I Don't Take Pressure, I Bring It

I'm a born egotist. I never spiral or beat myself up over anything. If someone screws with me, I screw them right back. As a kid, my parents always favored my elder sister. One Children's Day, they bought her a cake and got me nothing. I flipped the table and smashed the cake into a complete mess. "Who are you trying to bullshit? If you can't afford two kids, don't have two. If you're that broke, why didn't you just get sterilized back then?" In high school, my cousin snatched one of my toys. My aunt said that he was still little and that I should let him have his way. I didn't even bother holding back. I kick him so hard that he howled in pain. "He's not my kid. Why the hell should I baby him?" After enough incidents like that, everyone around me learns not to test me. When I grew up, I got engaged to Liam Zeller, my childhood sweetheart. But the day before the wedding, I caught him cheating on me with my best friend, Mia Shaw. Liam leaned back against the couch and drawled, "Erica, I'll be honest with you. I'll admit I really did like you before, but after being with you, I realized you're just way too selfish. Any man who stays with you would lose his mind. You really ought to reflect on yourself once in a while." None of that got to me. I straddled him and slapped him across the face over and over again. "You knew I was selfish and still had the balls to cheat on me? You've got some nerve!" Chapter 1 I'd just been warming up with those earlier slaps. I grabbed Liam Zeller by the collar and slapped him again with all my strength. A loud smack echoed through the room. "Ow! Erica, are you out of your mind?" Liam clutched his cheek and howled in pain, seeing stars. That smug, superior air he'd had moments ago vanished completely. I kicked him hard in the gut and sent him sprawling to the floor. Then I grabbed the tissue box off the coffee table and started hitting him over the head with it without a second thought. He rolled on the floor in agony, clutching his head and wailing. "What am I doing? I'm beating the hell out of you, that's what!" I cursed as I swung at him. My so-called best friend, Mia Shaw, stood off to the side, looking stunned. It was the first time she'd ever seen me this fierce. It took her a while to snap out of it. She threw herself at me in tears, trying to stop me. "Eri, stop! This is all my fault, okay? Don't hit Liam!" "Your fault, huh? Fantastic. You can take a few hits, too!" I let out a cold laugh and grabbed a fistful of her hair. I yanked her head down, then drove my knee straight into her stomach. She screamed in pain and collapsed on the floor, clutching her stomach and gasping for air. Trying to break up the fight? Fine. I'd hit her too! I grabbed Liam and Mia and laid into them, my fists and feet flying. I didn't hold back. After a few minutes, they were both huddled in the corner, their faces bruised and swollen. Liam covered his bleeding lip and forced himself to his feet. He pulled Mia protectively behind him, then jabbed a finger at me and shouted, "You're out of your damn mind, Erica! Look at you right now! You're acting like a complete shrew!" He panted hard and glared at me, his teeth gritted. "You know why I chose Mia over you? Because she's gentle, considerate, and always puts me first. She's not like you—you're always so aggressive and confrontational! "You're so overbearing. What guy could put up with that? If you hadn't been so selfish all the time, I never would've ended up with your best friend!" That made me laugh. Even now, he was trying to gaslight me. I dusted off my hands and looked down at him. "Cut the crap, Liam. You keep going on about wanting someone 'gentle and considerate', but what you really want is a maid who works for free. I wasn't willing to play that role, so you went looking somewhere else. "You cheated because you're trash and couldn't keep it in your pants. That has nothing to do with my personality. You're trash, and she's a trash can—you're a perfect match. Don't disgust me." My words hit Liam right where it hurt. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, sputtering at me. His face turned bright red with rage, but he couldn't come up with a single word in response. I was done wasting another second on this pair of losers. I turned and walked into the bedroom, kicking the closet door open with a bang. I grabbed a suitcase and started stuffing all of Liam's things inside—his clothes, his razor, and his shoes. Liam followed me in. He stared at me in disbelief when he saw what I was doing. "Are you seriously kicking me out over something this trivial?" Chapter 2 I zipped the suitcase shut and turned around. When I saw the smug look on Liam's face, I couldn't help bursting into laughter. "Don't flatter yourself," I said. I grabbed the suitcase, took aim at his face, and swung it at him with all my strength. It slammed into him hard, making him shout in pain and fall straight onto his ass. "I'm not that stupid." I pointed at the front door. "Don't forget whose name is on the deed—it's mine. You're the one who needs to get the hell out. Take your crap and get out of my house, now!" Liam stared at me, his eyes wide with disbelief, as if he were looking at a monster. "Are you nuts, Erica? I paid half the down payment on this place! What gives you the right to kick me out?" "What gives me the right?" I stared him down, my eyes frosty. "Because you're the one who cheated. You don't get to negotiate with me." I pulled out my phone and waved it in front of him. "Take a good look. I've been recording ever since I walked through the front door. All that disgusting crap you and Mia did on the couch is right here." The color drained from his face in an instant. He panicked and lunged for my phone. I dodged easily and slapped him again. "Don't touch me. You're filthy. If you don't want your life ruined, you'd better grab that bitch and get out of my sight." Liam pressed a hand to his cheek and glared at me. His eyes were full of fear and the bitter resentment that came with being helpless. "You're heartless, Erica. You're