I lean over the rim of the tub and laugh as one of the jets almost takes my top off. Giggling, I move over and grab the bottle of Dom. “Want a top up?” I ask Ben in the sultriest voice I can manage.

“Hmmm?” He looks over at me slowly, dragging his eyes off Kate’s grand exit into the snow. She’s heading out to the woodshed just behind our cabin. If I had to guess, it’s probably not so much for ‘fresh air’ as it is to smoke. No matter how many times I tell her it’s a disgusting habit that’s going to give her wrinkles, she won’t quit.

“Oh, uh no,” he answers. “I’m going to give Kate a hand out there. I don’t want her to knock wood down on herself or freeze.” He quickly makes his way from the tub and dries off before throwing on his robe and walking out.

What a gentleman. I sigh, letting the contentment of this moment wash over me like one of the jets in this tub. I fill the champagne to the top of my crystal glass, watching the bubbles slink up the side and burst on the surface. Taking a huge mouthful, I slowly swallow, letting my mind wander.

It wasn’t that long ago that all of this would’ve been beyond my wildest dreams. It’s amazing how far I’ve come. Not to mention what I’ve overcome. My thoughts are shrouded with childhood memories I’d rather have erased from my brain forever.

No.

I won’t let my moment in the sun be clouded over by the dark storms of my past. I’m going to enjoy every second of this. I have a hot man, I’m popular, I have powerful friends, money. This is the life. Who cares where it all began?

I pick up my cell and check on my account one more time. Both my butt selfie and my group picture are burning up with online love. I can’t help but smile at the screen. It’s like I can feel the adoration those little emoji hearts represent, pouring out to me. It fills my soul to know there are so many people out there who care about me. Who love me.

After another sip of my champagne and I’m surprised that I’m already down to the last gulp in the glass. Wow. That went fast. Where the hell is Kate? What’s taking her and Ben so long?

Standing up on wobbly legs, I fall back down on my famously big ass, making a big splash in the hot water. Laughter bursts from my lips at my lack of grace. Good thing no one caught that in a photo.

This time, I manage to get my feet under me a little more sturdily and step out of the tub carefully, so I don’t slip and crack my head on the floor. I pluck the thick, plush towel from the side of the hot tub and carefully pat myself dry before wrapping it around me. Grabbing my phone from the ledge, I walk over to the door of the chalet. I stare out the window, but don’t see any sign of my stepsister, sorry, my foster sister, or my fiancé. God, I hope they haven’t passed out or something. I’d hate having to get Tom and Stacey to help me drag them in here.

Placing my dry feet in my fur-lined boots, I yank open the door and brave the cold to take a quick peek around the property for them.

Brrr. A shiver runs down my spine and I tighten the towel around me as I walk faster past the wood shed. I stop in my tracks. What is that?

I swear I can hear a chipmunk chattering, but when I look around I don’t see anything. I know it’s not my imagination though, it’s actually getting louder as I step quietly toward the wood supply. My gut sinks as I start to make sense of what that noise could be in my drunken mind. I walk through the snow, behind the woodshed and stop dead in my tracks.

Ben is standing behind Kate, her bikini bottoms around her ankles and his trunks pulled down to his thighs. He’s fucking her like a wild animal, fast, forcefully, from behind. Her chipmunk chatter fills the air, “That’s right, just like that. Fuck me, Ben. Deeper.” She doesn’t notice me. Neither of them do. Standing in the snow, watching my fiancé fuck my foster sister, like a fucking idiot.

“I can’t believe you’d do this to me!” I scream, tears welling up in my eyes. I turn on my heel and do my best to run in a straight line, back up to the cabin.

“Ahhh, shit. Ashley! Wait!” I hear Ben call after me.

“No, just finish. We can get her later,” I hear Kate say.

That bitch.

That pig.

Fuck them.

I make my way to the door and stumble inside. I look around the cabin frantically. I can’t stay here. I can’t be under the same roof as my cheating fiancé and the girl I’ve thought of as a sister for eight years. I can’t sleep here, like a fool, supposedly celebrating an engagement that’s a fucking lie.

I race across the floor, banging my hip into the dining room table. “Fuck!” I yell angrily. I grab my black fur coat and fuzzy winter hat. Throwing my phone in the pocket, I quickly button it up to my neck. “Fuck this! Fuck them!” The tears rain down my face in a downpour. I knew I wasn’t good enough for him.

For any of them.

My vision is blurry as I run back out into the snow, quickly making my way to the treeline on the side of the property. I don’t have a plan. Not that a plan would help. I planned my life in excruciating detail to get to this pinnacle. To this moment. And all its led to is my humiliation.

“Ashley! Wait!” I hear Ben call out behind me, but I don’t stop. I barrel forward down a trail, and let myself get swallowed by the darkness.

I run until my lungs burn and my legs feel like Jell-O. I run until I can’t hear anything or see any signs of light besides the stars. Even then, I run further. Time blurs and my limbs cry out for mercy. Begging me to stop. Still, I run further. Faster. Trying to escape my shame. Trying to put distance between me and the betrayal I just witnessed.

I look around. Somehow, I’ve managed to get off the trail I thought I was following. When did that happen? A shiver washes over me, taking over control of my muscles. I push through the underbrush, slogging forward in the crunchy snow. I don’t care. I don’t care what happens to me. I don’t even want to live if my entire life, if everything I’ve spent years building, is all a lie.

The image of Ben fucking Kate with his pencil dick attacks my mind and fresh tears fill my eyes. Fuck them.

“Arrgghh!” My boot catches on something under the snow and I fall face down into the cold, soft blanket of white. I roll over and try to sit back up, but don’t have the strength. My thoughts cloud over and the sky spins above me, blurring into a cascade of shooting stars from the tears in my eyes. I can feel myself letting go, my body sinks into the snow and my eyelids close.

I’m so tired. I just need a nap. Maybe this is already a dream and I just need to wake up. The thought is fleeting, as is my will to move. I close my eyes and feel myself fall off the edge as the world goes black.