Chapter 12
Julie POV
The moment I entered the house, the first thing I saw was Avery. She had teary eyes and a phone in her hand. From the way she looked, I could tell she had found out about her father.
I looked at her, wondering what I could say to her. I hadn’t really planned for her to find out about her father just yet.
“You had Dad arrested.” she said
“IL” I stuttered
Mom, his videos are everywhere.” She said.
-You
adid this, didn’t you?” she screamed,
“Avery, listen, I can explain-
“No” she shouted. “You don’t get to explain! How could you, Mom? How could you do that to him?”
“Avery, your father hurt me. He lied, cheated, and did things you can’t even imagine-
“Stop blaming him!” she yelled, tears streaming down her face. “You always make it about you! Have you ever thought about how I feel! About what this would do to me?”
“He deserves everything he’s facing now, and the reason I endured his bullshit was because of you. All these years, I thought about you. For once, please, Avery, try to understand me.
“Really, Mom?” she asked. “Understand you? What about me?”
I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves. “Avery, you don’t understand. You’re too young to
“Don’t you dare say I don’t understand. You’ve been so busy working and hating Dad that you’ve ignored everything else. You don’t even know me, Mom! Dad does. He’s the one who’s been there for me, not you!
“Avery-”
“You weren’t there when I needed someone,” she interrupted. “You missed my recitals, my school plays, even my bad days. But Dad? He showed up. Every. Single Time.
I was barely controlling my anger. “Don’t act like your father is some saint, Avery! You don’t know the full story.”
“I know enough!” she screamed. “I know he loves me, which is more than I can say
about you.
“Can you please stop? Avery, don’t test me right now. No matter how angry you are, you don’t have any right to talk to me like that.”
“Talk to you like what?” she shot back. “The truth hurts, doesn’t it? You’re a terrible person, and I wonder how you live with yourself. Maybe that’s why Dad cheated on you”
My hand moved before I could stop it. I hit her hard across the face.
“Enough!” I screamed. “I understand that you’re angry, but that doesn’t give you the right to say that. I am
She stepped back, her hand on her cheek. “I hate you, Mom! I hate your she screamed.
She turned and stormed upstairs. A few minutes later, she came downstairs with a backpack on her shoulder.
“And where do you think you are going to?” I asked.
“To Grandma’s,” she said. “At least she actually cares about me.”
l your mother!”
“You know what? Do whatever you want. I honestly do not have the strength for your drama,” I said as I sat on the couch.
As soon as Avery left, slamming the door behind her, I relaxed in the chair. She’ll get herself together, I thought.
A knock at the door standed me. I didn’t need to check who it was: I heard Maria’s vo
1/2
Chapter 12
“Julie? It’s me. Are you in there?” she asked as she opened the door.
A
“Can we talk about what you saw on my phone? I can explain,” she asked as she put the pastries down.
“You want to talk now?” I said. “Funny, Maria. You didn’t seem too interested in talking when you knew Alex was cheating on me.”
*Please let me explain..]”
“Don’t you dare.” I interrupted, “I thought we were best friends, Maria. I’ve known you all my life, and yet you hid my husband’s affair from me.
“At first, when I found out, I tried telling you, but I honestly didn’t know how to and I didn’t want to hurt you. You painted him as the best husband, and telling you would shatter you.”
“Hurt me?” I shouted, stepping closer to her. “You let me live a lie! You let me share my life with a man who was betraying me every single day! And you call that protecting me?”
“I didn’t know how to tell you!” she said. “It wasn’t my place to, and I didn’t want to destroy your family.”
I laughed at her flimsy excuse. “Sort itself out? You mean you didn’t want to risk losing your cozy little friendship with me? Or were you just enjoying the drama from the sidelines?”
“Julie, it’s not like that!” she pleaded, tears pooling in her eyes. “I made a mistake, okay? I’m sorry!”
“Sorry?” I spat the word out like it was poison. “Sorry doesn’t fix this, Maria. Sorry doesn’t give me back the years I wasted on that man. Sorry doesn’t erase the humiliation or the abuse.”
Maria reached out to touch my arm, but I jerked away. “Julie, please. I never wanted to hurt you. I swear.”
“Don’t touch me,” I screamed. “You know what? Get out.”
“I’ll make it up to you,” she pleaded. “I know you might not believe me, but it was hard pretending that I didn’t know what happened. It was hard for me, too.
“You are unbelievable,” I said. “If you really want to make it up to me, then leave. Get out of my house, and don’t come back.” Julie, please don’t do this, for the sake of our friendship-
“Friends?” I cut her off. “Friends don’t act like this. They don’t betray each other like you did. Now, myself.”
Maria hesitated for a moment. She stared at me, then turned to leave.
w.ret our L
before I throw you out
As the door closed, I leaned on the chair, waiting for the investigators to send me their findings. I just hoped it really wasn’t what I was thinking. She wasn’t no she couldn’t be… Then I heard the beep of my phone; the investigator had sent it.
Olivia Harris is an emerging author celebrated for her captivating romantic and steamy DaisyNovel. With a talent for crafting deep emotional connections and fiery chemistry between her characters, Olivia’s stories offer readers an escape into worlds filled with passion, intrigue, and heart-stopping drama.