She Thought I Was His Ex
I was curled up on my sofa, lost in some mindless reality show, when the front door opened. Her eyes scanned the living room, bypassing my brother and his friends, and locked directly onto me. She strode forward with unnerving purpose.
“You must be Ava,” she said, her voice dripping with a sweetness that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “The girl Leo grew up with. So close you could practically share the same skin.”
She smiled, a slow, deliberate thing, her gaze meticulously mapping my face. “I just wanted to thank you, really. For taking care of him, for… house-training him for me before I got back. We’re doing so great now.”
At her words, a few of Leo’s friends exchanged smirks, muffling quiet laughter.
What did she think I was? Was a close relationship between a sister and her brother so unusual? The way she framed it, I wasn’t family; I was some combination of a glorified nanny and a romantic rival she’d finally vanquished.
Our parents died when we were young. I built a company from the ground up to raise him. His education, his clothes, the very roof over his head—which was, incidentally, my roof—was all paid for by me.
I held her gaze, my silence a stark contrast to her cloying charm.
Then she delivered the final blow. “Now that I’m back,” she said, her smile widening just a fraction, “don’t you think it’s time you found your own place? You know, to give us some space and avoid any… awkwardness.”
A laugh escaped my lips, sharp and incredulous. She wanted me to move out of my own house? The audacity was almost impressive.
1
Before I could formulate a response, she turned on her heel, playing the perfect hostess in a home that wasn’t hers, and clapped her hands together. “Dinner, everyone!”
Her name was Isabelle, and she darted to Leo’s side, her voice shifting into a high, girlish pitch. “Leo, is that the spicy garlic shrimp? My absolute favorite!”
“Whoa, Izzy, easy on the PDA,” one of his friends teased, and the group erupted in good-natured catcalls.
A dopey, lovesick grin spread across my brother’s face, stretching from ear to ear.
Despite the veiled hostility in her greeting, I decided to let it slide. Some women are wired to see every other female as a threat. It’s a sad, exhausting way to live, but it wasn’t my problem.
At the dinner table, Isabelle was practically draped over Leo, her laughter a constant, tinkling performance. I didn’t know his friends well, and my only goal was to get through the meal so I could retreat to my bedroom and finish my show.
But Isabelle had other plans. Her voice cut through the chatter, loud and clear.
“Ava,” she began, her eyes sweeping across the table before landing on me with a look of profound meaning. “You’re so beautiful. Do you have a boyfriend?”
I answered curtly, not wanting to engage. “No.”
The truth was, we’d broken up five days ago.
My single-word answer seemed to ignite something in her. A flicker of triumph, maybe.
She let out a soft, theatrical laugh. “No way. Seriously? I would have pegged you as a total player. I’m shocked you’d ever have a down-moment between guys.” She gestured to a man sitting beside her. “You know, Mike here is single too. Maybe you two should exchange numbers?”
The man she indicated was one of her friends. He was slightly overweight, with glasses that didn’t quite fit his face and a sheen of oil in his unkempt hair. He immediately blushed, stammering, “Uh… I mean, if she’s… I’d be honored…”
I cut him off before he could finish. “I’m not looking to date right now.”
“Oh, you have to!” Isabelle insisted, her tone dripping with faux concern. “Leo’s thirty now, so you can’t be that far behind, right? You need to find someone to keep you company. You don’t want to end up all alone.”
When I didn’t respond, she pivoted back to my brother. “Or… maybe there’s already someone special? Leo, you two grew up together, you must know all her secrets. Spill!”
Leo looked deeply uncomfortable. He pushed a peeled shrimp onto her plate. “Izzy, stop it. She just got out of a relationship. She needs some time.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Isabelle’s entire demeanor shifted. The smile vanished. She leaned in close to him, her voice a low, pouting whisper. “She just got out of a relationship, and you know all the details? How convenient.”
The scent of jealousy was thick in the air.
