The So-called Art

On my fifth birthday with Zachary Murdock, I sit once again in front of a full table of cold food, just like every year before. Zachary had promised, as always, to spend the day with me. And, as always, he breaks that promise. This year, it's because his childhood sweetheart wanted to shoot a set of "artistic photos". She invited him and a few of his close buddies to be part of it. Without hesitation, he ditches me again and runs straight into her arms. At 11:00 pm, his childhood sweetheart posts a photo to her social media and sets it so that only I can see it. In the picture, four men are in nothing but black briefs and Windsor-knotted ties. They kneel around her while she is draped in sheer fabric like a goddess. The caption reads, "Some people beg for crumbs, but I own the entire bakery." I take a screenshot. Then, I send it to the girlfriends of all three of Zachary’s best buddies. If they all look down on me this much, let's hope they don't end up on their knees begging me someday. Chapter 1 I could feel something breaking apart deep down as I stared calmly at the photo on Instagram. In the photo, warm lights cast on four men dressed in black briefs and Windsor-knotted ties. They kneeled around a woman with gazes full of devotion and submission, as if she were their majestic queen. The woman wore only a sheer black shawl. It was practically see-through, clinging to her curves and leaving little to the imagination. Every inch of her body radiated raw, primal lust. Her prideful expression made her presence blinding to look at. The photo came with a provocative caption. "Some people beg for crumbs, but I own the entire bakery." I glanced at the dishes on the table that had turned cold before looking at the photo again. My anger suddenly dissipated when I saw Zachary Murdock and his best friends' submissive and lowly looks. Why should I be angry over something worthless? I liked Bianca Lynne's post and left a comment. "Trash is meant to be with trash cans. You guys should stay together forever." I screenshotted the photo right after and forwarded it to each of Zachary's friends' girlfriends. I had barely finished when the post mysteriously vanished. Ten minutes later, my phone was flooded with messages. It was from Zachary's three best friends. Liam York: "Lindsey Ford, what's wrong with you? So what if I helped Bianca with a photoshoot? You even told my girlfriend! Why are you so nosy? She is mad at me now. Are you pleased then?" Jayden Hall: "Lindsey Ford, you crazy woman! What did I even do to you? Why would you send that to my girl? Go to hell if you've nothing better to do, psycho!" Sam Moore: "Lindsey Ford. Who the hell do you think you are? Did I wrong you? I hope your whole family gets hit by a damn truck." Staring at all the insults that flooded my screen, I was ready to fight back when Zachary called. I answered the call, and his frustrated voice came from the other end of the line. "Lindsey, what the hell are you doing in the middle of the night? "Just because you snitched on them, their girlfriends are making a fuss and asking to break up with them now. "Do you know how much trouble you've caused? Do you have such a twisted mind that you can't take it when others are living a good life?" Chapter 2 "Now Bianca is crying out of guilt, and this is all your fault! "I don't care what you're doing now, come here and make things clear. Apologize to Bianca too, or I won't go easy on you anymore," Zachary spat furiously. "Did Bianca cry?" I asked. "Duh! Why would I be this angry if you hadn't made her cry? It seems like I've spoiled you too much. You're getting more unreasonable now," he replied. "Is she still wearing that pathetic piece of fabric that can hardly cover her body? Are you guys still wearing the black briefs when comforting her?" I questioned. Zachary's voice faltered. "Lindsey, stop the nonsense. I don't know what you're saying." "Really?" I sent him the screenshot earlier. "Look at how shameless she was. Didn't you all feel something during the photoshoot?" Zachary ended the call immediately. He probably didn't expect Bianca posting that photo to trigger me. Bianca likely hadn't expected that I would forward it to the boys' girlfriends, too. I sent him a text right after he ended the call. "Why did you hang up the call? Why did you stop questioning me?" For a long time, I received nothing. I had no choice but to post the screenshot of their photoshoot and the filth they sent me on my Instagram. I didn't forget the caption either. "Alone or not, happy birthday to me." It was already past midnight, and my birthday was over. However, my post ignited a fervent discussion among my friends. All of them flooded the comments section. "Damn! Zachary was with another woman on your birthday? Your boyfriend is trash, Lindsey." "It's okay, Lindsey. You don't need him to be there. You've got us." "Never knew Zachary was a walking red flag. Four jokers and their