My Boyfriend Took My Best Friend Home for Thanksgiving Chapter 04

My Boyfriend Took My Best Friend Home for Thanksgiving Chapter 04

When I still didn’t say anything, Tessa gave Mason another shove.

“An apology isn’t enough. Go get Hannah the gelato she likes—from that Italian place she loves.”

Mason, who had always been too proud to take orders from anyone, nodded obediently and went out at once.

I hadn’t eaten ice cream in years.

After all the drinking I had done for the company Mason and Tessa co-owned left me with gastrointestinal bleeding, I had given it up completely.

Neither my best friend nor the man I had loved for seven years remembered.

After Mason left, Tessa pulled an elegant evening gown from one of the shopping bags.

“Hannah, Mason and I were at the mall today, and the second I saw this, I thought it would look perfect on you.”

She pulled out something else.

“And I got you a ticket to that exhibition by your favorite artist.”

The exhibition had been nearly impossible to get into. Some fans had been trying for three months and still hadn’t managed to get a ticket.

I looked at the two gifts without saying anything.

Tessa reached for my hand.

“I know you’re mad because I’ve been taking up so much of Mason’s time. But I promise today is the last time. I won’t bother him again after this, okay?”

“We’ve been friends for so many years, Hannah. Can you forgive me just this once?”

I thought about those first few years after we moved to Northbridge, when the two of us had only had each other to rely on.

I stayed silent.

Tessa pressed the ticket into my hand.

“Saturday night. I’ll wait for you at the entrance.”

“I’m not leaving until you show up.”

In the end, I put on the gown and went Saturday night.

But when I arrived, the event looked nothing like an art exhibition.

It looked like a birthday party.

“Who are you, and why are you wearing the dress I bought for my future daughter-in-law?”

A woman’s sharp voice stopped me cold.

“And why are you wearing the Carter family heirloom bracelet?”

Before I could answer, she grabbed my wrist and ripped the bracelet off.

Her long manicured nails raked across my skin, leaving a deep, bloody scratch.

The elegant middle-aged woman looked familiar from photos.

I recognized her immediately as Mason’s mother.

So Mason had already introduced Tessa to his mother.

Mrs. Carter had even given Tessa the Carter family heirloom bracelet and invited her to a party for Mrs. Carter’s birthday.

And now I had shown up wearing the gown that had actually been meant for Tessa.

I looked like a complete fool.

“I asked you a question,” Mrs. Carter snapped. “Who are you, and why are you wearing the dress I bought for my future daughter-in-law?”

Before I could answer, someone nearby recognized me.

“Wait. Isn’t that the woman who came out of the hotel where Mason was staying the other night? I saw her myself. It was after one in the morning. She came out wrapped in a coat, and Mason came out right behind her.”

“What? Then who is she? His side chick?”

“The nerve of some homewrecker showing up in a dress his mother bought for her future daughter-in-law.”

The whispers spread through the room.

I stood frozen as heat rushed to my face.

Mrs. Carter set her champagne glass on a server’s tray and crossed the room toward me, looking me up and down.

“You can put trash in couture, but it’s still trash.”

Then she demanded, “Where is Tessa, my future daughter-in-law?”

“I didn’t know. Tessa invited me here—”

“Hannah! I found the shoes you wanted!”

Tessa hurried into the room wearing a plain white T-shirt and barely-there makeup, looking flustered and exhausted.

She crouched down in front of me and began taking off my heels.

“H-Hannah, I’ve been running around all day. These should go with your dress. I hope they’re good enough for you.”

I stared at her, completely baffled.

At that exact moment, Mason came through the crowd.

The second he saw Tessa kneeling at my feet and changing my shoes, his expression tightened. He rushed over and pulled her up.

“Hannah, who gave you the right to order Tessa around and make her change your shoes?”

My hands curled into fists.

“After seven years together, is that really what you think of me?”

“I didn’t do anything. Tessa tricked me into coming here because she said—”

“Yes,” Tessa cut in. “I lied to Hannah and got her to come to your mom’s birthday party. Mason, don’t blame her.”

She glanced at me, then quickly retreated behind Mrs. Carter as if she were afraid of me.

“Mrs. Carter, I really care about you, but I’m sorry. I don’t deserve to be your daughter-in-law.”

“Hannah is more accomplished than I am, and she’s prettier too. She’d be a much better fit for this family. I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

With that, Tessa lowered her head and turned toward the ballroom doors.

Just as expected, Mrs. Carter grabbed her arm and stopped her.

“Mason, what kind of boyfriend are you? You’re just going to stand there while someone treats your girlfriend like this?”

She glared at me.

“You think just anyone gets to marry into the Carter family? And you have the nerve to steal what I gave Tessa?”

Then she turned back to Tessa.

“You’re too kind. You keep letting people walk all over you, and this is what happens.”

Tessa’s eyes filled with tears.

“But Hannah is my best friend.”

“Being your best friend doesn’t give her the right to take what’s yours. Today she’s trying to seduce Mason and steal your bracelet. Tomorrow she’ll be sneaking into the bed that’s supposed to be yours.”

Mrs. Carter took Tessa’s hand and carefully fastened the heirloom bracelet back around her wrist.

“Mason, listen to me. Tessa is the only woman I will accept as my daughter-in-law.”

She shot me a contemptuous look.

“And if some shameless bitch doesn’t know her place, you get her out of here fast.”

Mrs. Carter squeezed Tessa’s hand.

“Don’t worry, Tessa. Mason and I are both on your side. She can’t do a thing to you.”

I laughed.

Seven years together, and this was what I had gotten in return: public humiliation.

I wiped the blood still running from my wrist and looked at Mason.

“Mason, I’m giving you one last chance.”

“Tell everyone here who your girlfriend really is.”

At that, Tessa started twisting the hem of her shirt between her fingers, her anxiety suddenly impossible to hide.

Mason looked down at the floor.

Then he raised his head and looked at Tessa, who stood there visibly tense and uncertain.

For a long moment, he said nothing.

Then he finally spoke.

“I have one girlfriend, and it’s Tessa.”

He looked straight at me.

“Hannah, I’ve told you over and over. Stop harassing me.”

His voice hardened.

“Now give Tessa her dress back and get the hell out of this ballroom. Right now.”