There were times I genuinely wondered if Brenda had brainwashed Jake. To him, my words were completely worthless, while Brenda's lies were gospel.

"I told Brenda months ago to cut ties with you," Jake sneered, his eyes flashing with anger. "But she kept defending you. She said you were her best friend and she couldn't bear to watch you ruin your life.

"She begged you to clean up your act and even paid off your debts out of her own pocket. And this is how you repay her? You're a total lost cause.

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I would have locked her in the house before ever letting her near you. Jessica, I'm giving you one last chance. Where is she?"

His words were laughable, and I didn't need anyone to preach at me.

In fact, I'd wasted so much breath trying to talk sense into her, but Brenda never took me seriously. Whenever I pressed too hard, she would just take my hands and burst into tears.

"Jake is never home. He stays out all night. How am I supposed to handle that? You're a woman, too. Can't you understand what I'm going through?

"You have to cover for me this time. If he finds out I'm cheating, he'll divorce me in a heartbeat. We're best friends. You don't want to ruin my life, do you?"

Every time she said that, I'd cave and help cover up her affairs. Yet my sympathy only fueled her recklessness. In my past life, that weakness was what eventually landed me in prison.

When I didn't answer, Jake's rage boiled over. He pulled out his phone, his voice dripping with malice. "Your parents still think you're their sweet, perfect daughter. How do you think they'll react when they find out what a disaster you really are?"

My father, Robert Kemp, has served as the Carter family's housekeeper for decades, handling all their household operations ever since Jake's father was a young man.

Jake dialed his number without hesitation.

A moment later, Robert's tired voice came through the speaker. "Hello, Mr. Carter? Is everything alright?"

Jake shot a smug look at me. "Robert, I'm calling to talk to you about your daughter."

Robert paused. "Jessica? What about her?"

Jake let out a cold laugh. "I suppose you don't know she has been sleeping around and got pregnant."

Robert wasn't convinced. "Pregnant? No, that's impossible. Jessica would never do something like that."

He suffered from severe high blood pressure. Fear shot through me as I caught the panic in his voice.

I lunged forward and tore the phone from Jake's hand. "That's not true, Dad. Don't listen to him..."

Before I could finish, a security guard grabbed me from behind and slammed me hard against the floor. The phone slipped from my grip, skidding across the hardwood right back to Jake's feet.

He picked it up and gestured to the guard to clamp a hand over my mouth. Then, he calmly resumed the call.

"She's been running wild for a long time. Every time she got herself into trouble, Brenda was the one who accompanied her to the clinic.

"A while ago, Brenda went to a bar to pick her up and caught some guy spiking Jessica's drink. To protect your daughter, Brenda snatched the glass and drank it herself. She was assaulted and ended up pregnant because of it.

"Brenda has been so consumed by guilt that she's tried to take her life multiple times. And it's all thanks to your daughter."

Pinned flat against the floor, I couldn't move an inch. All I could hear from the phone speaker was Robert's breathing, growing dangerously heavy and shallow.

I thrashed wildly, desperate to claw my way back to the phone, but the guard only pressed his weight harder into my spine. I could only emit muffled, panicked cries against his palm.

Jake ignored the pure hatred in my eyes and kept talking. "On top of that, Jessica ran up millions in gambling debts with loan sharks. Brenda stole money from me just to bail her out.

"Instead of being grateful, Jessica has been slandering her name. I know you think she's a good kid, but you need to see her true colors.

"She'll stab her best friend in the back today. Who knows who she'll drag down with her tomorrow? You guys should watch your backs."

He hung up, cutting off any chance for me to explain. He looked down at me, pinned to the floor with raw, bloodshot eyes, and grinned with sickening satisfaction.

"Don't blame me for this. I'm just giving your parents friendly heads-up. A girl like you is capable of anything," he continued. "Honestly, I should have banned Brenda from seeing you years ago. She even bought you a house just to make sure you had a roof over your head, and this is how you repay her?"

My eyes widened. "What are you talking about? When did she buy me a house?"

Jake let out a harsh, mocking laugh. "I seriously admire your acting skills. You can lie right to my face without even blinking, even when it's all caught up to you.

"Brenda was terrified you'd gamble everything away and end up on the street, so she used my money to buy a place under your name. She made me promise never to mention it to protect your pathetic pride."

He leaned down. "But a parasite like you doesn't deserve dignity anyway."

A lightbulb went off in my head; I realized where Brenda was hiding.

Jake kept such a tight grip on her credit cards that she would never dare check into a hotel with Michael. It would leave an immediate paper trail.

That meant the secret house wasn't a gift for me at all. Brenda had bought it as a private nest to carry on her affair.

I smirked. "Fine. You claim Brenda bought that house for me, but you don't have any proof. I don't even know where it is. If you're so confident, take me there.

"If you can prove it's mine, I'll do whatever you want. I'll stay away from Brenda forever and issue a public apology to the press."

Predictably, my defiance rattled his ego.

"You asked for it," Jake snorted, turning to his security detail. "Get her in the car."

"Wait a minute!"

"What, getting cold feet?"

"What happens if that house isn't mine? I'm not risking my reputation for nothing."

Jake was entirely sure of himself, so he didn't hesitate to take the bait. He let out a condescending laugh. "If it's not yours, you can keep the place. Brenda bought it with my money anyway, so I have the right to hand it over."

I nodded. "It's a deal."

...

An hour later, we pulled up to the property Brenda had allegedly bought for me.

The moment I stepped out of the vehicle, a brutal slap caught me across the face, snapping my head to the side. Dizzy and stinging, I turned to see my father, his face purple with rage, and my mother standing right behind him, her eyes already swollen from crying.