My brother just looked confused, but Isabelle had already turned her attention back to the table, her tone now light and teasing. “Well, you know what they say. Men are like clothes—if they don’t fit, you just get a new one. A gorgeous woman like you must have guys lining up, right?” She tsked dramatically. “There was this one girl at my college, Bianca, went through like, forty guys in four years. Beautiful girls just love to have their fun.”
She paused, then looked me up and down with a condescending pity. “But you seem like the more… wholesome type. I bet you’ve never even slept with a man, have you?” She covered her mouth with a delicate hand, her laugh a feigned gasp. “Oh my god, who am I kidding? At our age, who’s still a virgin? Not that it matters, of course. We’re all adults here!”
I remained silent, a piece of shrimp halfway to my mouth.
She pressed on, her voice dropping conspiratorially. “I gave Leo my first time. Who’d you give yours to, Ava? Or wait… what was that word again?”
I met her gaze, my own expression a mask of pure innocence, and chewed my shrimp slowly. “Sorry… virginity? I’m not familiar with the term.”
A few of the men at the table snickered, their eyes glinting with a new, unpleasant light as they looked at me. A flush of embarrassment crept up Isabelle’s neck.
I distinctly heard her mutter under her breath, “God, what a fake…”
So, this was my brother’s new girlfriend. And for some reason, she had decided I was her enemy.
After dinner, Leo excitedly suggested we all go to a karaoke bar. I had zero interest, but Isabelle grabbed my arm, her grip surprisingly strong. “Come on, Ava! How else am I supposed to find you a new man?”
Under a chorus of pressure, I finally relented with a sigh. “Look, I just broke up with my ex a few days ago. I’m really not in the mood.”
A flash of pure, unadulterated joy crossed her face before she expertly masked it with an expression of apology, placing a hand over her lips. “Oh, Ava, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up something so painful.” She then brightened, as if struck by a brilliant idea. “Do you want to get back together with him? Give Leo his number! We can all help you patch things up!”
Every eye in the room turned to me. Before I could protest, she snatched my phone from my hand. “Here, let us do it for you!”
It all happened so fast. I watched, helpless, as Leo found Mark’s contact and hit the call button. To my absolute astonishment, Mark agreed to come.
And that’s how I found myself standing on the sidewalk outside a dimly lit karaoke bar, watching my ex-boyfriend walk towards us. He wore a simple black button-down, his tall, lean frame looking just as familiar as it did painful.
“So this is Mark,” Isabelle cooed, deftly positioning herself between us. Her smile was a beacon of saccharine sincerity. “Ava’s missed you so much. We’re so glad you came.” She looped her arm through his, guiding him towards me as if presenting a prize.
Mark didn’t resist. He simply allowed himself to be led.
“You know, Leo,” Isabelle remarked, a casual observation that felt anything but. “You and Mark kind of look alike.”
Inside the private room, she handed him a drink, her voice a casual mix of concern and curiosity. “A great guy like you must be in high demand in this city. I think I saw you a while back, at that really popular French place downtown? The woman you were with… wow. Absolutely stunning.” She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. “Was that an old girlfriend? Ava, did you know about her?”
She nudged me playfully with her elbow, a conspiratorial glint in her eyes. My blood ran cold. I knew nothing about Mark at a French restaurant with another woman.
When Mark didn’t respond, Isabelle just shrugged it off with a light laugh and turned her full attention to me. “Anyway, I’m sure a beautiful, outgoing woman like you has tons of male friends. I doubt you’re ever lonely, right?” she said, her tone dripping with admiration. “If I had your charm, I probably wouldn’t waste too much time being sad over any one guy.”
Her words sounded like a harmless joke, but I saw Mark’s hand tighten around his glass.
She then selected a song from the screen—a heartbreaking ballad about lost love and lingering memories. She sang it beautifully, her eyes fixed on my brother with a theatrical passion. When the last note faded, she sighed dramatically, just loud enough for the entire room to hear.
