"You said 'with me?' That doesn't make any sense. He's my boyfriend. How can he be cheatingwithme?" She grabbed the ring on her finger with its little diamond. "I have a ring, Polly."
Polly nodded. "I know. And I'm sorry. I don't know how else to tell you this, but to just say it. You're his side piece. You have been for two years." She shook her head. "I thought you were aware of the situation, honestly, until this past week."
"Wait, what? No. This is a mistake. You're wrong. I'm not anyone's side piece!" Jana took a step back. "Why would you tell me that? What's wrong with you? This is some kind of stupid joke, right? Like some family initiation or something?”
Polly shook her head. "Jana, no. It's the truth."
She held up her hand. "I. Have. A. Ring!"
Polly bit her lip. "So does every other side piece he's ever had. He buys those cheap rings by the gross from China. They're not real."
"You're lying! You're making this up!" Why would she do this? “I thought we were friends! Why would you hurt me like this?”
“I’m doing thisforyou, nottoyou. I really thought you knew. Why do you think the family kept their distance?"
"And no one said anything," Jana said. When his family hadn’t taken to her, she'd just assumed it was because they hadn't gotten to know her.
She didn't want to believe what she was hearing.
She didn't want to think it was the truth, but she felt it. In her gut.
It was the confirmation she'd been dreading. All these little flags. Well, some were huge, in fact, but she’d just blindly ignored them. Just kept trusting him.
Just like her damn mother.
He never seemed to have family events to go to, and he was part of a large, extended family that otherwise had seemed close. He mentioned his siblings and family regularly.
Then the other part of what Polly said hit her.
The more important part. "So, you saw him this past week," Jana said. "He was here, in town?"
"Yeah, of course."
"He doesn't travel for work?"
"No, he doesn’t. You thought he traveled for work?” She shook her head as she pulled up photos on her phone from social media. "This was at my aunt's house for dinner."
It was Stefan, and a girl, a beautiful girl who looked like a brunette model with all the right curves. In a word, she was perfect, and she sat there, her arms around him, and he was kissing her back. Jana felt sick. She scrolled through the images and checked the name on the account. It was dozens of photos of him and her. "That's not his account. His account is--"
"That's his other account, Jana. He's got several," Polly said, taking the phone back. "That's how cheaters do it. Multiple accounts, carefully blocking this account or that account and making sure no one sees them."
Her whole world turned upside down on her, and anger erupted. Jana glared at her. "And you just let me believe--"
Polly held up a hand. "I seriously thought you knew. He always made it sound like you did. He'd say stuff like, 'Jana's got her life. We hook up when we can,' and I didn't question it."
Jana blinked, the words piercing her like a knife. "What made you?"
"What made me what?"
"What made you question it?" Jana asked.
"Just, well, something he said offhandedly about multiple girlfriends."
Jana covered her face, tears in her eyes.
"Everyone told me he wasn't the best. All my friends said it was strange how we'd go so long between seeing each other, but I kept defending him. I kept saying his work kept him busy, and he'd come when he could."
The pain ripped her to pieces. The idea that she was so stupid.
