Claire Dane stood outside an old, but trendy restaurant, gazing through its glass window, her lips tightly pressed together. Her heart was filled with rage.
She had endured a week of only four hours of sleep each night, pushed herself at work to the point of being hospitalized. Then, rushed straight from the hospital to the airport, enduring an 18 hour flight, just to rush home to Andrew Jones. In the end, she was met with the sight of her boyfriend handing her cousin Ritah Dane, a bouquet of 99 roses, and a dozen gifts.
In return, Ritah was rewarding Andrew with a serving of her lips and tongue as if she wanted to drown him in spit!
Claire’s right hand gripped the strap of her bag tightly. It was obvious the two were having an affair. But, how long had it been going on? Why hadn’t she noticed? Obviously, if they were kissing in public, with all their friends cheering from the sidelines, the affair was not a secret. So, why wasn’t she in on this very public secret?
Her feet drew her closer to the window, catching a glimpse of her own reflection. She was 5’7, but in heels she appeared to be taller. She was pretty--prettier than Ritah, but the shadows beneath her eyes could not be found in her cousin. Her long black hair lacked the shimmer it used to have, while Ritah’s was radiant.
Was this it? The reason why her boyfriend had fallen for someone else? She gritted her jaw and walked into the restaurant just as champagne was popped. Andrew’s closest male friend, Andy Bridger set off the cannon sized popper with glitter and confetti.
A good amount fell on Claire’s head and clothes. Cheerful noise and applause rose through the restaurant. Out from the kitchen, servers wheeled out a trolley with a two-tier cake that had two cake toppers: bride and groom!!
Before Claire could make sense of the moment, Andrew fell to his knees, a velvet ring box in his hands. Inside it was a 15 carat high quality diamond ring. Gasps and squeals rippled through the group.
Hardly had Andrew asked the question when Ritah grabbed the ring and put it on her finger, screaming yes over and over.
Claire shoved someone out of the way, marching forward until she was right in front of the couple. Slowly, by slowly, the excitement started to die down. Whispers replaced the celebration, spreading like wildfire.
Andy poked Andrew on the back, forcing the man to finally take notice of Claire.
Andrew froze, lipstick stained shiny lips partially open. Ritah blinked, caught between triumph and terror.
"I won’t bother asking for an explanation because everything here explains itself." Claire said. "You are dating me, but proposing to my cousin. I could think of a lot of words to describe you, and none of them are nice."
Andrew stammered, "Claire, I--this isn’t--"
Ritah stepped in front of Andrew. She pushed her chin out, showing that look of arrogance which she had honed in the last two years. "Cousin, you don’t belong here. It is obvious that Andrew has chosen me. You should forget about him from now on. Don’t come around, seducing my man anymore."
The crowd leaned forward, hungry for the drama. Someone was even recording the showdown with her phone.
Claire’s hand twitched. Perhaps it was the arrogance of her cousin that angered her, or the sight of her pearl necklace around Ritah’s neck that set her off. She raised her hand, and slapped Ritah.
The crowd gasped. Someone dropped a spoon.
"Seduce your man!" Claire laughed softly. "I grew up with Andrew. We have been dating since we were both eighteen, and we have been together for nine years. The two of you hardly exchanged a sentence before and now he wants to marry you! Tell me, cousin, who seduced whose man?"
Ritah’s face, that was already pale, turned paler. Andrew was hugging her protectively, glaring at Claire like a venomous snake.
"Claire, are you crazy? How dare you slap Ritah?" Andrew barked.
Claire laughed. "How dare I slap her? I ought to snap her neck and yours as well! Do you know what day it is today, Andrew?" She looked at the crowd of mutual friends, in attendance. "Did any of you think to remind him that today is my birthday?"
Someone winced, loudly. Most just looked guilty or embarrassed. But some simply shrugged, as it was not their place to remind Andrew of his girlfriend’s birthday. Especially not when he was cheating on that girlfriend.
She turned her eyes back to Andrew. "It is not just my birthday, but also our anniversary. Ten years together!" She laughed harshly, anger and pain mixed together. "This is the restaurant where we had our first date. I reserved the entire place today, a month ago. That vanilla, red velvet cake, I ordered for it! The canon popper, the decorations, the instrumentalists....I paid for all of it."
"So what?" Andrew barked. "It’s just a little money. Name the price and I will refund you, right now."
Claire kicked the trolley with the cake, sending it crashing to the floor. She would have slapped Andrew right there, but she had a feeling he would be prepared for it. Her gaze burned with a desire to set the two betrayers on fire.
She pointed at them and said in a deep, harsh voice that promised payback. "I will make you both pay for this. I will make sure everyone knows exactly what a pair of low lives you are." She sneered at Ritah. "Congratulations, you both deserve each other. Trash and trash united."
Claire turned to leave and she stopped. She turned around and stomped towards Ritah, eyes focused on the single pink pearl necklace around her cousin’s neck. Five years ago, she had nearly drowned in the sea. When she was saved, she had the pink pearl clutched in her hand. Since then, she wore it daily, calling it her lucky charm.
A month ago, Andrew had asked to borrow it, and never returned it. To think that he had given it to Ritah! Without hesitation, Claire ripped it from Ritah’s neck. The pearl fell down and rolled on the ground.
The crowd gasped, torn between shock and thrill.
Ritah burst into tears, calling Andrew’s name in a coquettish voice.
"What the hell?" Andrew shouted. "Claire, what are you doing?"
Claire picked up the pearl and tossed the chain at Andrew. It hit him across the nose, leaving a small cut on the skin. The chain was not hers, either Andrew or Ritah had changed it. She looked at Ritah and said coldly, "You can only steal what I am willing to give up. And if I give it up, its because it’s trash. I will consider these ten years as trash. And not even the kind worth sorting--just straight landfill."
She turned and walked out of the restaurant. The sound of her heels struck the floor like gunshots as she walked away.
Claire kept her head up, until she was safely inside her car. She opened her bag and took out a piece of paper that she had meant to surprise Andrew with: an ultrasound printout.
She was six weeks pregnant, and the father of her baby was marrying her cousin!