When She Asked for Half My Husband, I Left

Chapter 2

"Babe, my phone was on silent during the meeting just now. I'm swamped today. We'll talk about anything you need when I get home tonight."

What was Stephen so busy with? Busy fooling around with Emma, huh?

Fine, if he loved playing so much, I'd make sure he never had to be "busy" ever again.

I dug up the phone number of his business partner and shot off a text.

Emma was humming a bouncy little tune when she got home. She was just slipping off her shoes in the entryway when the lights flicked on with a sharp click.

"Angelica? What are you doing here? You scared the crap out of me." She laughed.

"All by yourself?" I gave a deliberate look over her shoulder. "How come your knight in shining armor didn't walk you to the door?"

"Oh, he wanted to. Swore up and down he was scared I'd trip and fall on the way. Like I'm that clumsy, right? I told him not to come over anyway. Distance makes the heart grow fonder, y'know." Emma grinned and reached out to loop her arm through mine. "You brought me dinner, right? Where is it? I'm this close to having a low blood sugar episode. I was gonna pick up something to eat on the way, but I figured you'd have food ready, so I skipped it. I've been waiting just for your food."

I shoved her arm away. That was when she finally noticed something was off. The smile slid right off her face, and her expression went rigid.

"Your secret boyfriend 'S' is Stephen, isn't he?" I finally said.

Not long after she moved in, she'd started seeing someone. I'd spotted a huge bouquet of roses in her apartment, signed only with the initial S. That was when she admitted she had a new boyfriend.

I'd tried to get her to bring him out to eat with us a couple times, but she always turned me down, saying he was swamped with work. So I started calling him Mystery Man S. I never got to meet him, and I was worried she was getting played.

But she rambled to me about so many sweet little moments between them that I slowly got used to the idea of this mysterious boyfriend. I just never would've guessed he was actually Stephen.

"You didn't even dare sign your full name on the flowers. Skulking around like that must feel real nice, huh?" I sneered, snapping my gaze to Stephen, who'd just showed up in the doorway.

He must've figured something was wrong when he saw the roses in the trash, and raced over to play the hero for his girl.

He stepped in front of Emma, shielding her behind him. "Since you already know, we won't keep it from you anymore. This is all my fault. Don't blame her."

Watching him huff and puff like a mother hen guarding her brood, I thought it was so absurd I barked out a laugh.

Stephen went on high alert instantly. "Calm down, Angelica. You look absolutely pathetic right now."

"Oh, and you think sneaking around behind my back makes you look good?" I bit back.

"Hey, don't be like that." Emma patted Stephen's arm lightly. "Angelica would never hurt me."

"No." I shook my head.

I'd never hurt a best friend who treats me with genuine care. The girl standing in front of me right now? She doesn't deserve that kindness.

The silver bracelet on her wrist glinted under the light. I had the exact same one on my own wrist. I'd given hers to her, promising we'd be besties for life.

I snatched the bracelet off her wrist, grabbed my own, and yanked both as hard as I could until they snapped with a sharp twang. All the tiny charms clattered and clinked across the floor.

I'd picked out every single one of those pieces myself, put the whole thing together by hand. Hearts, bows, tiny flower charms. Every single charm was a tangible symbol of our friendship.

Emma's eyes welled up with tears, and she dropped to her knees to scramble for the scattered pieces. She fumbled, and a sharp edge of a charm sliced right into her finger.

"Don't bother picking those up," I scoffed. "Cheap garbage like that was never good enough for you anyway."

Stephen frowned, pulled her up, and guided her over to the couch. He daubed her cut with an iodine swab, then carefully pressed a band-aid over the wound. The little Pikachu printed on the band-aid grinned back at me, as cheerful as ever. I'd picked those out myself. But the sight curdled my mood completely.

A sharp twist of resentment coiled in my chest, and a memory flashed to mind. I remembered cutting my hand while chopping vegetables just last week. I'd asked Stephen to grab a band-aid for me.

He'd been glued to his video game then, snapping at me impatiently that he had no clue where they were kept. Yet he'd tracked down the first-aid supplies in Emma's place in two seconds flat.

Once he'd fussed over her and made sure she was okay, Stephen turned on me, voice sharp with blame.

"Angelica, why do you have to be so petty? You always have to stir up drama and make everyone look bad." He told me. "That gold bracelet I was gonna give you? I'm giving it to Emma instead, as an apology for what happened just now."