My Boyfriend and Best Friend Tried to Usurp My Place, but I Fought Back

The next morning, as I walked into the living room, my mom looked up, worried. "Ava, what's up? You look like you've been crying your eyes out."

I touched my swollen lids, scrambling for an excuse. "Got caught up in a super tear-jerker last night. Just couldn't help myself."

"Oh, I was worried it was something serious. You're almost married, and still such a drama queen!" Mom said with a relieved chuckle, handing me a plate of sweet potatoes.

"Why all the sweet potatoes, Mom?" I glanced at the pot brimming with them.

"Oh, these? Olivia's mom dropped them off. Said they had a bumper crop this year, wanted us to try some." She said, enjoying a sweet potato.

"Gotcha." I nodded.

Olivia Walker was once a needy student with a dad who died in a work mishap, leaving her and her mom to fend for themselves. My parents, taking pity, funded her schooling through to graduation. Afterward, she landed a job at my dad's firm as a way to repay their kindness, often visiting our home. She charmed everyone, especially my mom, who took to inviting her over often. We, being the same age with similar interests, naturally became thick as thieves.

But... never did I imagine she'd end up in bed with my boyfriend, helping him scheme over my family's fortune. What a backstabber!

"Ava, Olivia mentioned wanting her mom to come to work for us," Mom noted, "Said it would make life easier for them, cut down on their commutes."

"You agreed?!" I felt a chill run down my spine.

"Yes, why?" Mom looked puzzled.

"You've got to say no!" I blurted out, realizing Olivia had carefully plotted even this move, getting her mom into our house.

"Why?" Mom looked taken aback.

Scrambling for a plausible reason, I said, "Living together can bring out the worst even in the best of friends. She's new, bound to have habits we're not used to. Your health isn't the best, and added stress is the last thing you need. If we clash, people will talk, say we're pushing around a widow and her daughter. Not to mention, I'm used to Nancy's way of doing things, a sudden change would just throw me off."

Mom seemed convinced by my argument, nodding in agreement, "Makes sense."