The Last Lie We Told - Chapter #6 - Free To Read

The phone won’t stop buzzing.

Every time I turn it on, another cryptic message appears on the screen. Another warning. Another riddle that I don’t know how to solve.

“Your stepsister has always hated you. Are you ready to find out why?”

I don’t know what that means, and I don’t know why it makes my stomach churn. But I do know one thing—if I want answers, I have to dig deeper.

And I know exactly where to start.

Jason’s phone.

The opportunity comes the next day at school. Jason is in the locker room, and his phone is sitting unattended on the cafeteria table.

I hesitate for half a second. Then I grab it.

I glance around quickly. No one is paying attention. I take a deep breath, swipe the screen, and…

It’s locked.

Of course it is.

But when I try Savannah’s birthday—January 14th—the screen unlocks instantly.

My stomach drops.

I navigate to his messages, scrolling past random conversations until I find her name.

Savannah.

I tap it, and the conversation unfolds before me.

At first, it’s nothing. Flirty texts. Late-night messages. Plans to meet up.

But then—

I scroll further, and my heart stops.

Savannah: She’s so easy to manipulate, it’s almost sad.

Jason: You’re messed up, you know that?

Savannah: You knew what this was. You were never the goal.

Jason: Then what was the point of this?

Savannah: Hurting her, obviously.

The room spins. Savannah never wanted Jason. She just wanted to hurt me.

I clutch the phone so tightly my fingers ache. My vision blurs, my pulse pounds in my ears.

This wasn’t about love. This wasn’t even about Jason. This was about me. And I don’t even know why.

I don’t wait for Savannah to find me. I go looking for her.

I find her in the girls’ bathroom, reapplying lip gloss in the mirror like she doesn’t have a single care in the world.

She catches my reflection in the glass and smirks. “Well, well. You’re like a walking zombie, you know that?”

I slam Jason’s phone onto the sink. “I know what you did.”

Her smirk doesn’t waver. “You’re going to have to be more specific, sweetheart.”

My hands shake. “You never wanted Jason.”

She sighs dramatically. “Took you long enough.”

Anger surges through me. “Why, Savannah?”

She turns to face me fully, her blue eyes cold and calculating. “You really don’t know?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be asking,” I snap.

She tilts her head, like she’s genuinely fascinated by my ignorance. “You took something from me first.”

I freeze.

“What are you talking about?” I demand.

Savannah’s lips curl. “You think you’re the victim, Layla. That’s adorable.”

I glare at her. “Just tell me what I did.”

Her smile fades, and for the first time, something flickers in her expression. Something dark.

“You were born,” she says simply.

My breath catches in my throat.

“What?”

She leans closer. “You stole everything from me before I even had a chance. Mom. Dad. The perfect family. And I had to stand there and watch while you played the innocent little daughter, while I was nothing but the extra piece in your perfect life.”

My stomach twists. “That’s not true,” I whisper.

She laughs. “Oh, sweetheart. It is. And now we’re even.”

Even.

Like this was some kind of game.

Like breaking my heart, ruining my relationship, and humiliating me in front of the entire school was just her way of settling an old score.

I take a shaky step back. “You’re sick.”

Savannah shrugs. “Maybe.”

I shake my head. “I hate you.”

She doesn’t even blink. “That’s the difference between us, Layla. I’ve always hated you.”

Something inside me cracks. I turn and walk away before I do something I’ll regret.

Noah finds me sitting on the bleachers later that evening, staring blankly at the football field.

He doesn’t say anything at first. He just sits next to me, close enough that our shoulders brush.

“You look like you just survived a war,” he finally says.

I let out a hollow laugh. “Maybe I did.”

He studies me for a moment. “You found something, didn’t you?”

I nod slowly. “It was never about Jason. She just wanted to hurt me.”

Noah exhales. “Savannah is cruel, Layla. You know that.”

I shake my head. “I just… I don’t get it. What did I do that was so bad?”

Noah is quiet for a long time. Then, softly, he says, “You existed.”

The words hit harder than they should.

I bite my lip, trying to hold back the sting of tears. “She won.”

“No, she didn’t.”

I let out a bitter laugh. “It sure feels like she did.”

Noah shifts closer. “She wanted to break you.” His voice is low, firm. “And you’re still here.”

I blink at him.

He’s looking at me like I’m something rare. Something valuable.

Something worth saving.

My heart clenches.

“You deserve better than all of this,” he murmurs.