Tatiana Stevens was always pretty. It was one feature of hers that was always noticed ever since she was a child growing up in Napa. She and her older sister Laila were both beautiful girls, her mother was beautiful as well, as expected of a former Miss California. Her father was wealthy, an investor with enough passive income to let them and their future generations live comfortably for years. Her mother entered her and her sister in child beauty pageants, had them modeling for clothing stores, and even tried to get them into acting. Tatiana was always pretty and got so much. But she always wanted more.

Like, when she was seven years old and Caitlyn Johnson had a pony and she didn't, so when she invited her over for a sleepover she put Nair in her shampoo. She was so distraught over losing her hair that she didn't take care of her pony, so her parents gave it away and Tati's family graciously took it in. Or when she was twelve and Micah Garcia liked Tiffany Cho instead of her, so she told him that she still ate bugs and slept with a nightlight. Later that week, Micah took her to the dance instead of Tiffany. There was also the time when she was 16 and Aliyah Williamson became cheer captain instead of her. There wasn't much she could do about that, but it was definitely an accident when she dropped Aliyah during practice and she broke her leg, so Tati became interim cheer captain while she recovered. And she had no idea who spread the rumor that she was pregnant, which caused the star football player to break up with her and start dating Tati instead. She always wanted more. And she always got it.

Until she went to college and was faced with a world much different than the one she was used to. She was a beautiful girl, but she was also a smart girl, and her father wasn't going to let her waste her smarts because of her mother's ambitions. So, under his guidance, she applied to multiple schools and was accepted to all of them. She chose Stanford because she figured people smart enough to go there weren't worried about looks and she'd likely be one of the prettiest girls there (yes, she realizes now how shallow and foolish that is). But she was faced with a rude awakening when she arrived. There were girls there who were prettier than her, smarter than her, and had things that she didn't have.

Girls like Charlotte Page. Tatiana's mother raised her and Laila to know how beautiful they were and to know that their beauty stemmed from their light caramel skin and their loose bountiful curls (good hair as their mother called it). But Charlotte was the opposite of her in that way. She had rich brown chocolate skin and a mass of tight curls on her head that were always styled so beautifully and neatly. She was a gorgeous woman. And she was a smart woman. And that intimidated Tati because she saw her as competition. She saw her as a friend as well, and she did her best to stick by her and help her whenever she needed it.

But she was competition. So, Tati did her best to look better than her, get better grades than her, date more guys and hotter guys than her. She used college to rebel and do all the wild things her mother would never let her do, like party and do drugs, but she always made sure to be one step above Charlotte. But no matter how hard she worked, it didn't matter to Tatiana. She was still behind in one aspect. Charlotte had Eddy. Handsome, sexy, smart, charming Eddy. Truth be told, she had no idea what he saw in Charlotte. Sure, she's beautiful and smart, but he could do so much better than her. Whenever she would complain about him cheating, Tatiana always had to withhold a smile because she always saw it coming. But the two of them stuck it out and when they got engaged, Tati was happy on the outside but livid on the inside.

In her mind, Charlotte had won. She had a ring. Tati's mother always instilled the importance of getting married to a wealthy man before she turned 25. According to her mother, after 25 a woman became less desirable, so she needed to settle down and have a child before then. Laila had married a basketball player and had a daughter with him by the time she was 23. Tatiana was now 23 and had no boyfriend, no suitors, and had been beaten out by Charlotte. She only had a degree in astronomy and her looks, which were going to fade eventually. And her mother made it incredibly clear to her, her degree was useless and only to make her father happy.

"A woman's value is really in how she maintains her looks and the arm of the man she's on," her mother told her once when she went home during college. She had gained that dreaded freshman fifteen, she wore sweats more, she wore her glasses regularly. Her mother said she had become homely and lackluster.

"What man would want to marry you?" her mother would ask. She'd then show her the pictures of Laila and her beautiful daughter in her large beautiful home in Beverly Hills. "This is what's important, Tatiana. Remember that."

It was why she had latched onto Henry so quickly. Sure, he wasn't wealthy, but he was cute and he seemed sweet. And even better, getting with him would give her a leg up on Charlotte. She knew she would be backstabbing her friend, but it was the only way to win the competition. It was the only way to get what she wanted and to be seen as worthy in her mother's eyes.

So, she wasn't surprised when she came up with a plan that definitely would've had Jasmine calling her everything but a child of God. Talking to Henry wasn't planned but she got lucky with that one. Now, she had to make sure that Charlotte would be effectively distracted. It was a little past 8 am when her phone started to ring. She quickly slipped into the bathroom and closed the door, locking it before she answered.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, Tati?" the voice on the line spoke and she smirked to herself.

