"Marina." He rubbed my shoulders, his voice patient, placating. "Rebecca's your best friend, isn't she? I treat her like a friend too. That's the only reason we grabbed coffee."

"I'm just trying to get along with her so you don't feel stuck in the middle."

"If it bothers you, I won't see her again."

After that, he stopped meeting Rebecca openly.

And because I wanted to preserve our friendship, I decided to set Rebecca up with a suitable boyfriend. The young man I had in mind was an assistant at my father's company. Fresh out of college, he'd already been promoted three times. A rising star.

I never expected what happened next. The moment I explained what I had in mind, Rebecca burst into tears and screamed at me.

"Marina, do you really think I'm only good enough for some blue-collar nobody?"

Jacob had frowned too, his voice sharp with reproach.

"Marina, what you did was completely out of line. You overstepped."

In the end, I was the one who went to Rebecca to apologize.

I told her I'd meant well but made a mess of things. Rebecca smiled and said she knew I hadn't meant any harm.

I thought the whole thing was behind us. I never imagined they'd been scheming all along, biding their time for a far more devastating retaliation.

Seeing me silent now, Jacob grabbed my arm and yanked. "Marina. I'm talking to you. Are you even listening?"

I was pulled out of my thoughts. I lifted my head to look at him. "What did you say?"

But Jacob didn't answer. Instead, his brow creased.

"What's that smell? It reeks."

Suddenly, disgust twisted his features. He clamped a hand over his nose and took a large step back, putting distance between us.

"Rebecca, do you smell something weird?"

Rebecca sniffed the air a few times, then nodded.

"Yeah. It smells like... urine."

They both turned to stare at me, their eyes raking over my body with open scrutiny.

Every muscle in me went rigid. I stood frozen, not daring to move.

But the warm liquid kept coming.

Trickling down from between my legs.

Rebecca's eyes went comically wide. She pointed at my pants.

"Jacob, look! She wet herself!" A shriek of laughter tore out of her. "Oh my God, Marina actually wet herself!"

"Marina, I get that you're excited to be home, but this is a bit much, don't you think?"

Jacob backed away even farther, revulsion stamped across his face.

"Marina, you're really... unbelievable."