my tears flowing again. Michael sat up and hugged me tightly against his body as if doing so would help him absorb some of my pain.
“Do you feel like talking about it now Julia? Or would you rather just get some sleep and talk about it in the morning?”
“I’m really super tired. I think I’d like to just go to bed now. But I will say this: It’s all over between Edward and me. I really thought he had changed. But boy was I wrong. Completely wrong! I was such a fool Michael. Is it okay if I move back in with you?”
“Of course. How can you even ask that? You’re always welcome to live here. But Julia you gotta stop beating yourself up. If it makes you feel any better, he had me fooled too. I had really honestly started liking the guy too. But….I guess you just never know about a person.”
“That’s for sure. Good-night Michael. I love you.”
“Sleep well Julia. I love you too.”
The next morning, I awoke to find a gazillion texts and voice mails on my phone. People were wondering if I’d read the paper or seen the news. I was afraid to find out what they were talking about. I went out to the kitchen to make breakfast and found Michael at the table reading a newspaper.
“Where did you get that? Since when do we get the paper?”
“Since this morning. I nabbed Mrs. Conroy’s. She doesn’t get up until at least noon so she won’t miss it. I had so many friends texting me and asking me about your story that I had to check it out as soon as possible.”
“Well did you find it? What does it say?”
“Didn’t have to look hard. It’s the front page story… And if I were you Julia I would save myself the stress and not even read it.”
“Of course I have to read it! Lemme see it! What’s it say?”
“Well first of all it’s highly exaggerated…..they’re calling a little fight a brawl!”
“The fight is in the newspaper?! Oh my God!”
I quickly snatched the paper from Michael’s hands and ran into the living room with it. It was worse than I thought. WAY worse. The headline read:
Billionaire Ball Becomes Billionaire Brawl
My knees instantly became shaky and weak and I had to sit down. The article got worse with every sentence:
