Dear Ex, You’re Not Invited To My Happily Ever After

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Now that your health is stable, will you go through with the marriage that your father arranged for you all those years ago?

Yes, I answered calmly and without hesitation. Tell him to draw up the paperwork. And make sure its tasteful. I dont want elaborate fairy lights or red roses. Im not here for petty romance. Im here to win.

My mother didnt act surprised at my tone. She agreed and made some suggestions. At the end, I gave her a rundown of exactly what I wanted, and we hung up.

Upstairs, the celebration pulsed on. The laughter was as loud as the music, and there was continuous popping of champagne. It was Sophias birthday. We were supposed to be celebrating the entire weekend on my boyfriend, Ethans yacht. It was a truly glamorous event filled with glitter, plastic smiles and perfectly curated Instagram posts.

Instead, I watched as she kissed him on the upper deck like it was the most natural thing in the world. She had cake frosting and rainbow sprinkles on her cheek, and he had both hands placed firmly on her butt. His brother, Jonathan, who used to call me his little princess Evanny, tossed her a towel with a smirk like he didnt just watch my whole world implode.

Sophia. My best friend since childhood. My shadow. My sister in everything but blood. She used to swear shed never cross certain lines. That she would touch what was mine. But now, she was licking cake frosting off Ethans abs like it was foreplay.

And Ethan? The man who swore I was his future. His reason to live. He didnt flinch when I walked by. He didnt even look at me.

I suddenly felt sea sick. I didnt scream. I didnt cry or cause a scene. I went below deck, sat on the velvet lounge in the suite, and called my mother for the second time that day.

Because if I was going to burn it all down, Id need fire. The type that came from influence and power. And power didnt come from being the girl crying in a white bikini.

Minutes later, I heard the click of heels descending the staircase. Then a soft knock on the door.

Evanny? That voice it sounded like sugared silk.

I said nothing. But in true Sophia fashion, she came in anyway.

Sophia carried a small deep red cake, a single candle glowing on top of it. Her makeup was perfect. Her smile was sweeter than sin. She had whipped cream on her cheeks, but I knew it was deliberate. Everything about Sophia was deliberate.

Come back up, she cooed. Everyones asking about you.

I stayed seated, not bothering to stand up for her.

Im busy. Go back to your party.

A calculated look flashed across her face. She tilted her head, voice dipping. Youve been avoiding me. Is it because you dont like me anymore?

I turned slightly. You really want to play this game again?

Her lower lip trembled calculated as always. She looked like she was about to cry on command, like she always did to get Ethan to do whatever she wanted.

You think Im trying to hurt you.

I finally stood. I dont think, Sophia. I know. Why dont you save the theatrics for your little fan club out there.

She stepped back. Just barely. And then as I got to the door, she staggered too perfect, too practiced and the cake slipped.

It hit her like a weapon, deep red velvet and cream smearing across her white dress.

She let out a gasp. And then a choked sob.

Footsteps thundered on the stairs immediately. Ethan and Jonathan appeared like clockwork.

Sophia?!

Are you okay?!

They ran to her, shoving past me like I was the air between ghosts.

She she shoved me, Sophia whispered with wide eyes, clutching the ruined cake like a stab wound. I just wanted to bring her something sweet. And she pushed me.

I stared at her. Are you serious?

You did what? Jonathans voice sharpened, accusing me. Evanny, what the hell is wrong with you?

I didnt touch her, I said sharply. She dropped it herself. Check your cameras. Or dont youll believe whatever makes her the victim anyways.

Ethan didnt look at me. He wiped frosting from Sophias shoulder like it was blood.

Does it hurt? he asked gently.

She nodded, milking it. A little. Its okay. I shouldnt have come down. She hates me now.

You were her best friend, Jonathan snapped at me. And youre treating her like garbage because youre jealous?

Jealous.

I almost laughed. You two should be in a soap opera, I said. All this drama and zero plot.

Ethan turned at that, jaw clenched. Youre going to apologize.

I blinked. Excuse me?

Apologize to Sophia. Now.

No. I will do no such thing.

He stepped closer. Then you can forget the engagement, Evanny. Im not proposing to you if this is who you really are.

Silence settled all over us.

Jonathan muttered behind him, Why would you even marry someone like her? Shes a snake.

I didnt even blink. I just met his eyes and said, And youre still single at thirty-four. Funny how that works.

His cheeks reddened in embarrassment. Ethan looked furious. Sophia was glowing in satisfaction.

I turned to walk away. Toward the railing. Toward anywhere but here. Thats when Ethans hand clamped around my waist.

Before I knew what was happening, he shoved me. Over the edge.

The freezing water swallowed me before I could even blink. It dragged at my limbs, filled my lungs, and froze my scream.

I couldnt swim. They knew that.

Evanny?! Sophias voice rang out behind me, high and panicked. But it wasnt real. None of it ever was.

Let her be, Ethan said. Like I was nothing. Maybe shell cool off and finally learn some respect.

I sank. The darkness was absolute.

Then I felt strong arms around me, pulling me up.

I heard a strangers voice in my ear. Youre okay. Ive got you.

I gasped and coughed, gagging on salt and air.

But I was alive. Someone had just pulled me from the edge.

The yacht docked just after dawn.

No one said a word. Not Ethan. Not Jonathan. Not even Sophia, whose sobs last night had almost sounded real. Almost.

I stepped off the deck in silence, every inch of me drenched in salt and humiliation, the sea still clinging to my skin like shame.

But that wasnt what drowned me.

Ethan had pushed me. Shoved me. Into black water. And he hadnt flinched.

Thats what you get, hed said later. For acting like an entitled little bitch.

There was no apology. No hand offered. Just ice in his voice and zero guilt in his eyes.

And the man who pulled me out the one who saved me? He was gone. He didnt leave a name or anything. It was almost like I had imagined him.

I made it back to the apartment soaked and shaking. I still didnt cry. Instead, I packed.

My drawers opened rapidly and I quickly filled my suitcase with clothes, passports, and the family crest my grandmother left me. Everything I owned that wasnt touched by them.

I was folding my last coat when my phone buzzed.

It was Sophia, texting me without shame. [Hey Evanny, check out my new post!]

I already knew what it was. Still, I opened it.

There she was, draped in my pastel green silk robe the one Id gotten in Italy. Ethan was shirtless beside her, with his face pressed to her neck. Jonathan was lounging on the other side, hand wrapped around her waist like she was royalty.

The caption read: [Had the best night ever with my fav boys! Thanks for all the cake and wine! Oh and Evanny, Ethan so sweetly gifted me your brand new car, said it suited me more. But of course, you can always borrow it if you ask nicely!]

I laughed as I saw the post of my car next. It was a single, sharp breath of disbelief. Then I tapped the like icon on the post and watched the heart turn red. And tossed the phone onto the bed.

Tomorrow, Id be gone. And I wasnt taking ghosts with me.

---

I handed in my resignation at work that afternoon. I handed it in with a bright smile and walked away like I wasnt cleaning out my life from the inside out.

Back at the apartment, I pulled out the old leather box that had been hidden under the bed for months. It contained all the remnants of my old life. A life that was filled with lies and fake promises.

It held Ethans watch, the one that was engraved with words that only the both of us knew. It was still frozen at 3:14 a.m the night he first said he loved me. Jonathans little pocket book, where we used to sit for hours and write song lyrics, and the first birthday card that Sophia ever gave me.

The jacket Ethan gave me on our first trip to Mexico. It still smelled faintly like him his manly cologne and the smell of the beach.

Jonathans dented helmet was there, covered in scribbles from our road trip that never happened. And a tiny music box. The song we all swore would be ours. Now silent forever.

I struck a match. The leather caught fast. I watched it curl, darken, and quickly disappear.

In went the love letters. The gifts. The pretty lies. The past went up in smoke.

Ethan burst in first. His eyes were wide and his face was pale. Evanny! what the fuck are you doing?!

Taking out the trash, I said, never looking up.

These arent just things! He moved closer like he wanted to take them out of the burning flames, panic breaking through his voice. This is us! All of us!

Jonathan followed behind him, grabbing for the jacket, and yanking his hand back when fire singed his fingers.

Youve lost your mind, Ethan spat. You just destroyed everything we had.

I met his eyes, calm and final. You gave my car to Sophia. She can have the memories too.

Ethans voice cracked. Youre really doing this? After everything you did at her party last night?

I smiled. This is me finally done with all of you.

They stood there, helpless, watching the smoke twist toward the ceiling.

It was funny. They wouldve burned cities for Sophias fake tears.

But when I was drowning? Not one of them tried to save me.

Now they were shedding tears for ash.

Ethan and Jonathan didnt leave quietly.

They lingered like smoke, like guilt that doesnt know when its no longer welcome.

After watching their shared past burn in front of them, they showed up at my door like two ghosts in pressed shirts, trying to claw back something theyd already buried.

Come on, Evanny, Ethan said, rubbing the back of his neck like a boy caught with blood on his hands. Lets have dinner. Just us. Lets talk things out.

Well go to your favorite spot, Jonathan added. His voice was softer than I remembered. Just one meal. Let us make it right.

I didnt answer. I just nodded.

But I already knew in my heart: this wasnt one of our regular dinner.

It was going to be our last.

We drove in Ethans sleek black car. The silence between us stretched on forever until it felt like a third passengerthick, breathing and waiting.

Then Jonathans phone buzzed.

His eyes flicked down, and he paled. Its Sophia. He answered too fast. Whats wrong?

Her voice came through in a high pitched tone, spilling out loud enough for me to hear. The power went out. Someone broke in I think theyre still here. Im scared, Jonathan. Please come!

Ethans jaw tensed. His hand tightened on the wheel. Then he looked at me.

Get out, he said.

What?

We have to go back for Sophia. Well come back to get you. Just stay here.

Like I was a pet. Something to be left behind.

You cant come with us, Jonathan added, already unlocking my door.

Rain pelted the windshield like fists. I didnt even have time to protest before they shoved the door open and pushed me out.

The door slammed shut and the car sped off.

I watched the red taillights fading like their loyalty. I stood alone on the curb in the rain, my dress clinging to my skin with my mascara bleeding like ink.

And then I smiled. Not from joy. But from clarity.

This was the funeral feast. And they didnt even know theyd just buried themselves.

---

Three blocks in, I kicked off my heels.

The shiny leather was too slick in the rain, and my blisters had split open. I carried them like carcasses, barefoot and breathless.

No taxis stopped for me. Drivers slowed, stared, then sped up.

Like theyd seen a ghost they didnt want to believe in.

I turned down a side alley it was a shortcut, I thought.

A way back to the main road. I figured I could get a taxi or even a bus faster that way. But instead, it was an ambush.

A man stepped out of the shadows in the middle of the alley. He wore a black jacket with his hood up. And glistening in his hand, was a knife.

I didnt hear what he asked for. It was raining too hard for me to hear anything. But it was probably my phone, or wallet, or even my shoes. I dont know. I fought anyway. Bit and clawed and screamed as he came at me until my throat bled.

Thats when he stabbed me.

I felt the knife once. Then twice. And then a third time when I tried to crawl away.

The pain was wild. Then it was so cold. So cold that it made my limbs useless.

I collapsed, cheek pressed to the wet concrete like it might offer some kind of comfort.

And then I saw headlights.

A door slammed, followed by footsteps, and then I heard my name. Evanny!

I knew that voice.

He lifted me with his strong arms, breathing fast.

I was bleeding so much. My blood turned his white shirt a deep shade of red. I wanted to tell him to tell my aunt that I wouldnt be able to visit her after all, but nothing came out.

He looked down at me and I saw his face.

Youre not dying tonight, he said. Not on my watch. Not like this.

It was him. It was the man who had saved me from drowning just last night. How was he here right now? Was he an angel that had come to take my soul? I thought I had hallucinated him last night.

Who- who are you? I whispered, barely audible.

He smiled faintly, almost in an apologetic manner. Im Ronan.

And then just like last night, he vanished again. Not like a ghost or anything like that. He was just gone.

I woke up in a pristine white room.

The hospital lights gone above me. There were so many tubes sticking out of me and I was plugged into machines that beeped like clocks counting borrowed time.

I stayed in the hospital for a week. I didnt get calls or any visitors. I told the nurses not to tell my mother. I didnt want her to panic.

I needed silence. I let myself feel itthe death of hope. The final breath of believing someone might come.

And then, on the day I was discharged, it happened.

Screaming echoed down the corridor. Nurses rushed by rolling a stretcher in.

It was Sophia on the bed.

Her wrists were bloodied and dripping blood on the white floors. Mascara streaked down her face like a broken doll. She cried like Id never heard before, and Ethan held her other hand, whispering something to her. Jonathan carried her purse behind them.

Then they saw me.

Standing at the edge of the hallway in my paper gown, hospital band tight around my wrist.

They looked shocked.

Ethan stared like hed seen a ghost. Jonathan like hed watched one come back from the dead.

Evanny? Ethan whispered in shock.

You were here the whole time? Jonathan asked.

