Chapter 7 - THE BREAKUP EXPLOSION
An hour after Julian left our house, the explosion hit.
I was sitting on the couch with Daniel, feeding Lily her night bottle, when my phone screen lit up with an incoming FaceTime call from my mother. I decided to answer it.
The moment the connection connected, the screen filled with absolute chaos.
My mother was standing in Vanessa’s apartment living room. In the background, Vanessa was in complete hysterics, throwing sofa cushions against the wall, weeping uncontrollably in her pajamas.
"YOU DESTROYED HER LIFE!" Evelyn shrieked into the camera, her face warped with unimaginable rage. "YOU DEVIL! JULIAN JUST LEFT HER! HE CANCELED THE ENTIRE WEDDING!"
"Julian made his own decision, Mom," I said calmly, maintaining a cold, unbothered composure.
"HE CANCELED IT BECAUSE OF YOU!" Evelyn screamed, her voice cracking. "He came over here, handed Vanessa a box with her ring inside, and said he couldn't marry someone with no moral compass! He showed us the video! YOU SLANDERED HER TO HIM!"
"I didn't show him any video, Mom," I replied smoothly. "Her own bridesmaid, Jessica, gave him the video because she was disgusted by Vanessa’s behavior."
"JESSICA IS A TRAITOR!" Vanessa screamed from the background, rushing toward the phone screen, her face swollen and blotched red from intense crying. "You ruined everything, Chloe! Julian was my ticket to a good life! His family has millions! We had a house lined up in the country club district! You took that away from me because you couldn't handle paying four thousand dollars!"
I handed Lily carefully to Daniel and leaned closer to the phone camera.
"Vanessa," I said, my voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper that made both of them pause. "You didn't lose Julian because of four thousand dollars. You lost Julian because you are a selfish, narcissistic thief who thinks the world owes you everything."
"I AM YOUR SISTER!" Vanessa wailed. "FAMILY SUPPOSED TO COVER FOR EACH OTHER!"
"Family doesn't steal from a mother in labor," I spat back. "Family doesn't put alcohol in an infant's crib. Family doesn't walk into a trashed house after a two-day party and demand that the victim smile and pay the bill."
"I paid you back!" Vanessa shrieked. "Julian took six thousand dollars from our joint account and gave it to you!"
"Julian gave me his money to clean up your crime," I corrected her instantly. "And he reimbursed my deposit because he has honor—something neither you nor Mom have ever possessed."
Evelyn grabbed the phone back, her eyes narrow and venomous. "You listen to me, Chloe. You have severed this family completely. You are no longer my daughter. Do you hear me? I am wiping you from my will. You will never set foot in my home again! I will tell every relative, every friend, every neighbor in this city what an evil, cold-blooded creature you are!"
"Mom," I smiled softly, a genuine, joyful smile. "You don't have a will worth mentioning. The only thing you own is a mortgaged condo that I've been helping you pay the HOA fees on for three years."
Evelyn’s mouth dropped open in shock. She had forgotten that I was the one secretly covering her monthly maintenance costs so she wouldn't lose her place.
"And as for cutting me off?" I continued smoothly. "You're too late. I cut both of you off the second I found glitter in my newborn baby's crib. Do not call me again. If either of you shows up at my house, I will have the police enforce the legal trespass warnings from my criminal report."
I hung up the phone.
The silence in our living room was deafening and infinitely beautiful.
Daniel looked at me, a proud, loving grin spreading across his face. "Are you okay, honey?"
May you like
I looked at him, then down at our beautiful daughter sleeping peacefully in his arms.
"I have never been better in my entire life," I said.