"Hey Eddy, how's Medellin?"

"Um. Okay. What's going on? Why are you taking my calls now?" he asked and she rolled her eyes.

"Damn, I just wanted to make sure you didn't die down there so I called you back. You're welcome for caring about you!" she shot back. Eddy sighed heavily and she couldn't help but grin.

"Okay, whatever. How's Charlotte? Can I talk to her?"

"Talk to her about what? That bitch she caught you fucking?"

"Tati, come on-"

"Come on about what?" she asked as she played innocent. "You cheated on my best friend! You had her all devastated and shit." Even though she couldn't see him, Eddy rolled his eyes. She had always irritated him.

"Bitch, you and I fucked behind her back hella times. Don't play good bestie now," he said sharply and she snickered. She couldn't deny it though. Part of her winning her secret competition against Charlotte had her sleeping with her boyfriend multiple times. She would've felt bad if Eddy wasn't so good looking and Charlotte wasn't so naive. She sat on the edge of the tub and crossed her legs.

"Yeah, well, this was different. You shouldn't have been fucking someone else and you definitely shouldn't have let her catch you. Did your stupid ass really think she wouldn't come over to say bye?" she asked but continued before he could answer. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that Charlotte's doing well. She got over you as soon as she saw her ex." At that, he frowned. Charlotte? With some ex? He knew how Tati was, he knew she was sneaky and lied about almost everything. But what if she wasn't lying this time?

"Yo Tati, I swear I'm not in the mood for your little games," he said sharply and she had to hold back the urge to laugh.

"I'm not playing, Eddy. She cried the whole car ride here, saw her mama and calmed down, went to a party and ran into her ex, and now… Well…" She trailed off and smirked to herself. She knew he was seething on the other side of the phone.

"Well, what?!" he roared and she pulled the phone away from her ear. "Tati, did she fuck him?!"

"Why do you care? You were fucking other bitches. And now she's back home doing her thing while you're in Medellin. Can you blame her?" she inquired, twirling her hair on one of her fingers. He could feel his blood pressure skyrocketing.

"Tati-"

"Look, you wanna yell and throw a fit, do it to someone else. Your girl isn't just your girl anymore. Deal with it. Later." She hung up before he could respond and laughed softly. She covered her mouth to muffle it as she folded over in a fit of giggles. Eddy was a possessive bastard. Sure, he could cheat, but he'd be damned if his girl messed around with someone else. Tati wasn't sure what he'd do, but she knew it would be enough to throw a wrench into all of Charlotte's plans.

Her laughter quickly died down when she heard a knock at the door. She cleared her throat and stood up, placing her phone in her robe's pocket and opening the door. Charlotte stood on the other side of the door, clearly surprised to see her friend up so early.

"Hey, what are you doing up? Everything okay?" she asked and Tati nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Was just gonna go and have a smoke. Did you get done with your run?" she asked.

"No, I was too upset. I'm just going to head to Henry's and see if we can talk," she said and the brunette felt her stomach twist up a little. She would kill her if Henry told her the things she told him last night. She could only hope he'd be too pissed to tell her. She smiled as naturally as she could and nodded.

"Alright sis, good luck. If anything goes south, let me know and we'll have some cheap wine and snacks tonight," she offered then paused. "Oh. Actually, I'm going out tonight." Charlotte raised an eyebrow curiously.

"What?" she asked with a chuckle. "With who?" The other shrugged nonchalantly.

"Just someone I know."

"You don't know anyone in Swellview though," she countered with a soft chuckle.

"Well, I know this guy," she said with a dismissive shrug. As Charlotte entered the bathroom, she slipped out and turned when she heard her gasp.

"Is it Sidney?" she asked. In her mind, it could only be him since she went to his party. Well, him, or Jasper, or Henry. But it couldn't be either of those two. "Girl, just because Sidney deals doesn't mean he's a thug or something. I know you have your whole trap queen fantasy, but Sidney Birnbaum isn't the one." Tatiana smiled a little and shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, sis," she said before heading to her bedroom with a smirk on her lips. Oh, sweet naive little Charlotte.

Once she was ready, Charlotte pulled on her jacket as she left her house and started down the sidewalk to Henry's house. To say that she was nervous would be an understatement. She wasn't sure if he would talk to her or even let her in, but she hoped he would so she could explain everything. She shouldn't have listened to Tati, she should've told him about Eddy as soon as she could. She could admit that she really messed up this time. She breathed out heavily as she jogged up the stairs and stepped onto the porch. She knew Mr. Hart was probably out black Friday shopping and maybe Mrs. Hart and Piper went with him, so hopefully, she and Henry could have some privacy. With a nervous lick of her lips, she knocked on the door.

