Chapter 2

My breath hitched in my throat.

"Jake cheated! I found a purple nightgown on his bed-"

My mom quickly cut me off before I could finish.

"Maybe that nightgown is yours, and you just forgot. You've always been so forgetful, buying clothes and never wearing them."

"Alright, Maya, let's not talk about this anymore. Jake is so good to you, he couldn't possibly cheat. Stop making a fuss."

Across from me, Jake and his parents looked at me with increasingly mocking eyes.

I desperately tried to explain, "But you know I hate purple! That nightgown absolutely cannot be mine-"

"Enough!" My mom, usually so gentle and who had never said a harsh word to me, suddenly erupted.

"Have I not been clear enough?” Her eyes were sharp, brittle with disappointment. “ Stop talking about that nightgown!"

I fell silent, the words dying in my throat.A sickening cocktail of panic, helplessness, and betrayal churned inside me.

I could only watch as my dad forced a fawning smile, speaking in a somewhat servile tone to Jake and his parents.

"Please, forgive Maya's nonsense. Young couples… they fight. It's their business. We shouldn't meddle."

Robert and Judy scoffed imperiously. "'Their business'? Our son was gracious enough to marry her. And this is her repayment? Threatening to take him for everything? The only problem here is your daughter's shameless greed."

My dad repeatedly apologized. "We're really sorry about that. Maya, apologize to your in-laws and Jake right now."

I snapped my head up, staring at them in disbelief.

"You want me to apologize? Why should I apologize?!"

Jake was clearly the one who cheated. It was bad enough that Robert and Judy were biased towards Jake, but why were my incredibly loving parents not standing up for me? Why were they forcing me to apologize to Jake's family?

They were the ones in the wrong!

I was furious and heartbroken, my rage almost burning away my reason.

On the other end of the phone, my mom's face suddenly darkened.

"Maya, be sensible. We are doing this for your own good. You're just being paranoid and misunderstanding Jake. Apologize now."

I felt as if someone had choked me, my heart sinking straight to the bottom.

I struggled to utter a few words. "I didn't do anything wrong."

Both my mom and dad looked deeply disappointed, as if I had done something utterly outrageous.

"We'll come by this weekend to apologize properly. Maya is still young and impulsive. We ask for your understanding."

The video call ended, but I couldn't snap out of it for a long time.

Jake and his parents seemed to want nothing to do with me, slamming doors as they left.

Judy even gave me a warning as she walked out. "Throw that nightgown away! If it's still there when I get back, this divorce is happening, even if your parents beg us on their knees!"

My chest felt tight with indignation and anger, so I called my best friend, Chloe.

When she heard I was upset, she took time off work without a second thought to be with me.

After I told her everything, Chloe was fuming.

"Why aren't your parents letting you divorce him? That scum, Jake, should absolutely be stripped of everything! Maya, I support you. You *have* to divorce him!"

"By the way, how did you find out Jake was cheating?"

I frowned, about to mention the purple nightgown, when my in-laws' and parents' strange reactions suddenly flashed through my mind.

The words died in my throat.

"Come on, tell me! Are you going to keep secrets from me too?"

Meeting Chloe's expectant gaze, I drew a shaky breath and began.

"Because I found a purple nightgown on my bed."

Instantly, all the color drained from Chloe's face.