“You know, the worst thing in a relationship is a misunderstanding. One person thinks it’s just innocent friendship, but the other person is dying inside from insecurity.” She paused, letting the weight of her words settle. “Honesty and boundaries… they’re just so important.”
Her gaze found mine across the dimly lit room. “We’re both women. You get what I mean, right, Ava?”
Mark’s face, shadowed by the pulsing lights, hardened.
I couldn’t stay silent any longer. “What exactly are you trying to say, Isabelle?”
“Nothing!” She blinked, the picture of innocence. “Just thinking out loud. Don’t mind me, Mark. I just mean, a girl as dazzling as Ava… it’s only natural that guys would offer to drive her home, that people would be hitting on her all the time. Sometimes, she might not even realize how it looks to other people.” She smiled sweetly at him. “You two should really get back together.”
She had deliberately emphasized the words “drive her home,” planting a seed of insinuation.
I froze. The reason Mark and I had fought, the reason we broke up, was a misunderstanding. My boss, Grant, had a crush on me. While I had never reciprocated, my job sometimes required me to accompany him to client dinners. I had never crossed a line, but Mark refused to believe me.
I had only ever told Leo about the specifics of that fight. And now, it was clear Leo had told Isabelle, who had twisted the details into something ugly.
Mark shot to his feet, his voice a low growl. “Ava. Outside. Now.”
In the narrow hallway, his eyes burned with a furious anger. “Was she telling the truth? We’ve been broken up for less than a week, and you already have another guy driving you around? Is it Grant?!”
“No! Grant has feelings for me, but I’ve already turned him down. Nothing has ever happened,” I said, telling him the plain, unvarnished truth.
“Enough!” He jerked his arm away when I tried to touch him, his gaze like ice. “Are you still going to lie to my face, even now?”
“Ava, I thought you were different,” he said, his face a mask of pain and disgust as he searched for the right word. “I never thought you were so…”
Just then, Isabelle appeared at the end of the hall, a look of deep concern on her face. “Is everything okay? Mark, please don’t be angry. Maybe it’s just her personality. She’s so popular, she’s probably just used to guys fawning over her. I’m sure she didn’t mean to deceive you…”
Every word she spoke, cloaked in fake sympathy, was like gasoline on a flame.
“If you’re determined to believe I’m some cheap, easy woman,” I said, my voice shaking with rage, “then there’s nothing more to say!”
He raised his hand.
Crack.
The sound echoed in the hallway. I pressed a hand to my cheek, the sting blooming into a fiery blaze. I stared at him, at the man I had loved, in utter disbelief.
Isabelle gasped. “Mark, how could you!” she cried, rushing forward to feign holding him back.
My cheek throbbed, but my heart felt like a block of ice.
“Mark,” I said, my voice eerily calm as I lowered my hand. “We are done. This is over.”
He turned and walked away without another word.
I went to the restroom to compose myself, the reflection in the mirror showing a woman I barely recognized. When I returned to the room, the party was in full swing. Isabelle was nestled against my brother’s side, laughing as if nothing had happened.
I walked straight up to her. My voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the music, silencing the conversations around us.
“Isabelle. We met for the first time tonight.”
The karaoke track played on, a soulless beat in the suddenly silent room. Every eye was on us.
“So I’d like you to explain something to me. This story about me having ‘tons of male friends’ and men driving me around all the time… where, exactly, did you get that information?”
Isabelle stared at me, her bravado momentarily gone. It was replaced by a look of wounded fragility as she instinctively shrank into my brother’s arms. “Ava… what are you talking about? I… I was just making conversation. It was a joke. Why are you taking it so seriously?” Her eyes welled up as she looked to Leo for protection.
“A joke?” I repeated, my voice dangerously low. “A joke that ends with my ex-boyfriend slapping me across the face in the hallway?”
“Well, what did you want me to say?” she suddenly shrieked, her voice cracking with manufactured tears. “Even if tonight was the first time we officially met, I’ve known about you for a long time! I’ve seen you myself, getting in and out of different luxury cars! It was probably for work, right? I wasn’t lying!”
