My Boyfriend's Childhood Sweetheart Set Me Up As An Escort

When I didn't answer, Sadie went in for the kill. "Shane, honey, girls like her crawl out of the gutter and then keep hustling on the side. It's not too late to see what she really is." "Dump her before she ruins you." I glanced at the paper. Kept my voice flat. "Erin Hart isn't exactly a rare name. There are probably a hundred of us in this state alone." "What makes you so sure it's me?" Sadie's jaw tightened. She bared her teeth. "Same name, sure, could be a coincidence. But same face too?" "Really?" I let out a cold laugh. "Fine. Call your cousin." "Video him right now. Let's settle this face to face." That threw her. She hesitated, then turned all soft and teary, looking at Shane's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Griffin, I'm just worried. God knows how many men she's been with." "What if she gave Shane something?" "I know I'm blunt. But I'm saying this for Shane's sake." Shane was staring at me now. Doubt in his eyes. My stomach dropped. I grabbed his hand. "Shane. We've been together three years." "You know who I am." His eyes flickered. Wavering. Then he glanced at Sadie and lowered his voice. "Sadie, this isn't something to joke about. If you've got the wrong person, you owe Erin an apology." He paused. "I want to believe you, Erin. But…" "Sadie wouldn't just make this up." "If you did it, just admit it now. I'll let it go." I went stiff. Thought I'd misheard him. His parents didn't even bother pretending anymore. "Shane, don't be ridiculous. If she's really what Sadie says, we will never let you be with her." "The proof is right there on the table. You think this is some crazy coincidence?" From the second I walked through that door, Mr. and Mrs. Griffin had barely looked at me. Little digs about how I grew up in some nothing town. How I wasn't their kind. How I must've used some trick to hook him. They said Shane was throwing his life away. And now this year, he'd sprung me on them without warning. They weren't wrong about one thing. My parents come from a small town. They sold everything they had to put me through college. But I earned every step after. Passed the civil service exams. Started at the bottom. Climbed my way up to Commissioner. I never told Shane the truth about my job. I said I was a paper-pusher in some government office. Because I didn't want him to feel small next to me. Tonight was supposed to be the night I told him everything. Tonight was supposed to be the night I proposed. Instead, his parents were looking at me like I was trash. My lip trembled. "Mr. and Mrs. Griffin, my family doesn't have money. But what does that have to do with who I am?" "You can look down on me all you want. But leave my parents out of it." That shut them up. For a second. I turned to sit back down. Then Sadie's wine glass hit me full in the chest. Red soaked through my dress. "Erin, Shane already gave you a chance. You're too proud to admit it." "Fine. Let's see you talk your way out of this." She reached into her purse. Threw a stack of photos onto the table. "Girls like you don't come from nowhere. Your parents are probably gutter trash too."

I looked down, and my blood turned to ice. The photos showed a woman being led out of a motel in handcuffs. Wearing next to nothing. Squad cars in the background. Officers on either side. The face was mine. Sadie was practically glowing. "My cousin said when they booked her, she was crying so hard she could barely stand. Begging them not to put it in the system." She turned to me. Smug. "So, Erin. Still innocent?" "Keep talking." My voice came out flat. Steady. I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. She'd planned this. Every piece of it. She wanted me humiliated in front of everyone. I looked up and locked eyes with Shane. His jaw was tight. He wouldn't even look at me straight. "Erin. I actually thought maybe it was a mix-up." "Now you're standing there with proof, and you still want to lie?" His parents rose from the couch. His mother's voice was shrill. "Get out. Get out of my house." "We don't welcome people like you here." I didn't flinch. I pulled out my phone. Captain Reeves. The precinct captain who'd welcomed me to the district last month. One call and this whole thing would end. The line rang. And rang. And rang. He didn't pick up. Sadie let out a laugh. "Stop the act, Erin. Who exactly are you calling to lie for you now?" She reached for my phone. I pulled it back before her fingers touched it. "Touch me," I said, "and you'll regret it." Something flickered in her eyes. She covered it fast, turning back to Shane, threading her arm through his. "Shane, I told you. Girls who look sweet like her——They're the dirtiest ones. Do you believe me now?" I looked at Shane. Waited. His face was pure ice. "Erin, you think I was ever really into you? You were pretty." "You were easy to keep around. That's it." "My parents kept pushing me to settle down, so I brought you tonight to shut them up. And you made me a joke." Something inside me went very, very still. Three years. And I was just a prop to him. I set my wine glass down on the table. Slowly. Deliberately. Then I straightened my spine and looked him dead in the eye. "You didn't make a joke out of yourself tonight, Shane. You've been one the whole time. I just didn't see it." His expression cracked—just for a second. Sadie stepped forward, voice rising loud enough for the whole room. "Look at her. Still putting on airs. A gutter rat playing dress-up, and she actually thinks she has dignity." She turned to the guests, arms spread wide. "Everyone see this? This is the woman who tried to worm her way into a good family. Got caught red-handed, and still won't admit what she is." Whispers spread through the room like wildfire. I didn't run. Didn't cry. Didn't beg. I picked up my coat from the chair, pulled it on, and walked toward the door. At the threshold, I stopped. Turned. "Sadie." She looked at me, still wearing that smirk. "Enjoy this moment. It's the last free one you'll get." I walked out into the cold night air. My hands were shaking—not from fear. From rage.

