The Love of Lies

Jealousy

Ashton’s POV

Cori is busy enjoying herself with my friends and seeing her walk out of Chris’s house with Julia annoys me without real reason. I’m even more irritated that she isn’t showing much yet, so when she took off her cover-up, every single man here looked.

I only know she’s pregnant because I’ve seen her naked before, and because I put the baby inside of her… maybe.

I’m stuck glaring at the woman when Vanessa sits next to me, shocking me because I didn’t think she'd be invited.

“What are you doing here?” I question, not meaning to sound rude, but I failed.

“How would it look if I didn’t come?” She rhetorically asks.

We start talking about casual things, but all the while my eyes keep going to Cori, who is using a toddler float in the water, clearly unable to swim.

I stand, and walk away from Vanessa, needing a strong drink to combat how I feel about the men who are still staring at my… I don’t even know what she is, but I don’t like the attention she’s getting.

When I return, Mark and Vanessa are talking about something, and the man apologizes to me, saying that I shouldn't get so worked up.

Thinking that he’s picking up on my foul mood, I don’t press for details about his words, and eventually he takes the hint and leaves.

Sadly, Vanessa hasn’t, so we end up bickering over how bad I’m making her look, which reminds me of how selfish she is.

Never did she ask me if I were okay, or why I was upset. As usual, she’s only concerned about herself, but just before I can call her out for it, I glance toward the pool and almost throw my drink at the sight of Mark and Cori ‘cuddling’ in the water.

I don’t know what she’s thinking, but then I notice the fear in her eyes.

She doesn’t look like she wants to be near the man, and as she tries to push away, Mark uses the force to send her into the diving area.

Cori’s POV

I haven't been in a pool since I was a little girl, so I’m actually enjoying myself right now. I know that people are talking about me because I can feel their eyes on me, but I ignore it because I truly don’t care.

Pauline has come out of her house, and she did so proudly carrying my bassinet fruit salad, which I can now see is lopsided and weird, but she looks happy about it.

Maybe she ran away crying because she was overwhelmed by happiness? I’m not sure; but I know that there have been a few times when I wanted to cry over silly things, like when my cookie fell.

I feel a shadow approaching from behind and I shift in the water, staring up at the man I recognize from the night I ‘met’ Ashton.

I know his name is Mark, just like he knows my name is Cori, but we haven’t been formally introduced.

“What the f*ck is your problem?” he questions. While his words are harsh, his tone is soft, and he gently pulls me out into deeper water where he continues to question me. “Ashton doesn’t want you. So, you cling onto his brother?”

“I’m not,” I whisper, embarrassed as I consider that everyone must think I’m here by choice.

“Can you not see what you're doing to them?” The man asks, pointing toward Ashton and his fiancé, who appear to be arguing. “They’ve been together since college, and I’ve never seen them fight before. Whatever you thought you were going to get out of him, give it up.” My chest burns with Mark's rebuke, and I try to use the float to make it back toward the ladder, but the man stops me by pulling the device away, so I'm left with no choice but to hold onto him. “You should have chosen me that night,” he says, staring at me weirdly.

“I shouldn’t’ve even been there,” I reply, thinking that maybe I’m misreading the man’s words as malicious, when he's probably just concerned.

“The same is true for this party. Leave Ashton alone, otherwise, the next person Vanessa sends after you won’t be as kind as I am.”

“I’m not bothering Ashton.” Mark laughs mockingly at that.

“Do you think that you're different just because he invited you into his bed? Let me tell you Cori, Ashton and I were planning to share you that night, but I found something better.” I pull away from the man who somehow managed to push me into the diving end of the pool by using my own force against me, and I sink like a stone.

I struggle to get to the surface, popping up several times as I pray that someone actually believes my claim that I can’t swim.

To my relief, someone lifts me out of the water, and I cling to them for dear life, coughing up water as I struggle to catch my breath.

It takes me a few seconds to realize that it’s Ashton holding me, and he gently helps me out of the pool, only to draw criticism from Mark, who's whisper shouting.

“Ashton bro, What the f*ck are you doing? Vanessa is right there.”

Ashton’s POV

I get to Cori before Troy can, and after lifting her out of the pool, I’m a mess of nerves. I was so scared that I’m shaking, and when Mark had the nerve to question me about my concern, I freaked out.

“She’s f*cking pregnant!” I shout, turning back to Cori, who is vomiting into a cup Julia handed her.

“Whoa… I-I didn’t know,” the man says, lacing his fingers through his hair in guilt. “Vanessa told me that she wouldn’t leave you and your family alone,” he continues, but I’m too focused on Cori to really pay attention to what he’s saying. After getting everything up, the woman sobs a little, slapping my hand away as she does.

