And that’s when I realized Malcolm’s master plan. He’s calling in reinforcements. His mom, my sister, probably planning to get our mutual friends involved, too. He thinks if enough people tell me to forgive him, I’ll crack under the pressure and go back to being his doormat girlfriend.
What Malcolm doesn’t understand is that I’m not the same person who apologized after his last joke. I’m not the girl who blamed herself when he flirted with my sister. I’ve been planning something since Sunday and it’s almost ready. He wants to play games and involve other people. Perfect.
Duke can play that game, but he’s not going to like my version nearly as much as his own.
Tuesday is going to be very interesting.
Second update. I am shaking with rage right now, but also kind of impressed with how this all played out. So, remember Malcolm’s mom wanting to grab coffee? Well, that was just the beginning of his master manipulation plan involving both our families.
Saturday morning, I’m at Target buying groceries when my phone rings. It’s my mom. She sounds worried and asks if I’m okay because she just got off the phone with Malcolm’s mother. Apparently, Malcolm told his parents that I’m going through some kind of mental health crisis and refusing to communicate about our relationship problems.
I explain the whole party situation to my mom. The kiss with Sabrina, the filming, the group chat messages, everything. My mom listens and then gets pissed. She tells me Malcolm’s mom painted a completely different picture where I had a jealousyfueled breakdown over innocent socializing and now I’m punishing Malcolm with cruel silence.
My mom immediately calls Malcolm’s mom back. I can hear both sides of this conversation because my mom put it on speaker. Malcolm’s mom starts with how concerned she is about my emotional state and how Malcolm is devastated that I won’t even discuss working through our problems.
My mom cuts her off and explains what actually happened at that party. The public humiliation, the deliberate kissing, the friends chanting and filming my reaction.
Malcolm’s mom goes quiet for a long moment, then says,
“That’s not the story Malcolm told them at all.”
According to Malcolm’s version, I got irrationally jealous when his ex showed up at the party. I caused a huge scene over him being polite to her, then stormed out dramatically when he gave her a friendly hug goodbye. His friends were laughing at my overreaction, not participating in any humiliation. The Instagram posts were just him blowing off steam after I refused to answer his calls.
My mom is incredulous. She asked Malcolm’s mom if she really believes her son would lie about something this serious. There’s this long pause. Then Malcolm’s mom says she trusts her son. And maybe there’s two sides to every story.
That’s when my mom loses it. She tells Malcolm’s mom that if her son thinks public humiliation is appropriate relationship behavior, then maybe she failed as a parent, that any mother who defends her adult son kissing other women in front of his girlfriend clearly raised him to disrespect women.
Malcolm’s mom hangs up on her.
Sunday afternoon gets even worse. My dad calls and says Malcolm showed up at our house wanting to talk to him manto man about the situation. My dad was working in the garage and Malcolm just appeared there uninvited, acting all respectful and concerned.
Malcolm told my dad that I’ve been struggling with jealousy and trust issues for months, that he’s been trying to be patient and understanding, but I’ve gotten increasingly controlling about his friendships with women. The party incident was just me finally snapping over normal social interaction.
My dad, who doesn’t know the full story yet, listens politely as Malcolm explains how much he loves me and wants to work through my insecurities together, how he’s willing to go to coup’s counseling and do whatever it takes to help me feel more secure in our relationship.
Then Malcolm asks my dad to talk to me about giving their relationship another chance. says he knows I respect my father’s opinion and might listen to him when I won’t listen to anyone else.
My dad tells Malcolm he’ll think about it and get back to him.
After Malcolm leaves, my dad calls me confused about why Malcolm seems so genuine and concerned if he really did what I described. I drive over to my parents house immediately, sit down with both of them and tell the entire story from beginning to end. The months of boundary testing, the deliberate flirting, the kiss with Sabrina while his friends filmed, the group chat messages bragging about putting me in my place.
My dad’s expression changes completely as I’m talking. By the time I finish, he’s furious that Malcolm came to their house and lied directly to his face. My mom shows him the screenshot Celeste forwarded from the group chat. My dad reads Malcolm calling me a psycho girlfriend and saying I’ll come crawling back and he completely loses his [ __ ]
He calls Malcolm immediately and puts it on speaker. Malcolm answers all cheerful thinking my dad is calling to help convince me. My dad cuts right to the point and asks Malcolm to explain the group chat messages about putting me in my place.
Malcolm stutters for a second, then claims those were just guy talk and didn’t mean anything serious. That men exaggerate in group chats to sound tough, but it’s not how they really feel. He says he was hurt and venting to his friends after I walked out on him.
My dad asks about the video of him kissing Sabrina. Malcolm claims it was just a quick friendly kiss that looked worse on camera than it actually was, that his friends were drunk and being idiots with their commentary, but he can’t control what other people say or do.
Then my dad asks the question that breaks everything wide open. He asks Malcolm why he lied about what happened when he came to their house. Why he told a completely different story that made me look jealous and unstable instead of admitting he kissed another woman.
Malcolm gets defensive immediately. He says he was trying to protect my reputation by not telling my parents how badly I overreacted, that he didn’t want them to think less of me for causing such a dramatic scene over nothing.
My dad tells Malcolm that lying to my parents to manipulate them into pressuring me is not protecting my reputation. It’s manipulative [ __ ] that any man who would humiliate his girlfriend publicly then lie to her family about it is not welcome in their house ever again.
Malcolm starts arguing that my dad doesn’t understand the full context and that I’ve been telling a one-sided story that if my dad really knew how controlling and jealous I’d become, he’d understand why Malcolm was at his breaking point.
That’s when my dad completely unleashes on him. Tells Malcolm that even if everything he claimed was true. Kissing another woman in front of your girlfriend is never acceptable relationship behavior. that real men break up with women they’re unhappy with instead of publicly humiliating them for entertainment.
Malcolm tries to interrupt, but my dad cuts him off. Says that lying to parents to manipulate their daughter shows exactly what kind of character Malcolm has. That any man who would do that is a coward who can’t face the consequences of his own actions.
The call ends with my dad telling Malcolm never to contact our family again and hanging up on him.
Then I wake up to 31 text messages from Malcolm. And guys, this man has completely lost his [ __ ] mind. The messages start around 2:00 a.m. and continue until 6:00 a.m. Pure stream of consciousness desperation.
“Your parents have completely turned against me now thanks to your lies.”
“I never lied to your dad.”
“I was trying to spare your feelings.”
“You’re destroying everything good we had together over one stupid mistake.”
“I’m losing my mind without you and can’t eat or sleep.”
“Everyone I care about is choosing your side without hearing mine.”
But then around 4:00 a.m. the messages take a darker turn.
“You’ve made me look like a monster to both our families.”
“I trusted you with everything and you’re using it all against me.”
“Two years of my life completely wasted because you can’t forgive one mistake.”
“I don’t even recognize who you’ve become.”
The final message at 6:00 a.m. just says,
“I’m not giving up on us no matter what you do.”
