The betrayal

Chapter 1: The Betrayal

Susan's POV

I was sitting in my room, scrolling through my phone, when the door burst open. Emily and Jessica, my stepsister and stepmother, marched in, their faces twisted with anger. My heart skipped a beat. "What's going on?" I asked, my voice trembling.

Emily shoved a photo in my face. I gasped, my hands shaking as I looked at the blurry, dark picture. It showed me in a bad situation with a man whose face was hidden. I could hardly breathe.

How had this happened? I had never been involved in anything scandalous before. My life had been one of quiet obedience, always doing what was expected of me. This photo was a nightmare made real.

"Care to explain this, Susan?" Emily sneered, her eyes cold and mocking.

I felt a lump in my throat. "I... I don't know how this happened," I stammered. "I swear, I didn't do anything."

"You're such a disgrace, Susan," Emily spat, her voice dripping with contempt. My stepsister’s perfect features twisted in a cruel smirk. "How could you let this happen? You’ve brought shame to our family."

"I-I don't understand," I stammered, tears welling up in my eyes. "I don’t even remember this happening."

Jessica, sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder, but there was no warmth in her touch. "It doesn’t matter what you remember. What matters is what people see. And this—" she gestured to the photo "—is enough to ruin us."

My heart raced. I had always been the good daughter, the one who followed the rules and never caused trouble. How could things have gone so wrong? I looked from Emily’s angry face to Jessica’s stern expression, searching for a shred of sympathy, but found none.

"We have to act fast," Emily said, crossing her arms. "We can’t let Dad find out. The family’s reputation is at stake."

"Yes, this is serious. Your dad will be furious if he finds out," Jessica chimed in.

I was still in a state of shock and disbelief. "Mom, please, you have to believe me," I pleaded, my voice breaking.

Jessica sighed, running a hand through her long, beautiful blonde hair. "Look, Susan, we can't have you here right now. It's too risky."

Emily crossed her arms, glaring at me. "You're an embarrassment to the family. You need to leave, now."

My eyes widened. "Leave?" I echoed, my heart pounding. "But... but I can’t just leave everything behind! Where am I supposed to go?"

"You don’t have a choice," Emily snapped. "You’re an embarrassment. Do you want to be here when Dad finds out? Do you want to see his disappointment, his rage? It’s best for everyone if you go."

Tears spilled down my cheeks. I couldn’t believe they were doing this to me. My mind swirled with confusion and fear. "But what about my life here? My friends? My... my boyfriend?"

Jessica’s face softened for a brief moment. "It’s for your own good, Susan. Trust us."

Jessica pulled a plane ticket out of her bag and handed it to me. "You need to go to the United States. Stay there until things calm down."

My hands shook as I took the ticket. "I don't understand. Why are you doing this to me?"

"Because you're causing a scandal!" Emily snapped, her fists clenched. "If Dad finds out, it'll ruin everything."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. My own stepsister and stepmother were turning against me. "I don't want to go," I whispered, tears streaming down my face.

Jessica put a hand on my shoulder. "You have to, Susan. Like I said, it's for the best."

They hustled me out of the house, not giving me a moment to catch my breath. A taxi was waiting outside. "Get in," Emily ordered, her tone icy.

I climbed into the taxi, my whole body trembling. "Please," I begged one last time, looking at them through the window. "Don't do this."

Emily's expression was stone cold. "Goodbye, Susan."

The driver, a middle-aged man with a kind face, glanced at my tear-streaked cheeks but said nothing.

The taxi drove off, leaving me sobbing in the backseat. I couldn't believe this was happening. Everything I knew, everything I cared about, was slipping away.

At the airport, I tried calling John, my boyfriend. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely dial his number. When he finally answered, my heart leaped.

"John, please, I need you," I cried. "I don’t know what’s happening. I’m being sent away. Please help me."

There was a pause, then John’s voice, cold and detached, cut through me like a knife. "Susan, I know about the photo. I can’t help you."

I felt like the ground had been pulled out from under me. "What do you mean? John, I swear, I didn't do anything wrong."

