My Boyfriend’s Childhood Sweetheart Set Me Up As An Escort Chapter 03
The Photos
I looked down, and my blood turned to ice.
The photos showed a woman being led out of a motel in handcuffs. Wearing next to nothing.
Squad cars in the background. Officers on either side.
The face was mine.
Sadie was practically glowing.
“My cousin said when they booked her, she was crying so hard she could barely stand. Begging them not to put it in the system.”
She turned to me. Smug.
“So, Erin. Still innocent?”
“Keep talking.”
My voice came out flat. Steady. I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction.
She’d planned this. Every piece of it. She wanted me humiliated in front of everyone.
I looked up and locked eyes with Shane.
His jaw was tight. He wouldn’t even look at me straight.
“Erin. I actually thought maybe it was a mix-up.”
“Now you’re standing there with proof, and you still want to lie?”
His parents rose from the couch. His mother’s voice was shrill.
“Get out. Get out of my house.”
“We don’t welcome people like you here.”
I didn’t flinch. I pulled out my phone. Captain Reeves.
The precinct captain who’d welcomed me to the district last month. One call and this whole thing would end.
The line rang. And rang.
And rang.
He didn’t pick up.
Sadie let out a laugh. “Stop the act, Erin. Who exactly are you calling to lie for you now?”
She reached for my phone. I pulled it back before her fingers touched it.
“Touch me,” I said, “and you’ll regret it.”
Something flickered in her eyes. She covered it fast, turning back to Shane, threading her arm through his.
“Shane, I told you. Girls who look sweet like her——They’re the dirtiest ones. Do you believe me now?”
I looked at Shane. Waited.
His face was pure ice.
“Erin, you think I was ever really into you? You were pretty.”
“You were easy to keep around. That’s it.”
“My parents kept pushing me to settle down, so I brought you tonight to shut them up. And you made me a joke.”
Something inside me went very, very still.
Three years. And I was just a prop to him.
I set my wine glass down on the table. Slowly. Deliberately.
Then I straightened my spine and looked him dead in the eye.
“You didn’t make a joke out of yourself tonight, Shane. You’ve been one the whole time. I just didn’t see it.”
His expression cracked—just for a second.
Sadie stepped forward, voice rising loud enough for the whole room.
“Look at her. Still putting on airs. A gutter rat playing dress-up, and she actually thinks she has dignity.”
She turned to the guests, arms spread wide.
“Everyone see this? This is the woman who tried to worm her way into a good family. Got caught red-handed, and still won’t admit what she is.”
Whispers spread through the room like wildfire.
I didn’t run. Didn’t cry. Didn’t beg.
I picked up my coat from the chair, pulled it on, and walked toward the door.
At the threshold, I stopped. Turned.
“Sadie.”
She looked at me, still wearing that smirk.
“Enjoy this moment. It’s the last free one you’ll get.”
I walked out into the cold night air. My hands were shaking—not from fear.
From rage.