queen, huh?" "Good Lord. She actually posted herself wearing those? Is she trying to sell herself now?" Ten minutes later, Liam's girlfriend joined the fun. She reposted the screenshot and announced her breakup with Liam. "If he would pose in underwear for her today, he would sleep with her tomorrow. Now that piece of trash can find his excitement in the trash bin." That post alone gained hundreds of likes in mere seconds. Still, there was no reply from Zachary. However, I wasn't someone who kept everything to myself like the female lead in romance novels. I sent the screenshot straight to Zachary's parents. That move finally dragged the bastard out of his shell. The next morning, I received a call from his mother, Susan Smith. "Lindsey, sweetheart, could you stop by? We saw the photo and thought there must be a misunderstanding. Just come over, and we'll talk this through. Is that okay? "You and Zachary have been together for years, and you're about to get married, too. Let's not get too worked up over something like this." Chapter 3 "Mrs. Murdock, since you've seen the photo, I think we know there's no misunderstanding. "You've seen how I treated Zachary all these years. I've never wronged him. I loved him, but that didn't give him any right to hurt me as he wished," I said. She was still his mother, after all. I couldn't be too harsh. "I'll get ready and be there soon." After ending the call, I put on some makeup, grabbed my car keys, and headed out. When I pulled up at the Murdock villa, Zachary's parents were already waiting outside. Zachary stood behind them, hanging his head low. I got out of the car and had just shut the door when a black sports car sped toward me from the side. "Lindsey, watch out!" Zachary lunged out and pushed me out of the way. I landed on the floor with a thump and saw how Zachary was sent flying as the car hit him. The car sped away and disappeared. Zachary was rushed to the hospital. He pushed me out of the way just in time, only to get his leg run over and end up fracturing his leg. Luckily, it wasn't critical. I watched him lie there with a calm expression. If this had happened before yesterday, I would've felt so guilty after seeing how badly injured he was because of me. I would've burst into tears on his shoulders and blamed myself for not being able to suffer in place of him. But now, I was just grateful that he had shoved me away, allowing me to walk away with just minor scratches. Zachary was just out of surgery. He looked weak, his face as pale as a sheet. His eyes lit up slightly when he saw me, and he said feebly, "Lindsey, thank god you're okay." "Zachary Murdock, what day was it yesterday?" I asked sharply. Zachary sounded annoyed as he replied, "Lindsey, I'm stuck in bed and injured because of you. Can't you see that? "If it weren't for me, you would be lying on this bed now. But now you're whining about your damn birthday. How could you be so cold-hearted and selfish?" Susan blamed me, too. "Exactly, Lindsey. Zachary has saved your life and is injured because of you. He's also your fiancé. How could you talk to him like that?" "Oh, so you knew I was your future daughter-in-law. I thought you already had someone else in mind," I retorted before turning back to Zachary, who was lying on the bed. "Answer me. What day was yesterday?" Zachary deflated like a balloon. "It was your birthday. Are you happy now? "Lindsey, all I did was miss out on your birthday. Was that such a big deal? We'll spend your birthday together next year. I promise, alright?" Amused, I asked him, "So, where were you last year? What about the year before last year and also the year before that? What were you doing on my birthdays for the past three years?" "Uh…" Zachary hesitated. Seeing that he had fallen silent, I reminded him, "Last year, Bianca said she wanted to see the sunset. You went hiking with her the whole day and left me alone in the restaurant. "The year before that, you promised to spend my birthday with me. I had already prepared the yacht, but you had gone to help Bianca move. You had even driven off my car, leaving me at the jetty all by myself." Chapter 4 "And the year before that year, Bianca had just come back from overseas. You all used my five-star hotel and threw her a party for a week straight. Not only did you forget about my birthday, but none of you even paid the bill. I had to settle that million dollars out of my pocket. "As for this year, I'm not even going to talk about the others. You dressed up like that just to pose in her photoshoot. Even a streetwalker dressed more decently than her. What would you think if I did the same with another man?" Zachary's face contorted in anger. "Lindsey Ford, could you not be so disgusting with your words? "Bianca did it to celebrate her body as a form of art. It was about confidence and breaking free from the chains. She wore that to explore her own body. You wouldn't understand it." He looked at me with