My Cousin Faked Illness to Steal My Boyfriend, He Turned the Tables Chapter 01

My Cousin Faked Illness to Steal My Boyfriend, He Turned the Tables Chapter 01

My cousin threw on my coat, drenched herself in my usual jasmine perfume, and tried to make a move on my boyfriend while he was passed out drunk.

My boyfriend dumped the coffee right over her head.

We all rushed over at the scream.

My boyfriend sat on the edge of the bed, drunk and looking somewhat out of it.

“Who sprayed this sickening perfume here? It’s making me nauseous.”

Out of everyone’s sight, he flashed me a pay-up gesture—this performance was gonna cost extra.

I choked back a laugh and nodded at him through the crowd.

***

I’d been seeing someone for three months and hadn’t told my family.

It wasn’t because he was anything to be ashamed of.

Greyson Brown was handsome, level-headed, and ran a small diner with culinary skills finer than any chef in town.

Most importantly, he was fully committed to me.

The problem was my cousin, Iris Hardee.

Iris grew up sickly, and her father passed away early. Mom, soft-hearted, brought Iris and Aunt Nova into our home.

From then on, my sister Savannah Matthews and I became guests in our own house.

If I got a new dress, Iris would cough a couple of times, and the dress became hers.

When Savannah saved up for a necklace and Iris called it pretty, Grandma forced Savannah to take it off and give it away.

And if she couldn’t take it, she’d make sure no one else could have it either.

When Savannah was in college, she brought her boyfriend home for dinner.

Iris sat in the corner of the sofa in a white dress, clutching her pill bottle, and whispered, “Savannah is so lucky. With my health, I doubt anyone would ever want me.”

Two weeks later, I saw that man and Iris together.

A year later, Savannah left town and never came back.

I refused to let her target Greyson.

I thought I hid him well enough.

But on Friday night, while Greyson and I were waiting in line for coffee at the mall, Iris stepped off the escalator and caught sight of our intertwined hands.

When she called my name, her voice was sickly sweet.

“Hadley, what are you doing here?”

I tried to pull my hand back, but Greyson held on tighter.

Iris walked up to us, her gaze lingering on Greyson for a long moment.

“And who is this?”

Greyson said smoothly, “I’m Hadley’s boyfriend.”

Iris lightly covered her mouth. “Boyfriend? This is huge. How come no one at home knows?”

The way she looked at me, like she’d caught me in something.

“We weren’t ready to announce it yet,” I said.

“Were you afraid I’d find out?” She giggled. “Come on, Hadley, don’t think I’m that bad.”

She extended her hand, her wrist bearing the bracelet she had taken from me last year.

“Hi, I’m Iris, Hadley’s cousin.”

Greyson glanced at her hand and didn’t take it.

Instead, he grabbed a paper napkin from the counter, lined his palm with it, and gave her a brief touch.

Iris’s smile tightened.

I saw her fingers twitch slightly against the edge of the napkin, a familiar gesture. That was exactly how she’d wrapped Savannah’s boyfriend around her finger back then.

Greyson crumpled the napkin into a ball and tossed it in the trash.

He turned to me. “Hadley, would you like any sugar?”

Iris said softly, “Mr. Brown, do I disgust you or something?”

Greyson turned to look at her. “I run a diner—I shake hands with strangers all day, so I wash up constantly. It’s not you. I’m just weird about it.”