Series 2
Chapter 1.
I’m Claire, thirty–three.
C
Dylan is twenty–eight–five years younger.
He used to tell me age would never be a problem between us.
But then I heard him tell his buddy: “I don’t know why, but ever since Claire hit thirty, she just feels…
kind of dirty to me.”
Later, he found himself a mistress who looked just like me.
He gave me his love, gave her his body.
Even thought he’s goddamn perfect.
Until I handed him the divorce papers.
I just smiled and said: “You know what’s great about being with an older sister? We know how to
play the game, and we sure as hell know how to walk away from it.”
Sometimes a woman’s gut instinct is scary accurate.
Dylan was in the shower when his phone rang.
Local number. No caller ID.
I picked up.
“Hello? Hello?” I said. “Who is this?”
Dead silence on the other end, then hung up.
Just a few seconds of silence, but it felt like some kind of understanding.
The other party knew who I was.
And I knew something was seriously off.
15:04
Nine Years Wasted–Now I’m Marrying Your Rival
8.39%
Chapter 1
So I unlocked Dylan’s phone.
Used that number to track down whoever it was on his social media.
Then I found her. Some girl with a cutesy anime profile pic, username “PeachyBabe,” no contact name saved, notifications turned off.
Their chat was clean.
Just one unread message: “I miss you.”
Four little words, and my heart just dropped.
I figured Dylan was probably, most likely, cheating.
My hands started shaking as I held his phone.
Then I clicked on her profile.
Her cover photo was obviously her–beachy waves, glossy lips, radiating that fresh–faced energy that
only comes with being twenty–something. She was pretty, I’ll give her that.
But I didn’t look too long, just snapped a quick photo with my own phone.
Her timeline was pretty active.
I scrolled fast, then stopped dead at one particular post.
She’d written: “I only accept $143 transfers, not a penny more!”
Below it was a screenshot.
Her chat with Dylan.
His contact name in her phone: “Princess Keeper.”
She’d asked: “Where’s my $143 you promised?”
Dylan sent twenty grand.
But she didn’t accept it. Sent it back.
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Nine Years Wasted–Now I’m Marrying Your Rival
8.69
Chapter 1
“I said $143!”
Dylan replied with a bunch of dots, then sent exactly that amount.
She wrote: “You know what $143 means, right? It means I love you forever!”
I kept my face blank and took another photo.
After leaving her profile, I went into Dylan’s transaction history.
Checked every single transfer between them.
One after another, the list just kept going.
The most regular payment was fifty grand every month.
For three months straight.
Plus random amounts–ten grand, twenty grand, one thousand, two thousand, couple hundred here
and there.
Including those special numbers: 143, 111, 222.
I photographed every single transaction.
Stayed completely calm the whole time.
Even remembered to mark their chat as unread before closing out.
15:01