“Please Ashton, go to your fiancé. I don’t want any more issues with her.” I look over at Vanessa, who I noticed has kept her distance, and realization hits me.

She and Cori have met, and it doesn’t take me long to work out when that meeting might've taken place.

Cori stands, rushing toward her things to leave, but she trips over a chair and falls onto her knees in the process. I try to help her up, but she pushes me away again, and I don’t blame her. She must feel like crap right now, and I feel even worse about what happened between us.

“Ashton man… If I had known, I wouldn’t have-”

“What did Vanessa tell you?” I interject, glaring at Mark who looks genuinely remorseful.

“She said that she caught you cheating on her, and you ended things with Cori, but she wouldn’t leave you alone. I thought I was helping.” I nod at the man, struggling not to punch him in the face as I do, but since Vanessa wants to play games with my life, I will go ahead and play games with hers too.

“Listen up everyone.” There are lots of people here now, and most of them are my close friends who don’t like Vanessa much, so I have no doubt that they will take what I’m about to say and spread it like a wildfire. “Vanessa and I haven’t been together in over a year. I don't know what she’s telling everyone about us, but we aren’t a couple, we aren’t and never were engaged, and the woman who was just chased out of this party is carrying my child.” I hope my words are true because if not, I’ll look like an i***t later.

“Ashton, what are you saying babe?” Venessa asks, trying to pretend that she’s confused, but I’m done with pretending.

“When you came into my apartment, Cori was there, and you said something to her, didn’t you?”

“I’ve never met that-”

“Stop lying,” I interject. “Who else would have told her that I was your fiancé? Was it Mark, Chris, Pauline, Troy?” I list out several of my other friends, knowing that none of them think I’m engaged to Vanessa. It was always a lie she told her father, and I didn’t correct it for the sake of business. “You better f*cking hope that nothing happens to my baby,” I threaten, pointing to Mark and Vanessa as I start to leave, but Chris is quick to stop me, understandably pissed.

“What the hell is going on?” the man questions. “Your ‘Cori’ already made my wife cry, I think Mark just tried to kill her, and you and Vanessa aren’t a thing? I get that you can’t control life, but this is my baby shower man.”

“Let me get Cori back first, and then, I’ll come explain everything to you.”

“And my wife.”

“And your wife,” I repeat.

Cori’s POV

My skin was softened from soaking in water, so when I fell, I actually cut my knee pretty badly. It’s bleeding a lot, but I won’t stop walking because I’m too embarrassed to look back. I don’t have a phone, so I can’t call a taxi, and I don’t even want to see anyone from the Lewis family, not even Jules.

“Cori. Please wait. Come back.” That wasn’t a voice I expected to hear, and I froze in place, allowing the man to get in front of me. “Sh*t. Your knee is busted.”

“Ashton, please don’t turn me into this person. I’ve never had issues like this before, and I don’t want your fiancé sending anymore of your friends after me.”

“Cori, listen to me.” Ashton cups my face, and I feel wrong for not wanting to pull away from him. “I’ve never been engaged, and Vanessa and I haven’t been a couple in over a year.”

“Then why did she-”

“Because she’s a lying b*tch, and please understand that I don’t use that term lightly.” I don’t know if I should believe the man, especially since she had the key to his apartment. “Is she the reason you left that night?” I try to look down, but Ashton stops my face from moving. “I’m so sorry that happened to you, but I swear that I didn’t know.” The man hugs me, and I begin to cry; relieved that I’m not a homewrecker. “Can you please tell me the truth now? Am I the father of your baby?”

Ashton’s POV

I understand why Cori left without a word now, and I feel like sh*t for how I’ve been treating her. I can only imagine what Vanessa said to her, but I’m almost certain that they weren’t friendly words.

“Am I the father of your baby?” I ask, following up because I feel like Cori may have lied just to get out of the situation. From the beginning she has always been using words like drama, messy, and used, so I know that she genuinely believed that I was spoken for. “I am, aren't I?”

“I’m sorry. I really didn’t know the condom broke, and I… Are you okay?” Cori asks, looking at my face in concern.

“Why did you hide from me?” I question, looking at the girl skeptically again. “You should have confronted me right away. I would’ve explained things.”

“That woman walked into your house with a key and threatened to have me arrested for stealing.” I massage my temples, hating that Cori’s first s****l experience became an episode of a soap opera.

Unable to comment, I guide the girl back to Chris’s house where I help clean and bandage her wound. Their baby shower was practically ruined because of Vanessa, which is my fault because I know they only invited her so as to not offend me.

“Is she in there?” Mark asks, making Cori stiffen.