"Morris, I have zero respect for you. You're not a man."
Faced with everyone pointing fingers at him, the panic on Morris's face vanished in an instant, replaced by something raw and bitter.
He stood up and kicked the table over. His face was twisted with rage.
"All of you, shut the hell up! Stop feeding me that garbage about how good Nate's been to me. I'm sick of it!"
"He's been better than me at everything since we were kids. Grades, academics, family money. He's had his foot on my neck my whole life. I don't need anyone's pity. Every time he helped me, it was just another way of rubbing my face in how pathetic I am!"
"Nathaniel Gilbert, what makes you so high and mighty? You were born with a silver spoon, that's all. If we'd swapped places, you'd know exactly how much I've suffered."
The moment those words left his mouth, the others erupted.
"Bullshit! You think everyone's as twisted and rotten as you?"
"Nate's helped all of us too, and none of us turned out like you. We're grateful."
"Yeah, because we actually have a conscience. Unlike you, you worthless piece of trash."
The shouting was loud enough to shake the walls, and between that and the tea that had been thrown in her face, Valerie sobered up fast.
But the moment she came to, she saw everyone standing on my side, tearing Morris apart.
Valerie's eyes flashed with fury. She steadied herself and stepped in front of Morris like a shield.
"Shut your mouths! Whatever's between me, my husband, and him is none of your business!"
"I had too much to drink. I made a mistake. I called Morris the wrong—"
I didn't give Valerie the chance to spin her story. I grabbed my phone and hurled it at her.
"Take a look. Pulled this off the security cameras."
Valerie watched the footage of herself and Morris, naked and tangled together. There wasn't a shred of shame on her face. Instead, she slammed the phone into the floor, seething.
"Enough! What, you want to announce to the whole world that Nathaniel Gilbert got cheated on? You couldn't just talk about this at home?"
"I would've loved to have this conversation at home! But you're the one who threw yourself at Morris and put it all on display!"
I had never felt this kind of pain and rage before. It was like someone had reached into my chest and was tearing it open with bare hands.
Every breath burned.