Chapter 2
After Emily finished speaking, the whole room went silent.
Everyone put down their forks and stared at me like I was a monster.
Emily wasn't done.
She went on, "Think about it. How could a hotel worker afford nice clothes and expensive gifts for you guys?
"Besides, Christmas is the busiest time for hotels. Rachel should be swamped at work, not here visiting family.
"That only proves her idea of 'busy' is different from normal hotel busy.
"Families stay at hotels during Christmas, so they send girls like her home to avoid trouble."
The Lewises hadn't believed her at first, but now they seemed half convinced.
As my expression grew darker, they began whispering.
"I knew it. No nice girl would move here from the city."
"Emily saved Brandon from a huge mistake."
"Did you hear them rushing the wedding? Maybe she's already knocked up and wants Brandon to step in as the dad."
I was fuming, but I couldn't find the words. I gritted my teeth and glared at Brandon, who'd been acting oblivious.
"Are you going to let her insult me like this?" I snapped. "You know my character and what my job involves, don't you?"
Brandon glanced at me, then at Emily, and mumbled weakly, "That's enough, Emily. Don't take it too far.
"Rachel is a good girl. She just picked the wrong job.
"She said she's quitting after Christmas, so stop making a fuss."
His explanation was worse than nothing.
Anyone listening would think I was working in some sketchy line of work.
Emily gave that "I get it now" look when she heard I was quitting after Christmas.
"Of course she's quitting," she sneered. "She found a fool like you to marry her, why keep working?
"But who knows? That job pays easy money.
"She might miss it after you're married. Maybe you could join them for some special fun."
Even with my manners, I couldn't sit and take this.
But as I lunged at her, Brandon held me back.
He annoyed. "Come on, it's just a joke. Stop being so dramatic.
"Look, everyone's laughing and having a good time. Isn't that what Christmas is all about?
"As long as I know you're innocent, that's all that matters, right?"
I looked at him, suddenly feeling like I didn't know him anymore.
We met through a mutual friend. It wasn't a long courtship, but he fell for me at first sight and went all out to win me over. He treated me well, and I liked him.
I was a workaholic, so finding someone I clicked with felt rare.
I'd brought him home to meet my parents, who'd loved him.
That was why I'd agreed to spend Christmas with his family, planning to talk about marriage next year.
But I never expected Emily to suddenly pop up and throw everything into chaos.
I'd known Brandon had a childhood friend from his hometown.
They'd always chatted on the phone. Sometimes he'd even ditch our dates to talk to her for hours.
I'd thought it was a guy friend.
Now I saw it was a girl.
They hugged and held hands right in front of me. Who knew what they did behind my back?
The way they weren't even trying to be subtle might as well have been calling me an idiot to my face.
But I wasn't about to waste my breath on people like them.
I took a deep breath and said calmly, "Brandon, let's break up. Seems like you and Emily are perfect for each other."
With that, I stood up to leave.
But before I could turn around, Brandon grabbed my arm.
He looked fed up. "Are you done with the drama?
"It's Christmas, and my family is all here. You're gonna storm out over a joke?
"And Emily didn't say anything about you, did she? She only talked about what she knew.
"If you're innocent, deny it. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?
"Did she hit the nail on the head? You're really working in that kind of job?"
Emily covered her mouth, giggling.
"Can't you tell? She's panicking. She knows you see who she really is, so she's breaking up to save face.
"I noticed her checking her phone a bunch of times. She probably took photos to post online later, lying about being mistreated here.
"By then, you'll be the one whose reputation gets trashed online," she said.