Henry sat in his kitchen with his head in his hands. He hadn't gotten any sleep after talking to Tati, his mind reeling and busy with too many thoughts about Charlotte and Eduardo. He still couldn't believe that not only was she engaged, but she never even bothered telling him because she just thought they were having a fling. All of their history was dismissed just like that for a guy she knew less than they knew each other. It stung and hurt like hell. It was like he lost her all over again.

When he heard the knock, he sighed heavily and lifted his head as he stood up. He dragged his feet against the floor as he left the kitchen and made his way to the door, pausing when he saw Charlotte through the clear panels. He frowned and scratched the back of his head, contemplating whether he should open the door or just go back to bed. But he knew her, she wouldn't just leave like that. He inhaled sharply then slowly breathed out through his nostrils as he walked up to the door and opened it. She gave him a small smile and his heart did multiple backflips. But then he remembered she smiled like that for Eduardo.

"What are you doing here?" he asked coldly and her smile fell.

"I wanted to talk! Yesterday was really crazy and you were understandably upset, so I just wanted to get the chance to explain," she said and he scoffed.

"I don't care about what you have to say. I already know everything that I need to know," he responded and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She chuckled mirthlessly and shook her head before looking at him.

"Henry, just let me explain-"

"No," he cut her off. "You have a fiancé. That's all I need to know. Stop wasting my fucking time and go back to him. Have a happy marriage." He closed the door in her face before she could respond and exhaled sharply. He could see her standing out there forlorn and confused and he so badly wanted to open the door again and hug her tightly. He wanted to kiss her and carry her upstairs to his room, whispering apologies and sweet nothings before making love to her. But he couldn't. She wasn't his anymore and he had to move on.

"You're not even dressed yet, dude? I thought you wanted to go to Sidney's?" Jasper questioned as he walked down the stairs. Henry was jolted out of his thoughts and he licked his lips anxiously as he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, let me go get dressed," he mumbled absentmindedly and brushed past him to go upstairs. The raspberry blond watched him curiously and glanced at the door. Something was definitely wrong, more than it was when he snuck back in last night. He opened the front door and looked outside, seeing Charlotte's retreating figure.

"Hey, Char!" he called out and stepped outside, closing the door behind him. She looked back at him and sighed, stuffing her hands in her jacket pockets as she walked back over to him. "What happened? What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to talk to Henry but he didn't wanna hear anything I had to say so…" she trailed off and looked down at her shoes. They were more interesting to her than having to look at Jasper. She knew if she did that she'd burst into tears. He sighed and rubbed his palms together.

"He's just upset, Char. Give him a little more time. I mean, you have to admit that finding out you're engaged at Thanksgiving dinner in front of everyone is a massive blow," he added. She simply nodded, still unable to look at him. Don't cry, don't cry, don't fucking cry.

"Yeah, I get it."

"I mean damn, you could've told me!" he continued. "Why did you keep this from us?" She took a deep breath and finally looked up at him. And just like she thought, the dam holding back her tears broke and a few shaky sobs left her before she bit down on her bottom lip to stifle them. Jasper pulled her into a tight hug and she whimpered against his chest.

"He cheated on me. I caught him right before I came back here and I was just so upset that I didn't even give his ring back to him or anything, I just left. So, we're sort of engaged technically I guess, but I'm not marrying him! I don't want him and when I get back to Santa Clara, I'm gonna make it official," she explained against his chest and sniffled. "I want to tell Henry that but not only will he not listen, but he also won't even let me talk!" She wiped her tears away and Jasper looked at her sympathetically.

"I'm sorry. Look, I can try and talk to him if you want to. Let him know what you told me," he offered and she shook her head.

"No. If he won't hear it from me then…" She sighed and ran her fingers through her curls, pushing them back out of her face. "I should be the one to tell him so whenever he's ready for me to tell him…I'll do it. I just need to give him time." She nodded firmly and he nodded as well, shrugging his shoulders.

"If you're sure. Will you be okay?"

"Yeah," she breathed out and smiled a little. "I'll be fine. See you later, Jasp." She patted his arm gently before leaving once again. As she walked away, Henry opened the door and stepped onto the porch fully dressed.

"Okay, let's go-" he started, pausing when he saw Charlotte leaving. He bit down on his lip as he watched her walk away. If she looked at him, even gave him one glance, he would've dropped every grudge he held and welcomed her into his arms. But she didn't, she just continued to walk away and he felt his heart ache in his chest.

"You good?" the other asked and Henry's jaw tensed up as he nodded. He pulled his jacket closed and breathed out heavily.

"Yeah. I'm good."