selfish and vile to the core!" He forced the words out through gritted teeth. Heartless, huh? Selfish? He could call me whatever he wanted. As long as I felt good, why would I care if someone else went down in flames? That was just how I'd always been. I'd always known exactly what I wanted since I was a kid. I'd never been the kind of "good girl" who swallowed her anger and played nice. I only considered things from my perspective. Once, back in elementary school, my family was sharing out some fruit. Mom had deliberately picked the biggest slice and given it to my sister, Esther Lodge. Her excuse was half-assed at best—something about Esther being weak. I hadn't cried or thrown a tantrum. I'd just walked over, picked up the entire fruit plate, and dumped everything straight into the trash. If I couldn't have something, then no one would. Mom had gone ballistic. She'd jabbed a finger at me and called me an imbecile. I'd just looked at her coldly and shot back, "If you wanna play favorites, that's your business. Whether or not I cooperate is mine." Later, Dad had dragged me out to the balcony for a lecture. He'd puffed himself up and tried to brainwash me with all that crap about how I had to learn to take a loss once in a while. He went all in on guilt-tripping me. I'd shot down every line he tried, one after another. I hadn't bought a single word of his nonsense. And from that point on, I'd understood something—other people had the right to decide how they treated me, and I had the exact same right to decide how I treated them. If someone treated me like crap, I would make sure to return the favor. When I got older, this side of me only became more extreme. If a friend borrowed money and didn't pay it back, I never hinted or danced around it. I showed up at their door to collect. If a coworker tried to snatch credit for my work in front of the boss, I called them out on the spot in the conference room and called them out to their face. If some relative tried to shut me down with that nonsense about how they meant well, I never backed off just because they were older. If they crossed the line, I cussed them out. My whole philosophy was simple—I wouldn't let anything make me spiral. If I had a grudge, I settled it immediately. So when it came to picking a boyfriend, my goal had been crystal clear. I looked specifically for someone gentle, easygoing, and endlessly tolerant of me. Liam had ticked every box. He really did have a great temper, and he'd always liked trailing after me since we were kids. I'd thought he would always stay that way, always going along with whatever I wanted. I never imagined that deep down, he was an ungrateful snake who dared to hook up with my best friend. Still, at least we hadn't gotten married yet. It wasn't too late to cut my losses. Chapter 3 I snapped out of my memories. When Liam saw that I was serious, all his earlier swagger disappeared. He didn't dare say another word. Before kicking him out, I grabbed a property settlement agreement from a drawer and slapped it down in front of him, forcing him to sign. He had to leave his share of the down payment on this apartment to me as compensation for cheating. He knew he was in the wrong, and he was terrified of the video I'd recorded. So, he could only force himself to do as I wanted. After signing, Liam gave me a long, wary look, his eyes full of wariness. "I've signed the agreement, Erica. I hope you keep your word and stop causing a scene." I knew he was afraid I'd make a big deal out of this. After all these years together, he knew perfectly well I'd never been a pushover. I tucked the agreement away and glanced at him. "Of course." He seemed relieved when he heard my promise. Only then did he hurry away with Mia. As I watched him leave, I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh. Keep my word? As if. Liam, oh, Liam… Did he even know me at all? How could I possibly swallow this and move on? With that thought, I immediately sent the cheating video I'd just recorded into the group chats for both our families and our classmates. The chats blew up instantly. Everyone who'd been casually talking about their day had their attention stolen by the video. New messages kept popping up. "This is insane. What the hell is wrong with Liam?" "Aren't they getting married tomorrow?" "Since when has he been messing around with Mia?" "Damn, poor Erica. She's only finding out now." Some people jumped straight to cursing Liam out. "Liam, this is downright disgusting." "She's about to marry you, and you're sneaking around with her best friend behind her back. Don't you feel too ashamed for words?" I felt a rush of satisfaction as I read the flood of messages. It didn't take long for Liam to call. The moment I picked up, he exploded. "What the hell are you playing at, Erica?" I held the phone a little away from my ear and waited for him to finish yelling before asking lazily, "What do you mean?" "Why did you send that video to everyone?" His voice was tight with panic and anger. "I agreed to give you the apartment as compensation. Why'd you pull this crap?" I laughed. "What's wrong? You think I'm supposed to pretend your cheating never happened just because you gave me the apartment?" "No! I just meant that you promised me!" His voice went shrill with desperation. "What are you trying to achieve now? You want it both ways?" I leaned back against the couch and drawled, "I think you're confused about something, Liam. Whether I keep my word depends on who I'm dealing with. Why on earth would I care about honoring my promise with a shameless bastard like you?" The line went dead silent. I didn't give Liam any time to recover. I went on, "Besides, I'm supposed to be getting married tomorrow. Now that the wedding's suddenly off, I owe everyone an explanation, don't you think? "What, was I supposed to keep my mouth shut and let you go around telling people that I backed out at the last minute, that I'm the one who played you and walked away?" I smiled. "That's not happening. Did you actually think I would leave the ball in your court?"