My Boyfriend and His Girl Best Friend Wanted Me to Lose It, But They Broke First

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On Valentine's Day my long-distance boyfriend flew home, and my best friend dragged the two of us to a hotel to play a game called "see who cracks first."

Adrian James picked up his glass and announced his plans without a flicker of shame. "The room's already booked. I'm spending the night in bed with your best friend, right up to midnight."

He slid an arm around Geraldine Fox's shoulders and kissed the corner of her mouth. "And that wasn't for the game, either. I kissed her the second I got off the plane."

Geraldine smiled at me, not a trace of guilt on her face. "Years ago, when your civil service application got reported and you didn't get in, I comforted you for three whole days. That rumor? I started it."

She leaned into his chest. "Bernice Mason, you've got a good family, a good man. You can't hog every good thing in the world, can you?"

Adrian patted my shoulder, his tone easy.

"Don't worry. She's just for fun. When it comes to marriage, I'll still marry you."

Geraldine chimed in. "Rules are rules. Whoever cracks first pays for the room tonight."

I looked at the two of them and let out a short laugh.

"Who said I lost?"

I pulled my phone from my pocket and woke the screen.

The next second, Geraldine and Adrian both gasped out loud.

……

Adrian's brows knit together as he stared at the screen.

"Bernice, I know you're sulking because I neglected you while I was abroad. But you don't have to grab some random guy just to make me jealous."

I found it a little funny. In the three years Adrian was overseas, my messages to him always went unanswered because of the time difference, or so he claimed.

He hadn't even opened the breakup text I sent him. Not once.

Geraldine stepped up and tugged at his arm, smiling.

"Adrian, you dated her for seven years. You still don't know her? This is just the little game a girl plays. She photoshopped a marriage certificate on purpose so you'd get jealous and take notice. You spoil her too much."

Adrian let out a breath and looked at me, his expression serious.

"Bernice, I can put up with you liking to mess around, but how can you make a joke out of marriage?"

I looked at the two of them, almost amused, and said it slowly, word by word.

"I've got no reason to joke about something like this. Believe it or not."

Adrian's eyes went cold in an instant.

"Which random man is it? Divorce him tomorrow and I'll still register the marriage with you. But don't count on a wedding, and the bride price? You'll only get half."

Geraldine snatched my phone and flipped through the photo of the certificate.

"There isn't even an ID photo on it. Why won't you show us a picture of you and the groom together? Just waving an empty shell of a certificate around. Who are you trying to scare?"

"And you're the precious only daughter of the Mason family. When you get married the wedding would have to be lavish. So why hasn't there been a single word about it? You didn't even invite me."

My chest tightened. My husband and I had a secret marriage, with only both sets of parents there as witnesses.

And I didn't want them to know my husband existed anyway. It would only cause trouble.

Adrian immediately scrolled back through six months of everyone's feeds. Not one of our mutual friends had posted anything about my marriage.

He came over to me and stroked my head the way he used to when we were together.

"All right, Bernie, stop it. I was joking earlier too. The wedding's still on, the bride price will all be there. I just wanted you to get used to it in advance. My work's going to involve that kind of thing from now on. It's unavoidable."

I slapped Adrian's hand away in disgust. He took it as another one of my moods and went on.

"I just want you to learn how to be a proper Mrs. James. And don't be too hard on Geraldine."

Geraldine came over too and took my arm, trying to smooth things over.

"Bernice, Adrian landed a lot of big deals overseas. That's just how the entertaining works over there. He's moving his career back home now. If you won't support him, at least don't make things harder for him!"

Their words turned my stomach.

How could anyone dress up cheating during "entertaining" as something so noble, so unavoidable?

I flung Geraldine's hand off. She let herself fall to the floor, covered her face, and sobbed.

"Bernice, I know you just hate me. But I never once thought about taking your place as Mrs. James."

Seeing that, Adrian stepped in and shoved me hard, ignoring the blood that welled from my forehead when I hit the corner of the table.

He lifted Geraldine into his arms, his back to me.

"Bernice, she risked her own reputation to help you become a bigger person, a proper Mrs. James, and you can't even tolerate your own best friend. You've disappointed me."

The clock on the wall pointed to ten. Adrian strode off with Geraldine in his arms.

"I don't have time for your games. The room's booked. Sit here and think hard about what you've done."

I pressed a hand to the blood on my forehead. Then my phone lit up with a video call. It was my husband.