HIS POSSESSION

Emma frowned slightly as she read through the email on her screen. She scoffed. It was an invitation email from her ex, Derek. She had blocked him everywhere blockable but he still had her email.

"What's wrong, did they take you off the project?" Her friend, Becca asked with concern, thinking she was frowning about work.

"That *ssh*l* had the nerve to email me an invite to his f*ck*ng wedding." She said through her teeth while staring angrily at the screen.

"Who? Derek?"

"Yes, Becca, who else?"

"He's getting married?" Becca couldn't believe that anyone would want to marry him, but the moment Emma looked up at her, she realised she was serious. Her friend had tears brimming her eyes. "Oh, don't cry..." She hugged her immediately.

"I'm okay," Emma lied after her friend hugged her.

"No, you're not. You still love him?"

"No," Emma separated the hug, sniffing while shaking her head. "I don't love him anymore. I just can't wrap my head around the fact that he still found love after all he did to me, while I never met anyone. I'm such a joke. He even invited me to his wedding to point that out."

"You're not a joke, Emma." Becca closed the laptop. "This is probably what he wants. He definitely wanted you to feel like this, and that's why he sent that. So, you shouldn't accept that thought, okay?"

"But it's true." Emma had stopped crying now. She stared at the wall aimlessly while she spoke.

"Stop," Becca was tired of her talking down on herself. "You know what we're gonna do?"

"What?" Emma looked up at her.

"We're going to go to his wedding, and we're going to show him that you're doing just fine, and that your life is beautiful, because it really is."

"Is it though?" Emma asked, not really liking the idea.

"Yes. You're the top salesperson in your department, and you're next in line for a promotion."

"But..."

"No more buts," Becca stood with hands akimbo. "We're going to the wedding."

"Okay," Emma smiled. "I don't have anything to wear to a wedding though."

"We can ask Lucia. I'll text her."

****

At Lucia's.

"What?" Lucia chuckled in disbelief when they told her about Derek. "No f*ck*ng way. Derek the cheater?"

"Don't call him that..." Emma mumbled but Lucia just rolled her eyes.

"Girl, he cheated on you so many times, he's earned that name." She hissed angrily. "So what? You guys are really gonna go there, dressed all fancy and sh*t just to show him that Emma's moved on."

"Yeah, pretty much," Becca nodded.

"That'd never work. You can see Emma's eyes turn soft when you say his name. She's still hung up on that *ssh*l*."

"I'm not," Emma defended. She really wasn't. What her friends saw in her eyes was hurt and nothing else.

"Yeah?" Lucia pushed. "What do you say to f*ck*ng up his wedding then? Like make sure he doesn't get married? Or ruin the first few hours of his marriage?"

"No," Emma shook her head.

"You see? She still loves him." Lucia turned to Becca.

"No, I don't." Emma argued. "I just think ruining his wedding is a bit too far."

"Compared to the things he's done to you?" Lucia queried and the question hung in the air. Lucia shrugged victoriously.

****

The day of the wedding.

Becca had just zipped up Emma's dress and left her looking at herself in the mirror while she fixed her make up.

"You look so s*xy," Lucia smiled when she walked in with food for everyone.

"Thanks," Emma smiled, rushing over to her to get one of the donuts she brought with her when Becca slapped it out of her hands.

"Why'd you do that?" Emma turned to her.

"If you eat that, you'd get bloated and you're wearing a fitted dress." Becca explained and Emma groaned while Lucia rolled her eyes.

"I don't think I wanna go to this wedding anymore." Emma mumbled and returned to putting on her heels.

Lucia chuckled in the background.

****

Becca held Emma's hands to help her up the decorated stairs at the entrance of the wedding. When they got to the top of the stairs, Emma realised they were late to the reception and would drag attention to themselves if they walked through the door.

"Becca," She called her friend. "Maybe we should go back. I don't want to do this anymore."

"Yes, you do. You keep saying that but you know you do. You're just scared."

Emma stood fixated at the door, watching the beautiful bride. She was standing next to Derek and one of his friends was making a toast.

"She's still so beautiful," She didn't know when she uttered.

Becca turned to her, "Who?"

"His bride. I see now why he cheated. I can't beat that."

Becca scoffed. "Okay, stop."

"Look, she really is pretty and she looks so sweet..."

"That doesn't excuse his cheating. Nothing does."

"All the time he cheated, she's the only one that made him want to break up with me..."

"Alright, that's enough. Let's just go inside," Becca was tired of listening to that. She prayed in her mind that her friend found someone good at the wedding today so she could get over Derek, but then she wondered the chances of their being anyone good at his wedding.

While they walked in, half the crowd turned their eyes to them, including Derek and his wife, but Derek's stare lingered even after his wife looked away.

Emma noticed he had a smug smile on his face after she sat at one of the empty tables with her friend. He couldn't believe she actually came. He brought his wife's hand to his lips and kissed it lovingly. His wife looked up at him and smiled and the little crowd clapped while Becca just rolled her eyes.

"*ssh*l*," She mumbled. When she looked at Emma, she noticed she was still watching the groom and the bride. She shook her head. It was about time they started what they came for.

"So, which are we doing? Flipping the table over and having everyone look at us, and then we tell them all what a horrible cheater Derek is? Or we..."

"No, no, we're not doing that." Emma cut her friend short.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. It's not fair. I mean, it might be for Derek, but not for the poor woman. She didn't even know he was cheating on me with her. I don't wanna ruin her wedding."

"Emma..." Becca groaned in frustration.

"I'm sorry," She knew her friend must be tired of her change in decisions."I just can't. Let's just enjoy the wedding."

"No," Becca said and got on her feet, making Emma's heart skip.

"The bride and the groom are going to do their special dance now," The MC announced just as Becca stood up and the guests clapped in unison.

"Becca, please..." Emma begged.

"Why do you always do this?" Becca sighed and sat back down, hands folded.

"I'm sorry," Emma said again but Becca just shook her head.

They watched the bride return to the dancefloor in a different set of clothes for the dance. Two of the groomsmen and bridesmaids joined them on the dancefloor.

Emma looked away from the dancefloor briefly when she felt like someone was watching her. She turned and her eyes met someone else's. She immediately looked away, but when she looked back, he was still watching her. She realised he had been watching her since she walked in, and just like he could tell she just realised, he smirked.

Emma frowned hoping to make him look away. She found it hard to be interested in any other man since Derek left her