"You ungrateful brat!" Robert yelled, shoving a finger in my face. "How could you do something like this? You've humiliated this entire family."

I didn't need to guess who had leaked our location.

Jake and I grew up together; he knew my vulnerabilities better than anyone, and he knew my worst nightmare was disappointing my parents.

He figured that by orchestrating a massive family intervention, I'd lose my nerve, break down, and stop meddling with Brenda.

When Robert raised his hand again, my mother, Linda Kemp, rushed forward to pull him back. "Robert, calm down! She probably just made a mistake."

She turned to Jake, pleading desperately, "Jake, you've known Jessica since she was a little girl. You know her character. She isn't a wildcard who sleeps around. There has to be a misunderstanding. Please, for my sake, don't take this out on her."

Jake shot me a look of pure disdain. "The sweet, perfect girl you think you raised is a total act. She's incredibly manipulative. I fell for her tricks once, but now I see her for who she really is.

"If she would just admit where Brenda is and confess to taking the house, I'd show some leniency. But she's digging her heels in. I had no choice but to call you two out here to deal with her."

Linda grew pale with distress. She clutched my shirt collar, sobbing openly. "Jessica, is any of this true? You've always gotten great grades and been such a good kid. How did things get this bad?

"If you were short on cash, you should have come to us! Why would you go to loan sharks?"

"None of this is true, Mom," I insisted.

But Jake wasn't buying a word of it. "Looks like you won't talk until we force your hand."

He stepped closer, looming over me. Fearing he'd hit me, Linda threw herself between us, tears streaming down her face.

"It's my fault," she wept. "I failed as a mother. But please, can you spare her out of respect for how long her father has worked for your family?"

She was about to bow when I hauled her back up. "Mom, stop! What are you doing?"

Desperate to protect me, she clutched Jake's coat. "Jessica has always cared about you. You promised to marry her when you were kids, and she's never forgotten that. She still has that ring you made her out of wire when you played house."

I was frustrated. "Mom, why are you telling him all this?"

After the initial shock, a flash of disgust crossed Jake's face, as if the mere thought of me harboring feelings for him was utterly repulsive.

I turned to face him. "You really want to blow this up?"

He was unfazed. "Why? You are scared to own up to what you did?"

"No," I replied smoothly. "I'm just worried the audience isn't big enough. If you really want a showdown, let's make it a real party. Call all our mutual friends. Call our relatives, our old high school classmates, and every employee at your company. Invite the media while you're at it."

Jake hadn't anticipated me calling his bluff. He instinctively took a step back. "You're out of your mind."

I stared him down with a mocking smile. "What's the matter, Jake? Scared?"

His eyes bulged with rage. "You want a circus? Fine. Don't come crying to me when you're publicly ruined."

The Carter family basically ran this city. When Jake put out a summons, nobody dared to ignore it. Within an hour, a massive crowd of relatives, family friends, and former classmates began swarming the property.

As soon as they heard there was something juicy to watch, everyone swung their curious gazes toward me, launching into wild guesses without bothering to even learn the facts.

"Isn't that Jessica Kemp?" a former classmate whispered. "She was always so quiet in school. I never would have pegged her for something like this."

"Well, appearances are deceiving," another chimed in. "She acts like a total angel in public, but who knows what trashy things she's doing behind closed doors?"

"Poor Brenda," a relative sighed. "She bails Jessica out constantly, only to get dragged through the mud. I hope she finally sees through Jessica and cuts her off for good."

Even the reporters who had rushed over were already pointing their cameras at me, broadcasting live.

The nasty gossip didn't make me angry. In fact, a rush of dark excitement surged through me. I couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when they realized their precious Brenda was currently in bed with another man.

Alright, now that the whole gang is here, let's take a tour of this house Brenda supposedly bought for me," I said, clapping my hands. "Let's just make sure she didn't actually buy it for some other guy and use me as her scapegoat."

"Are you serious, Jessica? You're still slandering Brenda at a time like this?" someone shouted from the crowd.

Another echoed, "Brenda's unfortunate to have a backstabber as her friend."

I didn't bother arguing with them. I just gestured for Jake to open the door.

He shot me a glare. "Don't think you're getting out of this by pretending you forgot your keys."

I shrugged casually. "Even if I had them, your security goons dragged me out of my apartment so fast I didn't have time to grab anything. But hey, why don't you just knock? Maybe someone's home."

Jake's patience wore thin. "I don't have time for your mind games. You're the one who insisted on calling everyone out here. Are you trying to waste our time?"

"I'm just asking," I countered with a smirk. "Are you brave enough to knock or not?"

Reverse psychology works like a charm. Furious and eager to prove me wrong, Jake slammed his fist against the door. "What's there to be scared of?"

A familiar voice drifted from inside. "Who is it? I literally left a note saying to leave the delivery at the door! Why are you knocking?"

Jake frowned, recognizing Brenda's voice. He whipped his head around to stare at me in total shock. "You hid her in your house?"

Before I could reply, the door swung open. Brenda appeared in a lace nightgown, rubbing sleep from her eyes. When she saw who was standing there, her jaw dropped.

"J-Jake?" she stammered. "What are you doing here?"

She instinctively clamped a hand over her collarbone, trying to hide a cluster of fresh hickeys. But the sudden, panicked movement only drew everyone's eyes straight to them.

Right on cue, a man's voice drifted out from the bedroom. "Babe, who's at the door?"

A guy wearing only a pair of shorts stepped into the doorway. Spotting Jake, he froze on the spot.

The scene spoke for itself. Even fools could tell what was going on. The three of them stood frozen, staring at one another as the air in the hallway turned to ice.

I stood at the back of the crowd, a cold smile finally spreading across my face. The real entertainment was about to begin.