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A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.
It was happening. Everything was ready. (F/n) had it all; she only had to walk downstairs. How things were formatted, she wouldn't even have to say a word until all of it was shown to them. Lee would even have a view of the screen. Things would play out, and Kaleb and Tristan would be gone before they got to taste a bite of food. At least, she assumed that to be the case unless they had started eating without her.
Laptop in hand, she headed down the steps. She had the new phone too, and the recording was all ready to be played at the right moment. Her flip-flops hit the stairs in a rhythmic pattern, and she felt almost like she was walking down a grand staircase at a ball. It was as though this was her victory walk, and it truly was.
In the dining room, she heard Anita call out that she didn't want to miss the surprise. (F/n) didn't wish for her to miss it either. No, she was a key part in it; Anita needed to be there. Hearing her steps on the stairs, both men looked back to her, and she sent them a smile.
"Is this just a surprise for Tristan?" Kaleb asked with a quirked brow.
Rolling her eyes, (f/n) remarked, "Should I cancel dinner?" Kaleb only laughed after that, and Tristan chuckled a little in amusement. Frankly, she didn't even want to think about what Kaleb's question implied. Instead, she stepped into the room and retook her seat. "The surprise is for all of three of you. I thought that I might come up with something to celebrate us all having dinner together here for the first time."
Glancing to the kitchen, (f/n) inquired, "She went to go get the food?" Kaleb and Tristan nodded. "Okay, well, she should be out in a moment, then." She smiled. "I think that she'll be shocked by this." Her smile was kind and appeared as though there was nothing hidden behind it.
"Well, you already shocked us all with the dinner," Tristan commented, smiling. He reached over and grabbed her right hand. His thumb ran over the back of her hand, and she managed to wear a smile on her lips. Frankly, she wanted to rip her hand away, but she just had to endure this a little longer. When Anita came out a moment later, Tristan let go of her hand as they all got up to help place the food. The dishes were covered and set in the center of the table.
Instantly, Anita looked to (f/n) with a grin. Her hands rested on the back of her chair, and she was practically jumping in place. "So," somehow her grin grew bigger, "what's the surprise?"
Wearing a smile again, (f/n) pulled up the item of interest. "A slideshow. I thought that it might be a good idea to commemorate the moments we've spent together so far." Slightly, she grew a bit embarrassed. "Or, was that too much?"
"Not at all." Tristan grabbed her hand again and gave her an encouraging smile. "That was sweet of you." Nearly, she laughed. Oh, he'd be thinking otherwise very soon.
"Eh?!" Anita giggled and grinned. "You should've told me; I would've worked on it with you!"
"Then, it wouldn't have been a surprise," (f/n) replied with a quirked brow and light laugh.
"I suppose," Anita admitted as she took her seat and scooted closer to Kaleb. Kaleb wrapped his arm around her waist and looked ready to view what she had in store for them.
"Thanks for putting this together for us, (f/n). I imagine that it wasn't easy," Kaleb responded, looking grateful. Yeah, he probably was going to be pissed off soon. Or, acting like he hadn't done anything that was going to be revealed.
"When did you take the pictures for this?" Tristan questioned, curious and impressed.
(F/n) winked. "I have my secrets." An amused smirk touched his lips, and he didn't say anything more. He probably thought that she had been sneaking pictures of him, like Anita had done to her so that Tristan would have unauthorized pictures of her. Yeah, she didn't desire to see any revealing pictures of him. She looked to all of them. "Ready?"
Once all of them nodded, she hit the play button for the slideshow and turned the computer around. The title slide simply had the words A Commemoration for Us. All of them remained relaxed. Then, the first content slide popped up. Lee saw the picture when they did. If only he could witness their expressions. It was the first picture of Kaleb in the club they had found. Pasted on the front of the picture was the text that went with it. Partying hard tonight!
