They Made My Life A Joke For 18 Years, I Stopped Laughing Chapter 03

They Made My Life A Joke For 18 Years, I Stopped Laughing Chapter 03

Eastbridge needed my original ID documents to finalize my enrollment.

So while everyone was still out having fun, I went home to get them.

It was a short flight, less than an hour from Los Angeles to San Diego.

The second I opened the front door, confetti cannons went off all around me.

A whole crowd of Ethan’s friends sprang into view.

“Surprise!”

I flinched.

I threw my hands over my face to keep the powder and confetti out of my mouth and nose.

“Aw, future Mrs. Cole is blushing.”

“Ethan put this whole thing together for you. He’s been planning it for months.”

My heart stuttered.

An old wound inside me, one I’d thought had gone cold, suddenly felt warm again.

Years ago, I’d told Ethan that if a guy wanted to ask me to be his girlfriend, I wanted it romantic: flowers, confetti, the whole thing.

He remembered.

“Here. Your favorite Damask roses.”

Someone pushed an enormous bouquet into my arms.

I could barely believe it.

“These… are really for me?”

The guy beside me nodded. “Of course, Sienna. Man, Ethan put more work into this rehearsal than the real thing next week.”

“Next week, he’s asking Willa to be his girlfriend with a $9.99 fake silver ring off some discount site. But for you? He spent $999 on the roses alone.”

“He said there was no way he’d let you get the cheap version.”

“Even if you’re only helping him rehearse, he wanted to do it right.”

My hands slowly fell to my sides.

Tears covered my face.

The room went dead silent.

“Wi… Willa?”

Then the bedroom door opened.

Ethan stepped out in a suit and froze when he saw me.

“What… what are you doing here?”

My fist curled. I’d had enough. I crossed the room and slapped him across the face.

“Forget it, Ethan. Whatever you’re planning for next week, don’t bother. My answer is no.”

The door opened a second time.

Sienna walked in, humming to herself.

“So? Pretty genius, right?”

“Just send Willa some AI-generated video later. She’ll never know we came back ear…”

The wine bottle slipped from her hand the instant she saw me.

Red wine spread across the floor like blood.

A few drops splashed onto my cheek.

“Willa… why are you here?”

I swallowed the ache in my chest and kept my voice as steady as I could.

“I just came back for a few things.”

I walked past them and into my room like neither of them existed.

Then Sienna started crying outside my door.

“Oh my God. She knows. Willa knows everything.”

“This is my fault. I shouldn’t have made you practice with me today. I ruined the surprise. What if she says no now?”

Ethan’s voice dropped as he comforted her.

“Relax. Willa’s been into me for years. I don’t need some elaborate setup. I say the word, she’ll come running.”

Something in me finally snapped.

I clenched the folder holding my passport and Social Security card and stormed back out.

“Enough!”

“You’re going to ask me to be your girlfriend with a fake $9.99 ring, but you spent $999 on flowers just to rehearse with her, and you still expect me to say yes?”

“Ethan, I’ve put up with this for years. Enough.”

He cut me off with an annoyed look. “Willa, since when did you get so materialistic?”

“Since when do feelings come with price tags?”

“And come on, today was just a joke. Why are you blowing it this far out of proportion?”

Sienna nodded along.

She came over and took my arm, slipping into the same sweet, coaxing tone she’d used since we were kids.

“Willa, seriously, it was only a joke.”

“Ethan was worried he’d freeze up when he asked you to be his girlfriend. He just wanted to practice with me. That’s all.”

“If anything were actually going on between us, you wouldn’t even be in the picture.”

I looked up and shoved her hand away.

“Three’s a crowd. I’m done.”

“And from now on, don’t make me your joke. If you tell me something, I’m going to believe you.”

With that, I clutched my documents and walked straight into the bathroom without looking back.

Once I packed the last of my skincare, there would be nothing left of me in that house.