Chapter 5
Once Antonio heard what the cops said, he marched up to me and clutched my hand.
“What’s the big deal? I’ve always been honest about Anna and me. You said you liked our friendship. I just went to Anna’s birthday party for this time only. I’ve skipped those before to be with you. Do you really have to get upset about this?”
His eyes welled up before he even finished his words.
He looked like he was the one who had been wrong.
He had told me about his group of five friends after we started dating, and how they had been inseparable since they were kids.
They had been tight since childhood, four guys and one girl. Even though Anna was a girl, they had always treated her like a buddy.
He said they would like me too because Anna always wanted him to have a girlfriend. She thought it would be nice to have another girl when they hung out.
I bought it back then.
I wasn’t really into socializing. Having friends who had been there for each other since childhood seemed amazing.
So I was cool with his friendships and even a little jealous of how tight. they were.
It wasn’t until Antonio actually introduced me to them. They were all super friendly and Anna tugged me right over to her.
When she noticed I wore makeup too, she said happily. “Now I’ve got someone to talk about makeup with. I won’t have to discuss lipsticks with you guys anymore.”
As soon as she said that, they all chimed in, “We always get you those as
presents!
“Antonio is always so thoughtful, picking out the coolest and most. popular lipstick for you.”
Lipstick as a gift? I glanced over at Antonio.
He didn’t bat an eye, like it was no big deal. But we had been together for three years, and he had never given me a single one.
He even claimed he didn’t know anything about lipsticks.
But for Anna, he went out of his way to find out what was the coolest and most popular.
I mentioned it to Antonio later.
He did give me the newest set.
But Anna’s note was on it: “Give this to Grace! So she won’t pout and kill the vibe at our hangouts!”
He gave it to me because Anna didn’t want it.
And when he bought the lipstick, I wasn’t even the first person on his mind.
We almost called it quits over that.
Even at our wedding, Anna was trying to outshine me.
This kept happening. She kept acting like they were just friends, but it was clearly more than that..
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Right now, he was accusing me, who just survived two emergencies and had his baby, yet he was protecting another woman behind him.
“Do you think I’m going too far?”
I sent all the messages Anna had been sending me lately, one by one, my social media right in front of him.
It quickly started a buzz.
Antonio’s phone was buzzing non–stop as he was taken away.
I saw him staring at the screen, completely defeated.
“Antonio, it’s really not worth it. Don’t be mad.”
to
Anna spun around to face me, her eyes blazing with anger. “You’ve gone
way too far,” she snapped. “You’ll pay for this.”
