We had been high school sweethearts, hopelessly in love and young, and it was only natural for me to say yes when he got on his knees in the presence of friends and family during the last Thanksgiving dinner and asked me to marry him. We had gotten an apartment together and pooled our funds for our wedding.
Hell!
I had given up so much for this man and this relationship. I didn't deserve this.
"Oh yes, Liam. I love it when you stroke me deep."
Madison. My best friend since I was twelve. My instincts were right after all. I had never really trusted her around Liam. I had caught her on several occasions checking him out with lust-filled eyes, but I had chalked it down to my being paranoid.
Tears ran down my face as my heart clenched in pain. It felt like a dagger was being thrust into it over and over again.
"Fuck Madison. You've always known how to take me. Even better than Zoe." Liam groaned as he rammed into Madison, who was braced against the wall, heels still on as his hands gripped her ass.
This asshole! "Even better than Zoe?!"
I had extended myself for this bastard, trying anything and everything he wanted us to try as long as it wasn't borderline insane.
Fuck I had even let him tie me up while he flogged me and came all over my face.
They didn't notice me by the doorway as I clutched the takeout I had bought from his favorite Thai restaurant just to surprise him. Instead, he turned her and pushed her onto the bed, straddling her as he fucked her from behind.
"Liammm. Oh, Liam, I'm about to cum!" The bitch screamed as he spanked her, whispering dirty words to her.
"You want to cum, baby? Cum all over Daddy's dick," Liam groaned, his hand going around her neck, choking her.
Something inside me cracked as I slumped against the wall, unable to hold myself up any longer.
"Wow," I laughed bitterly."You disgusting bastards!"
They froze instantly. Liam's head whipped around to stare at me while Madison scrambled to wrap the sheets across her body.
"Z-Zoe..." he stammered as he blinked at me in shock. "I thought you were flying in tomorrow," Liam blurted, like that was a reasonable excuse to be fucking another woman. And my best friend at that.
Well, I had gotten a job offer from one of the most prestigious tech companies here in New York, and I was supposed to go in for the interview in two days. I hadn't told Liam because I wanted to surprise him. But surprise, surprise, I am the one being surprised.
"That's the first thing you have to say? After I walk in on this?" My voice breaks. I was on the verge of hysterics.
He shook his head as he got off the bed, hurriedly stepping into his boxers. "This is not what you think, honey. Please let me explain."
"Not what I think? What else could this possibly be, Liam!?" I screamed, a sharp pain piercing through my heart.
I walked into the room, fists clenched tight. My whole body vibrated, teeth chattering, heart pounding so loud it drowned out everything else. "You're cheating on me with my best friend, in the house that we bought to live together?" I sobbed uncontrollably as my heartbeat slowed down to an erratic beat.
I was standing here, thinking of the sacrifices I had made for this relationship. I had given up the tech offer from Boston, and this man dared to tell me it wasn't what I thought. What was I to think?
My legs shook, threatening to give out under me as I walked further into the room. "I gave up career offers, just so we could start a family together, and this is what I get in return?" I sobbed. He stared at me. Like he had lost the ability to speak.
"And you!" I screamed as I rounded on Madison, a wave of hatred sweeping through me. "All this while I complained to you about there being a bit of friction between Liam and me, you were screwing him!?"
"Wow. How gullible and stupid must I have looked to you both, huh?" Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably as I felt pain like I've never felt before.
"Oh please," Madison scoffed, her face transforming from surprise to spite before my very eyes. "Don't act like you don't know that Liam has only ever been with you because of your father's connections."
"Not the time, Madison." Liam snapped at her. I looked between them as a sinking feeling stirred in my stomach. My bowels could feel the weight of the words that had just hit me.
"What the fuck is she on about, Liam?"
Madison rolled her eyes. "Liam only proposed because he needed you to put in a good word for him to secure a grant from your father." And just like that, her words hit me like I had been tossed into an ice bath, sending shivers of dread down my spine. I couldn't believe what Madison was saying, but all of a sudden, it made sense.
For the last six months, Liam had grown obsessed with my dad's approval. Constantly pressing me to show him his 'business proposal', always asking if I'd mentioned it during dinner. If I'd talked about "how much potential" it had."
But how do I tell him that I thought his idea was terrible? That the budget didn't make sense and that his projections were delusional at best? That asking my father for that kind of money for a half-baked dream was like handing a toddler the keys to a Porsche.
Suddenly, the ring on my finger felt like a shackle.
Too heavy. Constricting. Tight.
Liam stepped forward, reaching for me, panic all over his face. "Baby, she's twisting things. That's not what this is." He rushed out frantically."I love you, Zoe. Don't let her poison you against me."
I blinked at him, stunned by the audacity. "You love me!? With your dick up my best friend's cunt?!" My fists clenched as my whole body vibrated with rage. "And now it's my fault for being poisoned?"
He flinched, as though realizing how stupid he must have sounded. "You're blowing this out of proportion," he added sharply, running a hand through his messy hair. "It was just a mistake..We were drunk and-"
"Drunk?" I cut in, laughing maniacally, tears still streaming down my face. "So that's your excuse for choking her while she screamed Daddy in the bed we picked out together?"
I looked between the two of them-him with his wild eyes and half-naked body, her curled under the sheets like a snake that got caught mid-slither, and suddenly I didn't feel like crying anymore. I felt done.
"I feel so disgusted that I might throw up all over you right now, Liam."
His eyes widened as he stared at me in trepidation.
I wrenched off the engagement ring from my finger. I had worn it with so much love and pride for the last nine months and tossed it at his feet.
"You should call your family and inform them that Madison will be taking my place next week. I am done!" I spat.
And with that, I turned and walked out the door, dropping the box of takeout and stepping over it as it spilled across the floor. Not sparing a glance back, even when Liam's panicked voice echoed after me.
"Zoe-Zoe, wait!"