You Put Me in a Lurch
Helen started seeing doubles and almost blacked out, but she kept herself awake. “Peter…? Is that y-
your fiancé? You gave him the money?” she asked.
Minerva nodded dumbly.
Helen flew into a rage. “Why did you do that, Minerva? I told you he’s a scammer. I told you to be careful.
Why didn’t you listen to me? There’s no free lunch in this world. You should have known it was too good
to be true. Now you made me lose ten million. Do you have any idea how serious that is?”
Minerva started crying. “I-I’m sorry, Aunt Helen. I shouldn’t have dragged you into this. I don’t wanna
live anymore. J-Just let me kill myself…” Immediately after, she stood up and ran toward the window.
But Helen stopped her. “Calm down, Minerva! Don’t do that!”
It took her a while, but she managed to stop Minerva, though Helen was already drenched in sweat. She
was shivering in fear as the full impact of the situation sank in. Ten million. How am I supposed to explain
myself? I mean, it’s nothing for us now, but if James finds out I gave it to Minerva, he’ll chase me out of
the house!
A while of silence later, Helen made a decision. “Let’s call the police. Maybe we can get to him in time.”
However, Minerva shook her head. “No! We… We can’t call the cops, Aunt Helen.”
Helen was stunned. “Why? How are we supposed to find that scammer if we don’t call the cops?”
Minerva blushed, and she stared at the floor. “Aunt Helen, he… he took a lot of pictures of me. If we call
the cops and stir things up, he’ll upload my photos online. I-I’ll be ruined then!”
Helen didn’t understand what she was saying. “What? It’s just photos. Why are you so scared of them?”
Tate whispered, “Aunt Helen, she means nudes.”
Helen was petrified. She didn’t know what to say to that.
Minerva stared down awkwardly. Peter took a lot of her nudes when they were dating. She thought it was
because he loved her, but now she knew he did it so she wouldn’t call the cops. When she searched
Peter’s place, she found her nudes in there. Peter left a message on the photos, saying he’d upload her
photos all over the internet if she called the cops.
The message was the last straw. She knew if her nudes were released, it’d be the end of her. Marrying a
good man would be impossible then. That was why she chose to swallow it instead of calling the cops.
Helen was quiet for a long time, but in the end, she cried. “Y-You silly girl! Why did you let him do that?
You’re a girl! Your marriage will be ruined! You shouldn’t have let him take your nudes!”
Minerva was bawling as well, burying her head in her hands, regretting everything she ever did, but it
was already too late for regrets. “What should I do now, Aunt Helen? I-I don’t wanna live anymore. I
shouldn’t have dragged you into this, Aunt Helen.” She sobbed.
All the color drained from Helen’s face. “I-I have no idea either… James will divorce me if he finds out
about this. Y-You really put me in a lurch this time, Minerva.”
Minerva cried even louder. “I didn’t know it’d turn out this way! Peter’s a nice guy! A gentleman! How do
you expect me to see through his lies? I don’t understand! He’s supposed to be a gentleman! How could
he scam a lady like me?”
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