Kaleb's smile faded, and he tensed in his seat. The date of the picture was posted, and Anita read over it, but her brows were furrowed in confusion. It was evident that she never had seen the picture before. Tristan didn't look too comfortable either. Then, the next piece of evidence came up and the next. None of them said anything.
Anita gulped when she read over the one post from the server from Toxic Red. He talked about going after some girl when the time was right if her business turned out to be a success. Honestly, feel bad for her whoever she is. Kaleb was frozen to his seat, and Tristan appeared highly uncomfortable while Anita was beginning to look like she was in denial of what she was viewing.
Eventually, the messages between Harper and her friend came up. Anita read over the part about the few months, and she became very still before she slowly began to shake her head. "No," she finally muttered. Kaleb steadily removed his arm from around her waist. Tristan didn't say anything. "This was all before we officially started dating, though."
For a moment, (f/n) averted her eyes to her phone. The slide saying that it was time for a recording came up. (F/n) pressed the play button. She stared ahead to all of them. Now, Kaleb and Tristan gulped. Anita couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her jaw opened in shock, and she shook her head, especially when (f/n) turned the phone to them all and showed the time stamp of the recording, which Anita knew (f/n) wasn't capable of changing. "No, no, no." Quickly, she looked to Kaleb. "Did you really say those things? Are you really cheating on me with someone else? With that girl from those messages and picture?"
Rather than answering Anita, Kaleb locked his gaze with (f/n). She sat back and crossed her arms, staring dead ahead. Before he could say a word, she remarked confidently, "You should be more aware of your surroundings."
Out of adrenaline, Kaleb asked without really thinking, "How did you know? How did you find out all of this?" Anita's jaw opened again. He just had admitted to it all, and (f/n) could see her heart breaking. Tears began to roll down Anita's cheeks, and she leaned back in her chair as she tried to process what she was hearing.
"Eric's Pub and Grill." A glare fell onto her face, and her (e/c) optics connected with Tristan's light blue ones. "I heard you both in the back. I heard what you were planning, and I decided that I wasn't going to let my future be trampled upon by you." (F/n) sat up straighter on her chair. "You would've fooled me had I not heard that conversation, but I'm certainly glad that I did. So, I looked into what I could find on you both, and you weren't as careful as you thought you were. I found what I needed, and you two were so arrogant that you talked about your plans in the hallway of the hotel when I was just a little bit away."
Upon her lips grew a bitter smile. "You thought that you were playing me, but I was playing you both from the moment I heard that conversation at the pub and grill." Her eyes turned from them to Anita. "So, what do you think of your boyfriend, Anita? Still, want to be with him?"
Swiftly, Kaleb grabbed Anita's hands, but she tugged them away. Tears continued to run down her cheeks. She shook her head at him before she stood up from her seat. "You ..." Her fists clenched. "We were planning our future, but you could care less as long as you got your money and time away from work." Anita clenched her fists more. "How dare you! I gave you so many chances, and I was betting a lot on you this time, and you still lied to me!" Kaleb got up to try and appease her, but Anita slapped him hard across the face. "You f*cking b*st*rd!"
Pointing to Tristan, who felt incredibly awkward at this point, Anita exclaimed, "And, you! I was willing to give you my best friend! And, you knew all along that Kaleb was cheating on me!" Anita continued to yell profanities at both men, and (f/n) simply watched Anita's anger unfold. Neither man could get a word in, but she could tell that Kaleb was getting angrier by the second.
Now standing up himself, Kaleb tsked and yelled back, "Don't act like you're completely innocent either, Anita! You were selling out your friend for your own success!" Kaleb pointed to (f/n). "You're as much to blame for this as we are. In fact, none of this would've happened if you hadn't agreed to it!"
"Well, maybe, you should be more careful where you speak!" Anita retorted back fiercely. "And, you should've never cheated. I would've forgiven all of those past actions of yours, but that recording had been this past Tuesday!" She poked his chest hard. "And, you admitted to your actions too!"
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