Instantly, the atmosphere in the room shifted. I could feel the judgmental stares of their friends, hear the whispered comments.
“Wow, so she’s a gold digger…”
“And here she was, acting so innocent.”
“Isabelle!” Leo’s voice was a sharp reprimand, his brow furrowed in anger.
“What did I do?” she wailed, tears now streaming down her face. “I was trying to help her! It’s not my fault her boyfriend misunderstood and hit her! And now you’re all blaming me?”
“Apologize to her,” Leo commanded.
“You’re taking her side too?” Isabelle shrieked. “Are you obsessed with her or something?”
The eyes of Leo’s friends were now filled with a complicated mix of pity and suspicion. I’d had enough. I grabbed my purse and turned to leave. In my haste, my high heel slipped on a patch of spilled liquor on the floor. My ankle twisted violently, and I cried out as I lost my balance, stumbling sideways. A searing pain shot up my leg.
“Ava!” Leo yelled. He shoved Isabelle aside and rushed to my side, catching me before I hit the ground. Seeing my face, pale and contorted in pain, he didn’t hesitate. He bent down and hoisted me onto his back.
“Leo!” Isabelle screamed, trying to grab his arm. “She’s totally faking it! You…”
“Shut up!” he snapped, a rare and startling burst of fury directed at her. “Go home by yourself.”
Ignoring her outraged sobs and the stunned looks from his friends, he carried me out of the karaoke bar and into the night.
The doctor at urgent care diagnosed it as a severely sprained ankle. Torn ligaments. Weeks of rest.
After Leo got me settled on the couch back at my apartment, his phone buzzed incessantly. A relentless stream of calls from Isabelle. He silenced it with a frustrated jab of his thumb.
“Ava… I’m so sorry.”
I said nothing. I just picked up my phone, methodically blocking Mark’s number and deleting every photo, every digital trace of him from my life.
I thought the nightmare was over, at least for a while.
I was wrong.
The next afternoon, I was in the main conference room at my company, finalizing a major partnership deal. We were moments away from signing the contracts when the door was thrown open with such force that it slammed against the wall.
Isabelle stood in the doorway, her eyes red and swollen, reeking of alcohol. She had found me at work.
“Ava Monroe! You bitch! Get out here!” she screamed, pointing a trembling finger at me, completely oblivious to the room full of stunned executives. “It’s not enough for you to seduce your own boss, you have to play the victim and steal Leo from me too? You absolute slut!”
My client and my entire team stared, frozen in shock.
I rose slowly, my voice dangerously calm. “Isabelle, you’re drunk. This is a place of business. I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” I turned to my assistant. “Jessica? Where is security? How did a drunk person get into the building?”
“They were called down to the garage, Ms. Monroe,” Jessica whispered, rushing to try and escort Isabelle out. “Something about the electrical box.”
“A place of business?” Isabelle sneered, shoving Jessica so hard she stumbled and fell. “Who knows what kind of shady deals you’re really making in here! What did you and Leo do last night? He ditched me! For you!”
Her voice rose to a hysterical pitch. “You think just because you’re his precious first love, his goddamn gold standard, you can just ruin my life? Well, I’ll ruin yours first!”
Before anyone could react, she lunged at the conference table, grabbed the stack of meticulously prepared contracts, and began tearing them to shreds.
“What are you doing?!” my client yelled, jumping to his feet.
My colleagues scrambled to stop her, but it was too late. The key documents were confetti. She threw her head back and laughed, a wild, unhinged sound, as two of my male employees finally grabbed her arms and dragged her out of the room.
The client’s face was a mask of cold fury. He calmly straightened his suit jacket. “Ms. Monroe,” he said, his voice flat. “It appears we need to re-evaluate the… stability of your company’s internal environment. Today’s signing is officially canceled.”
He and his team walked out without a backward glance.
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