All I needed… was one smart, quiet, devastating play at a time.
I thought I’d found the guy.
Michael was everything I’d ever wanted. He was kind, attentive, and for a while, I truly believed we were heading toward forever.
We talked about the future like it was a shared roadmap. The kind you frame above your fireplace.
But one detail never sat right with me.
I had never met his family.
Not even in passing. Not one dinner. Not even a photo. And we’d been together a while.
Whenever I asked, he’d laugh it off.
“My mom’s complicated,” he’d say, like it explained everything. “Trust me, you don’t want that smoke.”
At first, I let it go. He told me she had scared off his past girlfriends. That she was intense, overbearing, and possessive. And that he didn’t want to risk losing me to her claws.
Still… something felt off. If she was that bad, why did she send us joint holiday cards? Why did the rest of his family know I existed?
The more I thought about it, the more it gnawed at me.
Especially when Michael started acting weird. He started pulling away, disappearing for hours, and clutching his phone like it was a life raft.
Then I caught him withdrawing a chunk of money from our shared savings.
Was he buying a ring?
Or hiding something?
One night, I finally asked him.
“Michael, are you planning to propose?”
His eyes widened. “Wait… are you trying to pressure me into marriage?”
“No,” I said gently. “I just want to know what’s going on. You’re acting… different.”
He sighed. “I’m not cheating, if that’s what you’re thinking. And if I were going to propose? You’d never see it coming.”
Then he paused.
“But maybe… it’s time you met my family.”
I blinked. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “They’re coming over this weekend.”
I was elated. Convinced more than ever that a proposal was coming.
I texted my best friend Kate in all caps: “HELP ME LOOK PERFECT.”
Two days later, we hit the mall. It was like a bridal bootcamp.
But as we exited a boutique, Kate suddenly yanked me back inside.
“Don’t look.”
Which, of course, made me look.
And there he was, Michael, walking arm-in-arm with another woman.
The woman was older than him, and he carried her bags like a doting boyfriend. She beamed up at him, and he… he looked back at her like she hung the stars.
My stomach dropped.
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
Kate whispered, “I didn’t want you to see that. I thought maybe it wasn’t what it looked like.”
But it looked exactly like what it looked like.
“That’s why he pulled money from savings,” I choked out. “He’s seeing her behind my back.”
“She’s older than you,” Kate said. “Maybe it’s innocent.”
“No. I’m following them.”
And I did. All the way through the mall.
I watched as they laughed together and she touched his arm like it belonged to her.
Eventually, they left in his car.
And we followed.
He dropped her off at a stunning house.
He kissed her on the cheek and held the door open like a gentleman. She waved as she disappeared inside.
That’s when Kate took a photo.
“For evidence,” she muttered.
But I didn’t need proof. I needed revenge.
“I’m going up there,” I said.
“To do what?”
“You’ll see.”
I marched up to the house, knocked, and the woman opened the door with a warm smile.
“Can I help you?”
“How about you stop messing with my boyfriend!” I shouted and flung my smoothie in her face.
She screamed.
I turned on my heel and stormed off before she could grab her phone and call the cops.
Back home, Michael was already there.
And yes, there was still a faint lipstick smudge on his cheek. Not quite wiped clean.
“Hey!” he grinned. “How was your day?”
“Fine. Shopping.”
“Need money for your nails?”
“Already got them done.”
I wanted to scream at him. Instead, I just said, “I’m tired,” and went to bed.
But sleep didn’t come.
My head was spinning.
I still loved him, which made it worse. And now we were having dinner with his family in two days. I’d decided I was going to expose him in front of everyone.
***
The day came.
Michael and I cooked dinner together. He was oddly cheerful, cracking jokes. I gave him nothing back.
Then the doorbell rang.
He opened it and walked in with an older man and…
her.
The smoothie woman.
I stood up so fast I knocked over my chair.
“What the hell is she doing here?!”
Michael looked baffled. “You mean my mom?”
I froze. “Your… what?”
“That’s my mom. Cynthia.”
I turned to her, jaw on the floor.
“Nice to finally meet you,” she said, smiling with ice in her voice. “Shame it’s under such embarrassing circumstances.”
Michael frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s the one who assaulted me in broad daylight. With a smoothie,” Cynthia said, wiping invisible liquid from her cheek.
Michael turned to me. “Olivia?”
I was already sinking.
“I thought you were cheating,” I croaked. “Kate and I saw you with her. I didn’t know she was your mother. I lost it.”
“Why didn’t you ask?” he snapped.
“I don’t know! I just reacted. I was heartbroken.”
Cynthia chimed in, smug as ever. “Told you. She’s unhinged. Now let’s go have dinner at a restaurant.”
Michael turned on her. “You wanted her to see us. That cheek kiss? The giggling? You’ve never done that before.”
She raised her eyebrows but didn’t deny it.
“You set her up,” he said.
“She doesn’t deserve you.”
“That’s not your call,” Michael said coldly. Then he turned back to me, and to my utter disbelief, got down on one knee.
“Olivia. I love you. Even if you’re a little crazy. You’re my crazy. Will you marry me?”
I gasped. “Yes. Of course, yes.”
He slid the ring on my finger and pulled me in.
Cynthia looked like she might faint. “You can’t marry her!”
“I just did.”
She huffed, grabbed her husband, and left in a storm of indignation.
Once the door closed, I turned to Michael.
“I’m still so sorry.”
“I know. But if I saw you with another guy, I’d probably toss a smoothie too.”
We both laughed.
“Next time,” he said, “just ask before attacking my mother.”
“Deal,” I whispered, and kissed him again.
All my life, I’ve been second place.
Not in sports or academics. But in my own family.
No matter what I did, Stacy was always the favorite. She was younger, louder, and flashier. My parents praised her swim medals and school plays while I quietly earned scholarships and kept the house running.
No one really saw me… except Grandma.
She gave me love when no one else did.
She let
