Sarah collapsed into her mother’s arms and finally let herself sob. Not from shock, but from the sheer heartbreak of it. Inside, they sat at the kitchen table. Dad looked grim.
Emily arrived ten minutes later, breathless. “Sarah, you’re scaring me.”
Sarah put the flash drive on the table. “Watch this.”
They gathered around her dad’s laptop. Silence fell as the video played. Mom gasped. Emily swore loudly. Dad turned a shade of purple Sarah had never seen before.
“I’m going to kill him,” Dad said quietly when it ended. “I’m going to find that son of a bitch and break his legs.”
“Dad, no,” Sarah said, putting a hand on his arm. “He’s not worth jail time.”
“How dare he…” Dad hissed. “I shook his hand. I called him son.”
“I know.”
Emily stood up, pacing the kitchen. “Is he at your place right now?”
“Yeah.”
“What are you gonna do? Go back and scream at him?”
“No,” Sarah shook her head. “If I confront him now, he’ll deny it. Or he’ll cry and beg and say it was a mistake. I know his type. He’s a manipulator. I want him to understand what it feels like to be humiliated. Publicly.”
“You want revenge?” Emily asked.
“Yes. They laughed at me, Em. They planned to steal my home. I want them to regret it.”
“She’s right,” Dad said. “Let the bastard get what he deserves.”
“Okay,” Emily nodded. “I’m in. What’s the plan?”
Sarah wiped her eyes. The fire inside her was burning hot now.
“I want to gather the guests again. Everyone who was at the wedding. Have an ‘impromptu post-wedding dinner’ at the restaurant. And show them this video.”
Emily let out a low whistle. “Damn. That is… savage. You serious?”
“Dead serious. I want everyone to see who he really is. I want everyone to see what kind of friend Jessica is. I want them to be ashamed.”
“He’ll be there too,” Mom worried.
“Exactly. I want him to watch his world crumble.”
They spent the next hour plotting. Dad took notes. Emily made a guest list.
“We need a projector,” Sarah said. “Robert, the manager, can set it up. I’ll tell Jason I want to show a ‘thank you’ video montage to the guests.”
“When do we do the reveal?” Dad asked.
“Once everyone has eaten and relaxed. I’ll make a toast, and then… roll the tape.”
“Sarah,” Emily looked at her with newfound respect. “I always thought you were the soft one. But this? This is warrior queen energy.”
Sarah smiled grimly. “I’m just done being the nice teacher everyone walks all over.”
That evening, she called the restaurant. Robert picked up immediately.
“Mrs. Miller? I’ve been thinking about you all day.”
“Robert, I need to rent the room again. This Saturday night. I’m hosting a dinner.”
Saturday arrived. For two days, Sarah played the role of the happy newlywed. She smiled at Jason over breakfast, asked about his cars, cooked dinner. It was terrifying how easy it was to lie once you knew the truth…