"I don't care," he replied, his voice devoid of emotion. "I don’t want anything to do with you anymore."

My breath caught in my throat. "What? But, John, I thought you loved me."

"Things change," he said flatly. "I’m with Emily now. She told me everything."

The line went dead. I stared at my phone in disbelief. John, my anchor, my support, had betrayed me too. And with Emily? How could she do this to me?

I stood there, my phone slipping from my fingers. I was alone. Completely and utterly alone.

As I stood in the bustling airport, my mind swirled with disbelief. Everything felt surreal, like I was trapped in a nightmare I couldn’t wake from. Hugging my arms around myself, I tried to stave off the chill of panic creeping up my spine. My heart pounded in my chest.

Wiping at the tears still streaming down my face, I muttered to myself, “Why? Why did this happen?” But the tears kept coming, relentless and overwhelming. John’s cold words rang in my ears. “It’s over, Susan. I’m with Emily now.” How could he do this? How could he be with Emily, my stepsister, after everything we’d been through?

Desperate for answers, I scanned the airport in a daze. My eyes suddenly locked onto a familiar figure in the distance. My breath hitched. Was that… John? My heart skipped a beat, and my blood ran cold. 

“No… it can’t be,” I whispered to myself. I blinked hard, thinking it was just my mind playing tricks on me. But there he was, standing by the check-in counter, his back turned to me as he slipped his phone into his pocket.

“No, it’s really him,” I breathed, disbelief tightening around me.

 My pulse quickened, my hands trembling as I gripped the handle of my suitcase for support. Why was he here? I didn’t want to believe what I was seeing, but my heart sank as I watched him turn slightly, revealing more of his face. It was unmistakably John. My John. The same man who had just told me he wanted nothing to do with me.

I felt my body stiffen, my nails digging into my palms as I fought to keep myself together. The urge to scream, to run up to him and demand answers, surged within me, but my feet felt rooted to the ground, my mind clouded with shock and betrayal.

Then, as if things couldn’t get any worse, I saw her. Emily. She sauntered up to him, a smirk on her lips, her eyes glinting with the cruel satisfaction of someone who knew they had won. My stomach twisted into knots. I watched in horror as she reached out to him, her fingers trailing down his arm in a gesture that was far too intimate, far too familiar. She leaned in closer, her voice low but clear enough for me to catch the smug tone.

“Ready to go, babe?” Emily purred, her lips curling into a triumphant smile.

John’s face softened as he looked at her, and my heart shattered all over again. “Yeah, let’s get out of here,” he replied, his voice tender in a way it hadn’t been with me in months.

I wanted to scream, to charge over and confront them, but the words stuck in my throat. Instead, I whispered under my breath, “How could you do this, John?”

Emily turned slightly, her gaze sweeping the crowd before landing on me. Her smirk widened as she spotted me, and she leaned closer to John, her voice dripping with fake sweetness. “Look who it is, John. Should we say hi?” Her words were a taunt, meant to twist the knife deeper.

John glanced in my direction, his eyes locking with mine for a brief, painful moment. I saw a flicker of something—guilt, perhaps—but it was gone just as quickly. He shook his head, dismissing the idea. “No, Emily. Let’s just go. There’s nothing to say.”

The finality in his tone crushed me. They had planned this. They had been together, scheming behind my back, while I had been completely in the dark.

My fists clenched so tightly my knuckles turned white. “How could I have been so blind?” I muttered bitterly, teeth grinding together in frustration and anger. 

I tried to look away, tried to focus on anything else, but my eyes were glued to them. Emily whispered something in John’s ear, and he chuckled softly, his hand slipping around her waist. The sight of them so close, so intimate, made bile rise in my throat. They looked like they didn’t have a care in the world, like everything was just perfect now that I was out of the picture.

Finally, unable to bear it any longer, I took a shaky breath and stepped back, whispering to myself, “I’m done. I’m really done.” 

But as I turned to leave, I heard Emily’s voice, loud and mocking, calling after me. “Goodbye, Susan! Have a nice life!” 

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, but I forced myself to keep walking, each step feeling heavier than the last. They had made their choice, and that choice wasn’t me.