I never thought a simple photo shoot could turn into such a nightmare. Lucy had always been cold to me, but asking me to model for her project felt like an olive branch. Instead, it became the stage for my public humiliation until my husband finally showed me where his loyalty truly lies.
Jason came into my life like sunshine after a storm.
After growing up with parents who used words as weapons, his kindness felt like a miracle.
We married young.
He was 19 and I was 18 when we tied the knot. You see, I believe you don’t need to wait once you’ve found your safe harbor.
“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he’d whisper at night. “I’m so lucky I found you.”
For the most part, our first year of marriage was perfect except for one persistent dark cloud.
Lucy.
Lucy and Jason had been best friends since kindergarten.
They’d grown up on the same street, gone to the same schools, and according to everyone who knew them, had been inseparable. That is, until I came along. From the moment Jason introduced us, I could feel her coolness toward me.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” I’d said, extending my hand at that first meeting.
“Yeah, you too,” she’d replied with a tight smile, barely touching my fingers before letting go.
She was never outright rude.
Instead, Lucy specialized in those subtle digs that left me questioning if I was just being paranoid.
At group gatherings, she’d skillfully maneuver to avoid sitting near me. She’d direct all her questions to Jason, even when I was the one with the answer. When we announced our engagement, her congratulations came three days late in a two-word text that read, “Congrats guys.”
She didn’t even come to our wedding.
“Lucy’s just socially awkward,” Jason would always say with a shrug.
“She’s been that way since we were kids. Don’t take it personally.”
But it was hard not to take it personally when she’d call or text Jason at all hours and never acknowledge my existence unless she absolutely had to. Their friendship seemed to exist in a parallel universe where I was just a shadow.
So, when my phone pinged with a message from Lucy one afternoon, I nearly dropped it in surprise.
“Hey Amy, I have a favor to ask.
I’m doing a final photography project for my class and need someone to model. Would you be up for it? Nothing fancy, just some portraits.”
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