Chapter 6: The Woman Who Wanted My Life
I drove home faster than I should have.
Every red light felt like an insult.
Every second gave my imagination more room to create a nightmare.
Megan was at my house.
My home.
The place where Daniel and I had built our life.
The place where she had laughed at our dinner table.
The place where she had hugged me and called me her sister.
By the time I arrived, Daniel was standing outside.
Waiting.
The moment he saw me, he walked over.
“She left.””
I got out of the car.
“What happened?””
“She came here angry.””
“Angry at me?””
“At both of us.””
I looked toward the house.
“Did she come inside?””
“No.””
“Good.””
Daniel looked at me carefully.
“She wanted me to know something.””
“What?””
He hesitated.
“She said you were going to believe Ryan because you were looking for reasons to hate her.””
I almost laughed.
“She really knows how to make herself the victim.””
Daniel nodded.
“She also said something else.””
“What?””
“She said I should have chosen her.””
The words landed heavily.
Even after everything, hearing it still hurt.
I walked inside.
The house looked normal.
That almost made it worse.
The same couch.
The same pictures.
The same life.
A life Megan had been trying to enter.
Daniel followed me.
“I’m sorry.””
I turned around.
“You need to stop saying that unless you’re ready to tell me everything.””
He nodded.
“You’re right.””
“Is there anything else?””
His silence answered before he did.
“Daniel.””
He sat down.
“There’s one thing.””
I stood there.
Waiting.
“After the rehearsal dinner, Megan called me.””
“When?””
“The next morning.””
“The morning before our wedding?””
“Yes.””
I felt sick.
“What did she say?””
“She said she was sorry.””
“For what?””
“She said she was confused.””
I frowned.
“Confused?””
“She said she didn’t know if she could watch me marry you.””
The room felt smaller.
“And what did you say?””
“I told her I loved you.””
My eyes softened slightly.
“And?””
“She cried.””
“Daniel.””
“I know.””
“What happened next?””
“She said something I should have told you.””
I waited.
“She said, ‘If you ever realize you made the wrong choice, I’ll still be here.’”
I closed my eyes.
The cruelty of it was almost impossible to understand.
She wasn’t trying to steal him in one moment.
She was planting herself as an option.
Waiting.
Watching.
Hoping.
My phone buzzed.
A message from Claire.
*I found where the anonymous message came from.*
I opened it.
A screenshot followed.
The number belonged to someone saved in Claire’s phone.
The name made my breath stop.
Megan’s mother.
I looked at Daniel.
“What?””
I showed him.
“Why would her mother send me that?””
Before he could answer, another message arrived.
This time, from the same number.
*I’m sorry. You deserve to know what my daughter did.*
My hands shook.
A second message followed.
*I tried to stop her years ago.*
Then a third.
*She was obsessed with Daniel before you ever met him.*
I sat down.
Because suddenly the timeline changed.
I thought Megan became interested after meeting Daniel.
But maybe she had been watching him longer than I knew.
I called the number.
After three rings, a woman answered.
“Emily?””
Her voice was tired.
“Yes.””
“I’m sorry.””
“Why?””
A long pause.
“Because I should have told you before.””
I looked at Daniel.
“Tell me what happened.””
The woman sighed.
“My daughter met Daniel before she met you.””
I froze.
“What?””
“She saw him at a work event.””
Daniel looked confused.
“I don’t remember that.””
The woman continued.
“She talked about him for months.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“She told me she knew he was special.””
The room went silent.
“When I found out he was dating you, she was angry.””
“Angry?””
“Yes.””
The woman’s voice cracked.
“She said you took something that should have been hers.””
I felt a wave of nausea.
“How did she know me?””
“She didn’t.””
That was the worst part.
“She hated you before she even knew you.””
I couldn’t speak.
Daniel reached for my hand.
I pulled away.
Not because I blamed him.
Because I was overwhelmed.
The woman continued.
“She planned everything.””
“What do you mean?””
“She became your friend because she wanted access to your life.””
The words cut deeper than anything else.
Because that was the one thing I couldn’t accept.
Not the flirting.
Not the messages.
Not the dinner.
The friendship.
The twelve years.
All of it.
“How could someone pretend for that long?””
The woman was quiet.
Then she said:
“Because Megan doesn’t see people as people.””
My heart raced.
“What does she see them as?””
Her answer was barely a whisper.
“Things she can win.””
The call ended.
I sat there staring at the floor.
Then Daniel’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed.
“What?””
I looked at him.
“Who is it?””
He turned the phone toward me.
Megan.
He answered on speaker.
“Hello?””
Her voice came through immediately.
“Daniel, I know Emily is there.””
Neither of us spoke.
“I need you to listen carefully.””
My stomach tightened.
“Megan—”
“No.””
Her voice was cold.
“You have no idea what she’s doing.””
I looked at Daniel.
“What is that supposed to mean?””
Megan laughed softly.
“She’s trying to destroy the friendship we had.””
I almost couldn’t believe it.
After everything.
She was still rewriting the story.
Then she said something that made both of us freeze.
“Daniel, ask Emily why she never told you what happened the night of your wedding.””
The room went silent.
I looked at Daniel.
“What is she talking about?””
Megan didn’t answer.
She just said:
May you like
“Maybe it’s time she tells you the truth.””
And then she hung up.