I'm standing on the front steps, pulling my coat tighter against the wind. The wine stain on my dress is already going stiff in the cold. Behind me, the door opens. Sadie's voice carries into the night. "Oh, she's still here? Figured she'd run back to whatever corner she came from." She's got her phone out. Recording. Shane's neighbors are on their porches now. Watching. Sadie raises her voice. Performing. "Hey everyone! Merry Christmas! Meet Erin Hart. Shane's little girlfriend." "Except she's not who she says she is. She's a hooker. Got busted in a sting last month." "Tried to lock down a nice guy and ride his family's money out of the gutter." One of the neighbors laughs. Another shakes his head. "She looked so proper. Who'd have guessed." "Poor Shane. Boy must've been blind." Sadie keeps going. Louder now. Feeding off the audience. "Tell them, Erin. Tell them about the motel. Tell them about begging the cops on your knees." "Or is that just your natural position?" I turn around. Look at her. She's expecting tears. Begging. A breakdown. Instead, I take one step toward her. My voice is low and clear. "You done?" That throws her. She recovers fast. "What's the matter? Truth hurt? Go ahead, call someone. Call your pimp." "Or wait—was that the number you were trying earlier?" Shane appears in the doorway. Arms crossed. Watching me like I'm a stranger. "Erin, just go. You've embarrassed yourself enough." "Just looking at you makes me sick. First thing tomorrow, I'm going to the doctor." "Full workup. And if you gave me anything, I swear to God, I will bury you." Sadie rubs his arm. Cooing. "Don't waste your breath on someone like her. She's not worth it." I look at Shane one last time. Nothing. Not a flicker of the man I thought I knew. I straighten up. Square my shoulders. "Shane. You want me gone? I'm gone." "But not because you told me to. Because I'm choosing to leave." "And Sadie—" I lock eyes with her. "I'll give you one last chance. Tell everyone right now that you made this up. Apologize. And I walk away clean." "Last offer." Sadie's face twists. She laughs, high and sharp. "Apologize? To you? A street whore?" She turns back to her phone. The live-stream is running. "Everyone watching—look at this. She's still trying to bluff her way out." "This is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen." The comments are rolling in: "Damn, she's bold 💀" "Just leave, girl, it's over" "Streamer spill more tea" "This is wild for Christmas Eve" Sadie reads them out loud. Grinning. "See, Erin? The whole internet knows what you are now." "How's it feel? Being seen for what you really are?" I pull my phone out one more time. This time I don't call Reeves. I open my camera. Aim it right at Sadie. "You're live-streaming? Good. So am I." "Everything you just said. Everything you just did. On the record." "Defamation. Harassment. All of it timestamped." "You just handed me the evidence, Sadie. Gift-wrapped." For the first time all night, something cracks in her face. Real fear. Just a flash. Then she covers it with a sneer. "Please. You think anyone's going to believe a hooker over me?" I smile. Not warmth in it. "They won't have to believe anyone. They'll watch the tape." I turn and walk down the steps. Into the snow. Back straight. Head up. Behind me, Sadie is still yelling. Performing. But her voice is getting thinner. I don't look back.