All the Lies - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,6
up to you, but we can’t be so self-centered. We have guests flying in from all over the place to see us and to meet the family.”
“There is no family,” I correct him. “We are not joining our families. This whole evening will be a lie. I can’t believe that I have to explain this to you.”
“I know what you're saying,” Alex says, carefully choosing his words. “But my family is flying in. My parents, my aunt, and my uncle. I can't just tell them that the party is off. Besides, think about your sister and your mom. They put a lot of work into planning this thing and we can’t just cancel it.”
“I’m not talking about this anymore,” I say, shaking my head. “I can't believe that I'm actually having this conversation. I have to go back to work.”
I don't want to be here. I want to go home to my apartment and cry onto my pillows. I don't want to see my coworkers, my boss, or anyone else for that matter.
But if I leave now, Corrin will undoubtably notice and use it against me in the future.
“You're late,” she says.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble under my breath.
Corrin’s office is one of the first ones near the elevator and it's impossible to not walk past it.
There's nothing really to say and I already feel like I'm on the verge of breaking down, so I just keep going. My cubicle is on the other side of the hallway and as soon as I see it, I duck inside and bury my head in my folded arms on my desk.
The rest of the afternoon passes in a blur. I wait out the hours by trying to distract myself with Buzzfeed, LA Times, and social media, but nothing seems to take my mind off Alex.
I look through his Instagram, focusing on the selfies that he took with Jen at all of those after work meetings I never knew they had.
Here's them at a bar in Denver.
Here's them at a coffee shop early in the morning before a big presentation for new clients in Jackson Hole.
Was Alex just with me because he couldn't have Jen all to himself?
Was he only with me because she refused to leave her husband and break up her family?
With one hour left, I go to the bathroom and call my mom. I should've called earlier, but I was too afraid that I would start crying in the middle of a phone call.
I take a deep breath and tell myself to be strong. Focused. Determined.
5
Emma
When Mom answers the phone, I can feel the smile on her face and practically taste the excitement. All the preparations are almost done and her favorite part, the part where she gets dressed and glammed up, is about to begin.
“Mom, I have some bad news,” I start. “We need to cancel the party.”
“Absolutely not,” she says without missing a beat.
“You don't even know what happened.”
“I would like to know, but I also want you to know that I'm not canceling this party.”
This takes me by surprise.
I thought she would argue with me, but I didn't realize that she would be this categorical about it.
I take a deep breath. I didn't want to come out and tell her the cold, ugly truth, but now I feel like I don't have a choice.
“I caught Alex with another woman,” I say slowly, pausing after each word. “Today. I walked in on them.”
My phone buzzes and when I look at the screen, I see that she's trying to call me over FaceTime. I don't want to see her, but I accept the call anyway.
“Does he want to be with her?” Mom asks, looking straight into my eyes.
She's sitting in a chair in her large all white bathroom and there is a woman working on styling her hair.
“He says that he's sorry. He still wants to marry me, but of course I can't.”
“Emma—” Mom begins.
I interrupt her and say, “He has been seeing her since before he met me. He's been cheating on me the whole time we have been together.”
I wasn't going to tell her this. Not any of it.
It's embarrassing.
Plus, Mom and I don't have that close of a relationship.
But what Alex did hurt me so much to my core that she has to understand that there's no way I'm going to go through with tonight.
“Emma, I'm really sorry, but I have to tell you something.”
I shake my head no. I don’t want to hear any of it.
“Listen