Page 4 of Forbidden Vows

Naked.

On my best friend’s phone.

“What…how…why…” My mouth turnsto paper, and I stare.

All the blood drains from my body, making my skin go icy, my stomach churn, and a cool perspiration bead at my hairline. I can’t speak, the words dissolving on my tongue. The remaining sliver of my self-worth sinks into my fuzzy pink socks.

I’m watching a sex video of me and my ex-boyfriend. I’m spread-eagled on the bed, totally naked.

I’m dying. I don’t even know what to say.

I stare at the screen. “That’s me. That’s my…” I can’t even say the body part out loud.

“Don’t act like you’re a prude now, Miss Cleopatra. Not when I’m looking at a clip of you as a fairly dedicated porn star.” The tip of her acrylic, hot pink nail taps the screen with each syllable. “That’s your va-gi-na.” Adding to my humiliation and discomfort, she adds, “Your pussy. Your minge. Queen Cleopatra’s lady folds.”

“Oh, my goodness. Stop.” I can’t take my eyes off the phone. My heart sinks into the pit of my queasy stomach. “And never say lady folds again.”

“Let’s not beat around the bush here—” She pauses, making sure I got the pun before she continues. We love puns. “What he did is not only bottom-of-the-barrel kind of behavior. It’s illegal.”

I can’t take my eyes off the screen. Now Keith enters the frame, crawling across the bed before burying his face between my legs.

At least the back of his head is now blocking the view of my—lady folds. I groan. “What if my friends see this?—”

"You know everyone already has. He tagged your entire world in it!”

“No.” A horrible thought washes over me. “What about my family? Or, even worse, what if one of my students’ parents sees this?”

“You know how quickly this stuff spreads—especially revenge porn. Remember the early 2000s? That’s how B-list celebs landed their reality shows. “She holds up her hands, making air quotes with her hooked fingers. “’ Accidental’ sex tape releases.”

“This was no accident!” I fly off the couch, pacing hard enough to wear a path in her fur rug. “I can’t believe I even agreed to film in the first place!”

She grabs my hand, hers warm while mine is cold as ice. I glance down at her as she pleads with me using her pretty brown doe eyes. “Please sit down. You’re going to give one of us a heart attack with that manic pacing of yours.”

I collapse onto the sofa next to her, handing her phone back. “What was I thinking? I never do anything crazy like that.” I throw an arm over my eyes, blocking out the cold, cruel world.

“By the way you’re moaning in that video, I think it was your lady folds doing all the thinking.”

“Please. Shut it off.”

I listen as she clicks the phone off. “Done.”

“What do I do?” I let my arm fall from my face to stare at her. “This has to disappear. ASAP. I could lose my job!”

She shakes her head, curls bouncing in anger for me. “Even for Keith, this is bad.”

“Truly awful,” I repeat, still struggling to accept that he not only cheated on me but also ended our relationship. Then, he shared intimate images online as revenge.

Revenge for what?

What did I do to him?

I dried his tears when every club in the city rejected his DJ demo album, took out the trash whenever the can was full, and tried to be exciting in bed while I was perfectly happy being a missionary vanilla bean.

I even allowed him to film me doing it with him on that foolish day when I didn’t want to…

I should have trusted my instincts.

Seraphina grabs the phone and stands up. “You need a lawyer, Cleopatra.”

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