Chapter 2

2

The second the words left my mouth, Yvonne's eyes welled up with tears.

"Lyra, Jasper asked me to help him. I was just trying to be a good friend and take care of him for you. How can you be so mean? Boo-hoo..."

I had to hand it to her. That performance was Oscar-worthy.

Jasper's face darkened instantly. He looked at his little sweetheart with pure heartbreak.

Then, he turned his fury on me.

"Yvonne just explained it to you! We've been like this since we were toddlers. We weren't even hiding it from you, so why are you acting like a jealous psycho? I'm honestly embarrassed to be marrying such a shrew."

"A shrew?" I was so angry I was shaking.

"You think you're some kind of prize, Jasper? You're embarrassed? You're flirting with another woman in our house before the wedding cake is even cut. Do you think I'm desperate? Let me tell you something, I don't tolerate trash in my life!"

Hearing this, Yvonne suddenly dropped the damsel-in-distress act. Her gaze turned sharp and defiant.

"Lyra, even if you're engaged to him, you have no right to treat him like this. To me, Jasper is the most wonderful, greatest man in the whole world."

Wow, she was really leaning into the saintly role. Fine by me. They deserved each other.

I rolled my eyes so hard it hurt.

"If you think your dear Jasper is so great, then do me a favor. Take him back to whatever backwater town you came from and stay out of my sight. You're making me nauseous."

The truth was, Jasper was a total social climber.

He'd crawled his way up from a small town, and I'd initially liked his drive. I thought he wasn't like those other guys who just wanted a meal ticket.

But the ink wasn't even dry on our engagement, and he was already showing his true colors.

Jasper looked at me as if I'd just committed a federal crime.

"Lyra White, I am so disappointed in you. I thought you were different, but you're just like every other basic girl in this city. You're nothing but a superficial gold digger."

"Just you wait. Without me, let's see if any decent man in this city will even look at you!"

He grabbed Yvonne's hand to lead her out.

They were both half-naked and stumbling. As they reached the door, Jasper actually slipped on a wet patch and nearly took them both down.

I wanted to burst out laughing.

They were the ones looking pathetic and humiliated, not me.

I was just glad I was cutting my losses early.

While they scrambled to put some clothes on, Yvonne shot me a smug, triumphant look.

She looked like she'd just won the lottery.

"Wait," I said.

Before I could finish, Jasper whipped around, looking hopeful.

"I knew you'd regret it. Fine. Apologize to Yvonne, give her 500 dollars for her travel expenses, and I'll consider forgiving you."

I stared at him in utter disbelief. I had never seen such a delusional, shameless person in my entire life.

He was dreaming. I pointed to their suitcases by the door.

"Go back to the hole you crawled out of. And take your trashy luggage with you."

"500 dollars? Did you hit your head on the shower floor? You just called me a gold digger, and now you're asking me for cash? You're literally describing yourself, Jasper."

Jasper's eyes turned red with rage.

But he managed to keep his ego intact. He grabbed the suitcases and marched out with Yvonne trailing behind him.

Before he slammed the door, he threw one last insult my way.

"You're just used goods now, Lyra. Mark my words, you'll be crawling back to me soon enough!"