My silence was taken as guilt, as if their accusations had hit their mark.
The restaurant owner shoved his bill in my face. “You bitch! You eat at my place, then you smash my plates and bowls! How can you be so disgusting?”
“The bill is $888.88, and the damage to the tableware and lost business comes to $200. You owe me $1,088. 88 in total!”
The mall manager, with a salesclerk in tow, stepped forward, frowning. “You took a popular handbag from a luxury boutique. That bag alone is worth ten thousand, thirty with the required extra purchases. Add in the damage to mall property, and you owe us forty thousand dollars. Pay up!”
The parents of the hit–and–run victim were the most emotional, pointing a finger at my nose and screaming
Curse
“The police station is right across the street! If you don’t give us an explanation, I’ll have the police arrest you and see you get the death penalty!”
I took a deep breath. “I really didn’t do any of these things. The person who did is named Stella. I know her.
She’s my ex–fiancé’s childhood friend. If you don’t believe me, I can have her come here for a confrontation,
Also, I’ve been at the police station for the past three days. I…”
Before I could finish, Mark and his darling Stella rushed over, interrupting
The moment he saw me, Mark raised his hand and slapped me hard across the face.
“Melody, I’m breaking off our engagement!”
“I knew you were getting out today, and Stella was kind enough to come with me to pick you up. But you dare to slander her like this?”
4/7
15:19
Chapter 1
15.39
“You make mistakes and refuse to admit them. I don’t have a fiancée like you. You’re not worthy of our fami- ly!”
Stella looked at me, her eyes red.
“Melody,” she choked out, “I know you’ve never liked me because I’m Mark’s childhood friend.”
“At home, you’d break a plate and say I did it. You’d pinch the neighbor’s kid and say I hit them. To keep the peace between you and Mark, I always just took the blame!”
“But you can’t… you can’t accuse me of something like this! This is a matter of life and death!”
With that, she pushed Mark away, taking several steps back to create distance between them.
“Mark, if being your friend means I have to endure these false accusations and slander, then maybe we sho- uldn’t be friends anymore!”
