28

Liesl stared incredulously at her phone while her brother paced back and forth in the kitchen. Her sister-in-law was hugging a cup of tea as if it were hugging her back, but her eyes were on Liesl’s face.

When she’d walked through the door, Fred had immediately demanded to know why the hell she hadn’t answered any of his messages. She’d been confused until he shoved his phone in her face spouting nonsense about porn. She had plugged her own device in and the notifications for hundreds of messages had started to pour in.

“This isn’t happening.” She hit play again on the video which had gone viral overnight. Her and Isaias making out in the club in New York was splashed all over the internet.

“Who is this Craven person?” Meredith asked quietly. “She literally posted this video asking her followers to find out the name of the slut stealing her boyfriend.”

“She and Isaias had a one-night stand three years ago. She threatened me in the bathroom if I didn’t leave, she would ruin me,” she wiped an angry tear off her cheek. “This was right after he explained to me, she was nothing to him.” She looked up, “his phone was not dead. He had to have known this was posted.”

Fred leaned over her and pointed to where Isaias’ hand was on her thigh, “his hand is up your skirt. It looks like he’s fingering you, Liesl!” he almost yelled at her. “What the hell were you thinking doing this shit in public?”

“We weren’t in public. We were in a VIP room and the only people allowed in there were two servers, me, Isaias, Joaquim, and his harem,”

“His harem?” Fred gasped.

“It’s a joke! He has a bunch of girls who are always hanging around. They call themselves his harem. I don’t think he sleeps with all of them.” She wasn’t really certain though.

“Oh my god.” Fred walked away and began tapping his forehead off the refrigerator.

“Why are you so angry at me?”

“I’m not,” he turned to face her. “I’m angry at Isaias. Liesl, you’ve been through the wringer the last couple of months. I wanted you to have fun and forget the hell you’ve been through. Do you know what this is going to do? The pressure this is going to put on you. This takes your fun and throws it out the window. This woman is pretty much calling you a homewrecker.”

“I can’t believe he didn’t tell me,” she frowned again hitting play. It was clear to see they were lovers from the video. They were going hot and heavy with the kissing.

“Two of Dad’s sisters called.”

“No.” she groaned and dropped her own head to the table with a thud. “Why?”

“Because this girl basically called you a homewrecker and the entire family has been backing you against your sister who was well and truly a homewrecker!”

“Who do I call first?” she asked quietly.

“Call Granny Wilson” Meredith suggested. “She’ll get the word out faster than anyone you did nothing wrong.”

She wanted to call Isaias and ask him why he didn’t warn her this video had posted. He was tagged in it. Surely his PR team knew it was up. It still hadn’t been taken down. The comments were in the hundreds of thousands.

She dialed out to her father’s mother. The woman picked up on the first ring. She left it on speaker.

“Liesl, who is he?” Her grandmother’s gravelly voice and the exhale of the cigarette she was smoking made Liesl cringe. The woman was angry if she was smoking.

“He’s a man I met a short while ago. His name is Isaias. I like him a lot. He took me to New York for a date. A girl he was with one time three years ago has been clinging to the hope he’ll go out with her again. She cornered me in the bathroom of the club and tried to hit me. The club owner is Isaias’ cousin and because she tried to hit me, he banned her from the club. To get back at me, she posted this bullshit story. They weren’t a couple. Not ever. If you do an internet search on him, you’ll know they aren’t. She’s just some blonde bimbo who got her panties twisted because he rejected her years ago.”

“She tried to hit you?”

“Yes.”

“Did you deck her?”

“No, but I’m really regretting not hitting her now.”

“Liesl, you’re confident they weren’t together?”

“A hundred percent. Even one of her own friends in the bathroom confirmed it. She threatened to ruin me and looks like she made good on her threat.”

“This isn’t the eighteen hundreds, Liesl. You’re not ruined. Now, if he’d had his penis out, I might think it more scandalous.”

“Granny!” Fred reprimanded her.

“I’ll call your aunts and we’ll get the word out. Do me a favor and avoid your mother and Sandy. Sandy told the entire family you did this as a way to get the spotlight off the miracle of her baby because you’re so jealous of her.”

“Jesus Christ,” Liesl groaned.

“She’s a load your mother should have swallowed. I find it hard to stomach the fact she is my granddaughter. She needs a mental health evaluation and a padded room.”

Meredith’s “Amen” made Liesl and Fred shake their heads at her. It was never a good idea to encourage Granny.

Granny feeling appropriately supported, double downed with her next comment, “I know I’m supposed to love all my grandchildren the same but Sandy’s evil incarnate. The baby she’s having with your husband is doomed with parents like them. He’s going to grow up a narcissistic, cold hearted beady-eyed little bastard.”

“Okay,” Liesl made wide eyes at Fred who was covering his mouth trying not to laugh. “Granny, I’m going to go. I would really appreciate if you could get the word out how I’m not a homewrecking whore.”

“Done. Don’t worry your pretty head about it. I want something in return.”

“Sure.”

“I want a portrait done of me. I saw the one you did of yourself from the photos on the gallery site. I know you could do a good one of me.”

“Absolutely. I’d love to paint you Granny.”

“Nude. I want it nude. I’ll hang it in the dining room.”

Fred made a horrified gasp as he rubbed his eyes and Meredith looked ready to vomit. Liesl fought not to laugh at her grandmother’s scandalous request.

“Granny, I would be honored to paint you.”

“Good. I’ll talk to you later. I love you Liesl. You too Freddy.” The sound of her pulling a deep drag of her cigarette before she hung up taunted them.

“I feel you’re being punished by her.”

“Are you kidding? I’d love to paint her.”

“Nude?”

“Why not? The human body is beautiful. Her body housed all her children and has been on the planet for seventy years. She’s still a gorgeous woman. I think it would be exciting for her.”

“You’re going to do it?” Meredith sneered with her lips pulled back so far, her molars were showing. She shuddered. “I’d rather die.”

“I am, if it’s what she wants.” Liesl sighed and stared at her phone. Granny would have the entire family sorted by morning and she knew it, but the rest of the world did not cater to the Wilson family.

Fred rubbed her shoulder softly, “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“Not your fault. I can’t believe he didn’t give me the head’s up.” She sighed sadly, “he was on his phone a lot during the flight back. He had to know.”

“What gets me,” Meredith said, “is how this bitch asked the internet to identify you and they were able to do it so fast.”

“I know,” she rubbed her forehead. “What a cluster fuck.”

“Are you going to respond?”

“I think I want to sleep on it.” She grimaced, “I’ll call Elise. What’s the point of having a lawyer BFF if you can’t use her when you get caught in a night club with a billionaire’s tongue down your throat.”

“I think it’s a very good idea. Don’t answer anyone or anything until you talk to her.”

She sighed. “I’m going to go to my room to call her and Janka.”

Meredith asked curiously, “was it at least worth it?”

“He took me to the Met today. I spent six hours staring at paintings and talking his ear off.”