Phantom Rider - The Aftermath | Book 1

#13 | Ugly Truth

MIla's POV

After that stupid fight about my red dress, Matt made it clear I wasn't allowed to wear what I wanted to his events.

Matt's idea of appropriate attire was vastly different from mine. I preferred outfits that were practical - clothes that allowed me to move, run, or even fight if necessary. But this evening, he had put me into a stiff, weird-looking black dress that fell to my knees, decorated with white flowers. It looked hideous on me.

I looked older, fatter, and the stitches inside itched my skin with every movement. But I didn't want to cause a scene at home. Who cared how I looked? It was all about him anyway. Just smile and wave.

Seeing the very same woman who had sent me into my first and only breakdown, looking like a supermodel, made me feel insanely insecure. She was tall, her golden dress hugging her super lean body, with large breasts and long, thick hair. She looked amazing.

I wanted to push my glass right between her eyes, but instead, I smiled at her.

She was way taller than me, and her looking down at me with that judgy look made my blood boil.

"There you are, honey!" Matt kissed me on the cheeks, smiling with all his charm as usual. The only place I felt really safe with him was in public. Then, I could relax because I knew he wouldn't do anything to me when people were around.

"Hi, I'm Laura!" The woman extended her hand to greet my husband, her eyes flirty.

Of course. Not only did she get Bill, but now she also needed my husband. Matt's face instantly lit up, and he started talking to her as if I didn't exist anymore.

Jealousy built up inside me, starting from that one itchy part of my dress. I downed my glass of punch and tried to get myself together. I had to move before I lost my facade and dragged her down to the ground.

"Excuse me, I need to go to the ladies' room." Matt barely nodded. He didn't care where I was going.

I turned to go up the stairs, and my heart skipped a beat. No, it went into full-blown arrhythmia.

It was him. 

Dressed in a suit. 

Alone on the stairs.

I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move. I froze and stared. He looked so handsome, so manly, so rich, fitting into this world all too well.

"Hey, babe, wait for me. I need to pee too!" someone clung to my elbow. Laura led me up the stairs, straight to Bill.

I was so shocked by all of this that I was still paralyzed in my mind, so I just went with her.

"Look, I told you I'd find friends!" She kissed his cheek.

I couldn't look him in the eyes. I felt so insecure, all of a sudden, with that supermodel by my side. He must have compared us. He was completely cold. "Yeah, have fun, girls," he said as we passed him into the hall.

We went into the bathroom. No one else was there, and I snapped her arm behind her back forcing her on her knees. She screamed in pain, and it made me even angrier.

"Alice, we have a slight problem in the second - floor bathroom. Bring the guns, please?" I called my best friend.

"On it!" she replied, knowing exactly what type of problem it was. Lauras eyes widened in shock and fear.

I looked in the mirror. He made me feel like a monster. I was a monster with all those animal instincts taking over every time I saw him. All reasoning went out the window when he was around.

The bathroom door was forced open, and Bill stood there. I was still holding his girl in a tight grip, and she cried.

"Mila, let her go. Don't make a scene here. No one needs this." He talked way too calmly. He sounded just like Matt. He was dressed like him, and he sounded like him.

Maybe that Bill that made me crazy didn't even exist.

I let her go. She ran straight to his arms. I watched as he gently helped her fix her messed - up hair as they left.

Why does it hurt?

"Mila, what is it?" Alice ran to me as I stood by the mirror, trying to fix my makeup after a very short crying session.

"Was it Matt? I swear to God, if he ever puts a finger on you again, I will kill him," she burst into anger.

"No, he hasn't done anything." I made sure Matt wasn't accused of something he hadn't done for a long time.

"Then what is it?" She was still concerned.

"I feel so ugly!" I couldn't tell her everything.

"Ugly? You could wear a potato sack and make it a fashion statement. Honey, are you on your period?" She laughed.

"You know I don't have those." I laughed back.

"Yeah, just because you're on the pill doesn't mean your mood isn't swinging." She laughed even more. "Come on, get yourself together, for me, okay?"

"I'll try..." I hugged her.