disgust before continuing, "I was contributing to art. If you think it's disgusting, it's because you know nothing about its beauty. Not only that, you're just jealous and can't take it when someone else's outstanding." I nodded slowly. "Yeah, you're right. I should be a saint and forgive my boyfriend for pursuing his artistic awakening instead of spending time with me on my birthday. Is that right?" "Exactly! You'll still have your birthday next year, but this was Bianca's only time to capture her prime youth. Once it's gone, it's gone. I was just helping a friend chase her dreams. What's wrong with that?" "You're absolutely right," I said approvingly. "If that's how much you love art, then go for it. We're done." The second I said it, Zachary panicked. "Are you breaking up with me? Over this stupid thing? "Have you gone crazy? I helped Bianca as a friend because she had no one else. What's the big deal? Can you stop the nonsense? I'm already lying on a hospital bed, and you're still acting up like this?" "I'm not acting up at all. You kept going on about how Bianca was alone, but what about me? My parents are overseas, too. Do you remember what you promised them before they left? Have you held up to any of that?" I questioned. Zachary just looked away stubbornly. "Whatever. This is still your fault!" I gave him one last look. "If you insist, then I have nothing more to say. Rest well. I'll pay for your hospital bills." Just as I stood up to leave, Zachary's father, Daniel Murdock, slapped Zachary across the face. Zachary stared at his father in disbelief. "Dad! What the hell!" Susan rushed forward, pushing her husband aside. "Have you lost your mind? Why did you hit him?" "Serves him right!" Daniel roared. "He's about to get married, but he's still out there messing around with other women. Doesn't he deserve that slap? "If he hadn't been chasing that woman around, would he be lying in this hospital bed right now? He brought this on himself!" Daniel turned to me and said apologetically, "Don't be angry, Lindsey. I'll make sure this idiot learn his lesson. I swear that this will never happen again." I raised my hand to stop him. "Forget about teaching him a lesson. If you really want me to forgive him, I have one condition." Chapter 5 Zachary's eyes lit up. "What condition? Tell me. I'll do anything!" "Call the police," I said as I looked him dead in the eye. "File a report and charge the person who hit you. Take it all the way." If Zachary's legs weren't broken, he would have leapt out of the bed. "No way! Liam didn't mean to hit me. It was an accident. He's my good friend, so I'm absolutely not turning him in!" "Suit yourself." I was done wasting my time here and stood up to leave. At the door, I turned back and said one last time, "Starting today, your precious friends can stop dreaming about getting anything out of the Ford family. "Since you've made it clear that the man who tried to kill your fiancée matters more, I'll handle it myself." As I walked out of the hospital, Bianca was walking over hurriedly. She noticed me and sneered, "I heard Zachary got hurt. You don't mind me visiting, do you?" "Nope." I shrugged. "We broke up. Visit him or sleep with him, I couldn't care less." I tried to walk past her, but Bianca threw out an arm to stop me. "Lindsey Ford, don't think having some money makes you anything special. So what? Zachary is still chasing after me like a dog in heat." She spat out in disgust, "Do you really think that he loves you? Please. He's just at that age where it's time to settle down. He's only with you because it makes things easier for his company. To him, you're nothing but a pawn. His words, not mine. "Do you think he was happy with you? He never mentioned your name once when he was with me. Whether drunk or sleeping, he always called my name." Her eyes glinted with malicious intent as she continued, "And it's not just Zachary. Liam and the rest of the boys? I can make them do anything with just a snap of my fingers." Something she said made me pause. "Oh?" I said softly. "So, did you instruct Liam to hit me with a car?" She scoffed, "I never said that. A spoiled princess like you has no clue what men really want. That's why you keep losing them. "I can't stand how these women from rich families are acting so noble and full of themselves. That's why I take your men to make sure you never have your happy ending." Her face was practically glowing with smug pride. "As long as you're miserable, then I'm good." I nodded and looked past her shoulder. "Did you all hear that?" Bianca spun around and froze. Three women stood behind her, all wearing expressions like they were about to tear her limb from limb. Liam's ex-girlfriend stood in the lead. "So you're Bianca? What a big mouth you have! You feel proud having shared boyfriends, huh?" Bianca stared at me, stunned. "Did you call them here?" I smiled sweetly. "I was waiting for them, but who were you waiting for?"