Rebirth: Dear Ex You Will Regret Everything

Lila's POV .

"I love you Jessica."

Those were the words that I heard him say to my sister. He was my best friend, and I loved him. He thought he felt the same and that, one day, he would finally have the guts to tell me, but then, like everyone else in my life, he chose her.

I sat in my bedroom, staring at the wedding dress hanging on the door. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, but instead, I felt heavy in my heart. I couldn't shake the memory of Joshua saying he loved my sister, Jasmine.

"Why did he choose her?" I whispered to myself, feeling tears come to my eyes. I had always loved him, but he had turned his back on me.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed. It was a text from Joshua. "Hey, Lila! Are you excited for tonight?"

Excited? I felt the opposite. "Sure..." I typed back, trying to sound happy.

As I walked to the kitchen, I heard laughter coming from the living room. I peeked through the door and froze. Joshua and Jessica were on the couch, laughing together.

My heart sank. I should have known she would be there. "Lila, come join us!" Jessica called, her voice sweet but fake.

I forced a smile as I walked in. "What are you two up to?"

"Oh, just talking about the wedding," Joshua said, his smile so bright that my heart ached.

I sat down, trying to push away the pain, but it was hard. "It'll be a great day, won't it?" I said, trying to pretend to share in the same excitement.

Later that night, the wedding party was in full swing. I watched as Joshua and Jessica danced together, completely lost in each other.

"Lila, are you okay?" my friend Mia asked, coming up to me.

"I'm fine," I said quickly, but I could feel the tears welling up. "Just tired."

She nodded, but I could see the concern in her eyes. "You can talk to me if you need to."

"Thanks. "I just need to be happy for them," I replied, forcing a smile.

But inside, it felt like my heart was breaking. I turned away, trying to find a quiet place. I went outside to get some air.

I pulled out my phone and texted Joshua. "Can we talk?"

A few moments later, he went outside, looking confused. "What's up, Lila?"

"We need to talk about...everything," I said. "About you and Jessica."

"What about us?" he asked, looking defensive.

"You're marrying her! ""You don't care about how I feel," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

He looked away, clearly uncomfortable. "I do care, but I love Jessica. You know that."

"I thought we were friends," I whispered, feeling tears spill down my cheeks. "You were supposed to be there for me."

Joshua sighed. "I'm sorry, Lila. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I feel like I've lost everything," I admitted, wiping my eyes.

Before he could reply, I turned to go back inside. Suddenly, I stopped. "I can't do this," I said, my voice firm. "I can't watch you marry her."

That night, as I lay in bed, I felt sick. I wanted to scream and cry, but nothing came out. I closed my eyes, trying to picture being happy again.

But just when I thought I might find peace, I heard voices coming from the other room. I got up quietly and crept to the hallway to listen.

"... "You should just go for it, Joshua," I heard a voice say. "She won't even know."

"Yeah, but it'll cause problems," Joshua replied.

"Who cares? "She's not the one I love! "You know that!" the person laughed.

My heart sank. I stepped back, feeling crushed. They were planning things behind my back, and I didn't even know.

The next day was the wedding. I sat in the congregation there in my dress, feeling like I was in a dream, one I wanted to wake up from.

When it was time for the vows, I felt sick to my stomach. I looked at Joshua, standing there with a smile so wide. He looked happy, but it was not with me.

The priest asked, "Do you, Joshua, take Jessica to be your wife?" It felt like everything around me was spinning.

Then he turned to the crowd. "If anyone has any objections, let them speak now or forever hold their peace?"

I felt my heart race. "No!" I shouted before I could think. "I will not!"

The crowd gasped, and all eyes turned to me, shocked. I felt a rush of pain. "I'm not letting this happen!"

"What do you mean?" Joshua asked, looking confused and upset.

"I–I love you so much. You can't do this!"

Everyone stared at me as if I was crazy, but I didn't care! I couldn't watch the man I loved get with someone else."

"Please don't cause a scene," Joshua whispered as he stared at me. Jasmine had tears in her eyes, but I didn't care.

"Please stop this Lila."

I ignored her words and Joshua glared at me until I ran out of the church, feeling angry and betrayed.

***

Everyone at the reception stared at me weirdly, but I ignored all of their faces and stared right past them at Joshua, who was looking at everyone but me.

Why? Why did he and Jessica have to hurt me so much? I put my head down and left the reception in the huge hall of the house until I got to the entrance of Josh's room in the house. Which was soon to be him and Jessica's.

"Jessica." I chuckled as even her name sounded bitter in my mouth. I walked past the door and, out of impulse, I sat on the bed and rested my head on the cool pillow that Joshua always used. He likes to stay on the left side of the bed.

I was on the verge of dozing when someone walked into the room and crashed into the other side of the bed. I assumed it was one of the drunk guests and was about to quietly get up and leave when I saw that it was Joshua himself, but he seemed...drunk?

I wasn't going to have an altercation with him. I had already brought myself quite low at the church wedding, and I was beginning to regret it after promising to support them. I stood up from the bed and felt a very strong grip on my hand and was taken aback to see that Joshua was smiling at me in a rather lewd way!

"P–please let me go."

"Oh, trying to play innocent now, are we? I know you want me, Lila. Admit it."

He came even closer and grabbed my other hand. What the fuck was he doing?! I struggled and pushed against him, but his grip seemed so tight, and he looked so terrified, I almost buckled on my knees. In a swift movement, he dragged me into bed.

"Stop acting like you don't want it."

"No–please stop! Get off of me!"

I screamed but he muffled my words.

Tears rolled down my face as I pushed and struggled.