I looked down at the IV tape still clinging to my skin. I hadnt even changed clothes.

I was here for a week, I said softly. I almost died. You didnt even notice I was gone.

Their mouths opened but nothing came out.

And behind them, Sophia wailed louder demanding their attention like oxygen. Of course, they turned.

I didnt.

I walked past them, barefoot and feeling my heart bleed inside of me.

The apartment was still dark when I arrived. The lights were off and there was no warmth. Just stale air and the faint scent of something rotting in the sink. I didnt bother flipping the switch to check if the power was back. I dropped my bag by the door and kicked it shut behind me. Each step echoed too loudly in the silence.

I didnt even change. The hospital gown was thin beneath my hoodie, but I didnt care. I collapsed onto the couch face-first, arms dangling over the side like I was boneless. The fabric scratched against my bandages, but exhaustion won.

Sleep came, but it didnt soothe me. Dreams clawed through me like they knew something I didnt.

When I woke, it was to a sound I hadnt expected.

Clattering in the kitchen.

I sat up, blinking through groggy haze, muscles stiff and aching. Barefoot, I moved down the hall, my breath shallow. For a second I thought maybe Id left something runningor worse, someone had broken in.

But when I turned the corner, they were there.

Ethan was at the stove, flipping steak like this was any other Tuesday night. Jonathan was beside him, slicing vegetables with surgical precision. The table was set: napkins folded, glasses rimmed with condensation. Like they were expecting someone.

They looked up when they saw me. No panic or guilt in their faces. Just casual surprise.

Ethan spoke first. We thought you were at your aunts.

Jonathan glanced down at the knife in his hand. We didnt know you were in the hospital.

Not sorry. Not we were worried. Just we didnt know.

I didnt answer. I sat at the table and didnt touch the food.

Ethan frowned, clicking off the burner. You need to eat. You just got out of the hospital.

I looked straight at him, voice flat. You didnt check on me. Not once.

Silence followed. Deep, tight silence. Like a noose pulling taut.

Then the doorbell rang.

Ethan and Jonathan both turned. Ethan moved first.

And there she was.

Sophia, in a white blouse with bandaged wrists peeking from beneath the sleeves. She looked pale and fragile.

The second they saw her, everything shifted.

Ethan rushed to her, lifting her gently like she might break. He carried her to the couch and laid her down like she was sacred.

You shouldnt be out, he murmured, brushing hair from her face. What if something happened?

I panicked, she whispered, voice trembling. I couldnt sleep. What if I didnt wake up? I didnt want to be alone tonight.

And that was it. That was all it took.

Youre not a burden, Ethan soothed. You shouldve called sooner.

Jonathan stood behind them, nodding in agreement.

Well check on Evanny, he added, and then well stay with you.

I sat perfectly still. Watching them.

Then I picked up my fork.

The steak was dry, chewy, bleeding pink in the center. My least favorite type of steak. They didnt even remember.

I chewed anyway.

Across the room, they were adjusting her pillows, pouring water for her like she was royalty. Sophia caught my gaze. Her eyes didnt apologize. They said exactly what she meant:

You lost.

And then my phone buzzed.

It was a message from Mom: she had sent rows of wedding dresses. Made with lace, satin and beads that shimmered even in bad lighting and very elaborate veils. I scrolled through all of them absentmindedly , untilI paused on the third. It was off the shoulder, and cinched at the waist with pearls. The rest of the dressed flowed down in a very beautiful Disney princess kind of way. It was very simple and regal.

I called her before I could think twice.

Did you get the dresses? my mom asked in a bright voice. I think the third ones the winner. But if your fianc prefers

I love the third one, mom, I cut in. My voice was steady, even a little cheerful. Its perfect. Im really excited.

She hesitated maybe she heard something different in me. Im glad, sweetheart. I knew itd grow on you.

Itll be beautiful, I said. I cant wait for the wedding.

I felt the energy change across the room. A flicker. A shift.someone even cleared their throat, but I didnt look up.

How much longer will you be there? she asked.

Just one more week. Ill quickly finish what I need to.

Good. Everythings almost ready here too.

I hung up and set the phone on the table.

And then I looked up.

Ethan was staring at me. Jonathan, too. Sophia was still, fork paused halfway to her lips. Her expression remained soft, but something behind her eyes had turned razor-sharp.

Ethan moved first.

He crossed the room to me like a storm. Wedding? he asked, low and sharp.

Jonathan was right behind him. What wedding?