Page 22 of Destroying My Ex

It’s almost as if fate meant for us to be together, not only in love but joined forces against the same enemy. I realize, though, when it’s all said and done, that I’m not a nice person. I might’ve been once, but that died a long time ago.

I’ve lived with vengeance for so long that it has become a part of me without me realizing it. Lily is the only softness left in my life. And yet, no one around me knows. My parents haven’t noticed. They have no idea of the tiger they’ve been raising right under their noses. A tiger that’s about to strike and strike hard.

I sometimes scare myself with how coldly calculating I’d become and have had to warn myself a time or two not to cross the line into outright evil.

My only hope is that Lily doesn’t think I went too far when the curtain goes down on the final act.

* * *

LILY

* * *

Sun Tzu was right; it pays to know your enemy. I knew that once Janice saw that ring on my finger it’ll blind her to reason. After the ring thing, I made sure to call Dad every day for the next couple of days, always around dinner time and spent more time talking to him at the office than I have in the last five years combined.

He didn’t seem to notice anything wrong, and I’m sure he thought that the past was forgotten now that I was getting married. How he could think that when I still refuse to introduce him to my fiancé is anyone’s guess.

I have him eating out of my hand and longing for the scraps from my table just as I’d done as a young child who’d been abandoned by her father. I guess he’s forgotten his part in all that as time went by.

In his mind, he’d like to blame Janice for all of it, but I have a very long memory, and the only reason I’ve taken it easy on him all these years is because he’s my grandparents’ son.

Every once in a while, Grayson would ask me if I was sure I wanted to be a part of what he was doing or if I was sure I didn’t mind that he was going after my father and it’s all I could do to hide my ferocious glee at the thought of him being taken down.

Honestly, I think he’s being too easy on them, but he’s a kind soul. Me, not so much. You see, the difference between Grayson and I is that he found out what my father and Lacey were really like when he was a teen.

I had a whole lifetime to learn that lesson, so I have way more grievances against those two, and they were never able to pull the wool over my eyes the way they did with him for so many years. He’s still a bit disillusioned, I think, and who can blame him after what his own parents had put him through?

Anyway, I knew that once the seeds were planted, Janice wouldn’t be able to help herself. It’s true that my grandparents were gone for the weekend, but what I didn’t tell Dad is that I’d convinced them to add new security cameras around the property.

For the longest time, Grandpa had resisted because their property was so well protected by high walls and a gate that they didn’t need what he calls new fandangle nonsense. He, for some reason, believed that people could spy on him through the cameras, but I’d worn him down and then warned him not to tell anyone that he was having them installed for safety reasons.

I think he suspected that I was up to something, and that’s why he gave in, but I’m not too sure. Mom keeps asking why I’m being sneaky, and I tell her that I’m not, but I certainly am.

Poor Grayson, he can’t wait for the wedding day to get here, and I’m busy enjoying the leadup. In fact, I have somewhere I need to be in about half an hour. Today was Lacey’s day with her girls.

She usually meets them at this little bistro in town that’s all the rage and has a waiting list a mile long. She always reserves the best table so she can be on full display. I reserved that table after she did and had her moved elsewhere, so when she shows up, that will be her first surprise.

You see, she uses my grandparents’ name to open doors, and since we don’t air our dirty laundry, not many people know the truth. Although we share the same last name since her mother insisted Dad change it after they got married since he wasn’t even on the birth certificate, hers isn’t hyphenated like mine. That hyphen is what trumps her every time.

The Sinclair name carries a lot of weight around these parts, but Lily Devon-Sinclair is a double threat. I know it and I bet everyone in that place does as well. They would if they had any business acumen. My maternal family are no slouches when it comes to wealth and prestige.

It helps that I made my grandparents take me there for lunch so the staff could see the granddaughter that was with them, even made sure it was known that I was their only granddaughter. I did that purposely because I knew that Lacey had been putting on airs and using our family name to get her way.

When the manager came smiling over to our table at lunch that day, she had been well-coached on what to say. You see, she doesn’t like Lacey because she talks down to their staff and makes everyone feel like shit, which I suspected before I approached the young black manager with my idea.

She greeted my grandparents by telling them about their granddaughter, who came there often with her friends. Gran was very offended and pointed me out as her only granddaughter.

The manager apologized, but as per our agreement, that little tidbit would be shared among the staff before long, and they’d know not to give my darling little sister preferential treatment any longer. In fact, after today, she’d be lucky if she ever got another reservation there.

This is so much fun. While she’s planning her fake wedding, I’ll be busy planning her demise. I have all the time in the world because if I know the women in my family, I wouldn’t get anywhere near the wedding planning. I’d be lucky if I got to choose my own dress.

LILY

I took lots of care with my hair and makeup. Not that I don’t always, but today was a special day. I chose one of my new Selkie dresses that were still all the rage and was a perfect fit for a Saturday brunch with friends.

I was on my way when the call from the manager came, letting me know that the show had begun. The table Lacey usually hogs had been decorated for a pre-bridal shower brunch, mine, and she’d be directed elsewhere, but not too far away.

I want her to see and hear everything going on at my table. The first call was to let me know that she was there and had already made a fuss to no avail. The manager did offer some extras to make up for disappointing her this one time, which I’m sure had soothed the beast.

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