Chapter 36
Chapter 4
The day after I moved back to my parents’ house, Maya Rodriguez called me up, saying it had been way too long and we should all get together.
Looking at her text, I could see that tomorrow’s dinner would include all our mutual friends-mine and Kai’s.
I knew she was coming to play peacemaker, so I decided to bring Luna along.
At six PM, Luna and I arrived at the private club downtown.
The private dining room already had several people: Maya, Sophie, Blake with his wife. All friends we’d known for years, and they all knew Raven too.
“Phoenix, we heard you and Kai are having some issues?” Maya asked with concern.
“It’s all about Raven, right? Do you really need to make such a big deal out of this p>
Sophie chimed in: “We’ve all grown up together with Raven, so maybe they’re just a little close. Don’t read too much into it-Kai sees her like a
sister p>
“Exactly,” Blake nodded. “We know Kai better than anyone. He’s absolutely not the type to betray his marriage. Phoenix, I think you might be overthinking this p>
I smiled lightly: “You’re right, it’s really no big deal. Thanks for taking time out of your schedules to come-let’s eat first and chat over dinner p>
Seeing my relaxed and pleasant expression, everyone seemed relieved.
They started settling in and ordering food.
While we were waiting for the dishes, I suddenly asked Blake: “That bag I saw you buying at Louis Vuitton last time-how come I don’t see your wife carrying it today p>
Blake froze: “What bag? When did I go to Louis Vuitton p>
Next to him, his wife Emma’s face changed, and she glared at him: “Blake, when did you go to LV? Who were you buying for p>
“I really didn’t…” Blake was sweating bullets, “Phoenix, did you maybe see someone else p>
That’s when Luna jumped in perfectly: “Maya, you mentioned going to see a new movie with Blake last time-how was it p>
Maya’s eyes went wide: “When did I ever say that? Blake and I have never been to a movie together p>
Emma completely lost it: “Blake! You went to the movies with Maya? What’s going on between you two p>
“Nothing! Nothing at all!” Blake and Maya denied in unison, “We really don’t have anything going on! We’re just friends p>
“Friends go to movies alone together? Friends buy bags behind their wives’ backs?” Emma’s voice was getting shriller by the second.
The room erupted into chaos-Blake desperately explaining, Emma firing off questions, Maya frantically trying to clear the air.
Luna and I exchanged glances, and I said leisurely: “Sorry everyone, I misspoke just now. Blake really never went to LV, and Maya never went to movies with Blake. I made all that up p>
Everyone instantly fell silent, staring at me in shock.
Chapter 4
“I just wanted you all to experience how it feels when your spouse goes behind your back to flirt with someone else p>
I picked up my juice and took a sip, “The anger Emma just showed when questioning Blake-that’s exactly how I feel right now p>
“But there’s one difference,” Luna pulled out her phone, “What I said was fake, but everything between my brother and Raven is completely
real p>
The phone screen showed chat logs: [Missing you so much, wish Phoenix wasn’t home p>
And photos of movie tickets-Titanic indeed, from last Thursday.
After reading everything, Emma was furious: “This is what he calls sibling affection? Kai Hawthorne is having a blatant affair p>
“This is outrageous!” Sophie was getting angry too, “We were actually defending him earlier-we must have been blind p>
Maya was even more indignant: “Men like this are the worst! They want all the benefits of marriage while playing games on the side p>
Blake frowned: “This really is too much, Phoenix. You absolutely can’t put up with this! If you let this slide once, what happens next time p>
Watching my friends completely flip from trying to reconcile us to condemning him, I actually felt pretty good.
“So I gave Kai an ultimatum-either cut off all contact with Raven Bellamy, or we get divorced p>
Everyone spoke in unison: “Go for the divorce p>
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Mark Twain