Chapter 2
Matthew probably never expected Lily to secretly post something on Instagram just to piss me off.
And Lily definitely didn't see it coming when I screenshotted that post and sent it straight to the girlfriends of the other three guys.
After he hung up, I fired off a text: [Why did you just hang up on me? Why aren't you grilling me anymore?]
He probably hesitated, but the message never came.
With no other options, I just posted the screenshot and all the chat logs where Leo and the others were giving me a hard time on Instagram.
I captioned it: [Even if no one's here with me, I'm still celebrating my birthday.]
It was already midnight, so my birthday was technically over, but my Instagram blew up thanks to that post.
My friends started liking and commenting on my post like crazy.
[No way, Matthew ditched you on your birthday to hang out with someone else? Charlotte, you really got yourself a total scumbag.]
[Charlotte, don't let it get to you. If he won't celebrate your birthday, we will.]
[Matthew always looks so put-together, but damn, he's really playing the field, huh? It's like he's got a whole deck of drama going on.]
[Oh my god. Does she really have the guts to wear that? Posting something like that on Instagram, she's basically putting herself out there.]
Ten minutes after I posted, Leo's girlfriend jumped into the drama and started roasting him, too.
She posted the same screenshot and publicly dropped the bomb; they were officially done.
Instagram was already blowing up, but after Leo's ex went public, things got even crazier. Her post racked up over a hundred likes in just five minutes.
But even after all that, Matthew still didn't say a word to me.
I was not the kind of mute heroine who never spoke up in those romance novels. So, in the dead of night, I sent that screenshot straight to Matthew's parents.
That finally dragged Matthew out of his shell, just like the coward he was, and honestly, I couldn't help but smirk at how fast he scrambled.
Early the next morning, I got a call from Evelyn Brooks, Matthew's mom.
Evelyn said, "Charlotte, can you come over? Wade and I both saw that photo, and I really think there must be some misunderstanding. Come over so we can clear things up.
"You two have been together for so many years, and you're about to get married. Why make such a scene?"
I replied, "Evelyn, you saw the photo yourself. There's really no misunderstanding.
"You've seen how I've treated Matthew all these years. I know I've never done anything to hurt him. I love him, but that doesn't give him a free pass to treat me however he wants."
Out of respect for her as Matthew's mom, I couldn't just blow her off. "I'll get ready and head over in a bit."
After hanging up, I just threw on some light makeup, grabbed my keys, and drove out.
When I pulled up to Brooks Villa, Matthew's parents were already waiting at the door, and Matthew was standing behind them, head down, looking like a wilted eggplant, completely deflated.
I got out of my car and was just closing the door when, suddenly, from the side, a black sports car shot toward me.
"Charlotte, watch out," Matthew yelled.
Just as the car was about to hit me, Matthew suddenly dove forward and shoved me out of the way.
Bang.
I hit the ground hard, and I saw Matthew get launched into the air.