Chapter 38 Misty #2
“Why are we even arguing?” Brielle is triumphant. “Show us your bank account. Show us your credit card statements and your bank account and prove that you didn’t pay a bunch of money to Talbot.”
I’m sweating. If I show them my bank statement, they will definitely see the outgoing wire transfers.
“She doesn’t have to show you anything,” Sienna waves a finger at Brielle.
“You’re covering for her, too, of course.” Brielle rolls her eyes. “You could always have done better in the friendship department than Misty, Sienna. Oh, I know—you keep her around because every pretty girl wants the ugly, fat friend to make her look better.”
“Just because no one actually wants to be your friend, Brielle, doesn’t mean the rest of us are narcissistic cunts.” Sienna looks like she wants to fight her.
“Girls,” Ryan begs.
Brielle ignores her father. “You hired him online, didn’t you?”
Lucy’s head darts between us.
“It doesn’t matter. We broke up.”
“Misty, you broke up? I’m sorry, kiddo,” Ryan cries. “What happened? You two seemed so into each other.”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Dad? Why are you so stupid? It was all fake!” Brielle screams.
“What?” My brothers are visibly confused. “No, it wasn’t. She was dating him. He was here. He cooked breakfast.”
“You’re just jealous,” Sienna screams at Brielle.
“She is hiding something,” Brielle screeches, pointing a sharp finger at me.
“She’s not the one hiding something.” Lucy jumps in front of me.
If I had any money, I’d buy you something nice for Christmas, Lucy, I think.
“Brielle is the one hiding something,” Lucy shouts.
“No, I’m—”
“Yeah, you are. There was a guy sneaking in the house one night.”
Austen looks like he’s going to puke.
“That wasn’t me. I wasn’t cheating.” Brielle crosses her arms.
“I have a photo. He was in Brielle’s room.” Lucy promptly opens up her phone. There’s a shaky video of a man in black rifling in her underwear drawer.
“That’s not me cheating. That’s just some creep in my room. Who let him in here? I bet he’s one of Talbot’s friends. Let me see that video,” Brielle demands. “Dad, you need to call the police.”
“Dad,” Brielle suddenly screeches, “why did you have to marry that trash? Do you see what they’re doing?
They are literally ruining my life. Misty and Rachel”—she spits out the names—“are literally ruining my life. I want you to divorce Rachel and evict her and her children right now. This is slander!”
“You’re cheating on me?” Austen looks like he’s going to be sick.
“Eat my panties,” Granny Keagan whoops at Grandma Pamela. “Your granddaughter is a cheating ho. Mine is better. Now whose granddaughter is the family failure?”
“Cheater, cheater,” Lucy yells, and the four-year-old joins in, dancing around hollering, “Cheater, cheater!”
“Rachel, control your children.” Aunt Kathy demands.
“My daughter’s not the problem. Maybe it’s the bad influence of being around the resident skank,” Granny Keagan hollers. “Misty is innocent! Free Misty!”
“Check Brielle’s phone.” Lucy grabs it.
“How do you know my PIN?” Brielle screeches. “Dad!”
Ryan winces.
“This is why I only had two kids…” His friend rocks on his heels.
“You see!” Lucy is triumphant. “She has photos of Talbot and of, like, half the hockey team on here.”
“You put those there.” Brielle chases Lucy around the foyer. “Give it back!”
“Of course Austen doesn’t believe that,” Grandma Pamela huffs.
“Austen, don’t marry her.” Lucy waves her phone at him. “If she’ll cheat with you, she’ll cheat on you.”
Austen’s eyes dart back and forth like he’s a trapped animal. He finally realizes we’re all looking at him. He straightens. Takes a deep breath.
“Brielle,” Austen states slowly, “I cannot believe you would do this to me.”
My stepsister’s face falls then screws up in fury.
“I told you,” Mason mutters. “I told you she was flirting with guys on the team.”
Ryan shoots him a scathing look.
“Shut up, Austen! Like you aren’t cheating on me.” Brielle reaches into her bag and pulls out a ziplock baggie with—
“Those are my underwear.” I clap a hand over my mouth.
“I found these in my room. And I know they aren’t mine because they are the size of a tent. I wasn’t going to say anything because I’m trying to be a good captain’s wife, unlike Rachel. Did you even paternity test her children, Dad?”
“That’s enough, Brielle,” Ryan thunders.
Brielle immediately snaps into daddy’s-little-girl mode. Her lower lip trembles.
“Misty’s trying to steal my fiancé, Daddy. You need to do something.”
“She’s not trying to steal me. Because I’ve been hers this whole time.” Austen glares down at Brielle as I watch in confusion. “I never should have let you lead me astray. I never should have believed you. I can’t believe I gave up the best thing in my life for you.”
His voice cracks.
“Misty, my love.” He kneels down in front of me to gasps from my family.
“I am so sorry for everything I did to hurt you. I knew from the moment I saw you when we were kids that you were the girl for me. I was stupid and missed what was right in front of me this entire time. Can you please forgive me, Misty? I never want us to be apart again.”
“Once a cheater, always a cheater. Don’t take him back!” Sienna hollers.
Austen clasps my hands in his. “Misty, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to make you my wife and the mother of my children. I promise to take care of you forever and ever.”
“Oh my gosh, how romantic.” My mom sighs.
Austen reaches into his pocket and pulls out a ring.
My family gasps. “We’re having a wedding!”
I’m dumbfounded. “Austen... this isn’t—”
“Say yes, Misty,” Mom begs me. “Please say yes.”
“I know I hurt you, but I’m going to make it up to you.
I’m going to be better. I’m going to treat you like you deserve.
I wanted to make sure I was marrying the right girl.
” Austen seems so sincere. “It was you. You are the right girl. You were always the right girl. Please say yes, Misty. Please say you’ll be my wife. ”
We’re going through this again.
I think about Talbot, how easy it felt to just be with him, how happy and effortless it was to love him.
Yeah, because it was all fake.
At least this way, I get some sort of merry Christmas. Austen may not give me Hallmark-romance-movie love, but he loves me in his own way. The big grand gestures, the epic fantasy of love, just aren’t meant for me. I need to be practical, take what I can get.
Not to mention, I’m never going to see that money again. I can’t keep living here for the next thirty years while I try to get my life together.
Maybe he does actually love me.
“No!” Sienna can see me cave. “Misty, seriously?”
I nod. “Okay.” It barely comes out as a whisper. “I’ll marry you, Austen.”
“How dare you steal my man from me?” Brielle screeches.
“The man you stole from her?” Lucy scoffs.
“Why are we fighting over this piece of human scum?” Sienna sighs.
Austen slips the ring on my finger. “Let’s go get married.”