By Janiya McCray

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House of Lies is the beginning of a thriller novel that Janiya plans to complete. It speaks to love, lies, revenge, and the consequences of choices.

“Have you ever been lied to? Cheated on? How did it feel? How much did it hurt? How did you move on?” asked a woman in a chair with a pen and pad. 

“Of course, I have, why do you think I’m here? Nobody has ever loved me as much as I love him. I guess that’s why I got so attached to him. Even after all the heartbreak he has earned me, there is just something about him that won’t allow me to leave him. 

But day by day I gain more hatred for him. Wishing he would suffer the same way that I have. I’m so dumb. I could’ve been out there living a good life but instead I was too blind to see that there can be anybody out there to love me. I have lost too much dealing with him and now… Now I have nothing to lose.” I replied.

The woman cleared her throat. “Even if he has never admitted it, you are enough. I am here to talk with you about your pain and hurt. I’m here to help you control your anger.  I’m here to help you to not explode.” 

“What, so I’m just some broken animal that needs to be tamed?” I asked. 

“What no! You are Katara Rade, a girl who loved hard, so much that you decided to take matters into her own hands. Now tell me,” she asked. “What led you into this hellhole?” 

1 Year Earlier

My suspicions all started on January 1. It was Henry and I’s second year anniversary. We were so happy. 

At least that’s what I thought. 

We went out to eat at a fancy Jamaican restaurant. We sat at our table and the waiter came over and said, 

“Hello, my name is Amelia. Today I will be your waiter. Will you like anything t– wait, Henry? What are you doing here?” she said in a confused tone. 

Henry swallowed. “Oh hey, I’m..uh…on a date with my girlfriend,” he replied in a shaky voice. 

“Wow, that’s a new one. Ok what can I get started for you?” she said with an attitude. 

It was such a confusing and awkward conversation. I mean who was that girl? Henry and I never spoke of that moment. Now that I think of it…deep down in that moment I knew exactly what was going on, but I guess I just was too scared to face reality.  I told my friends about the altercation, and they just told me that it was all in my head and that Henry would never do that to me. I believed them and moved on. 

3 weeks later, I got a text from a girl named Evelyn. She sent me a tape of Henry and her… it made me so angry. I couldn’t control the anger. I started cleaning to cope with my anger, but it wasn’t enough. I was right; He had been cheating on me. After I gave him everything. 

That’s when I decided he could never get away with the pain he caused me. 

Little did Henry know, I came up with a plan to get my revenge. But the first thing that I had to do was find Amelia and Evelyn.

And so the house of lies begins…

Process

What started off as a single thought slowly turned into a scene where a woman is being interviewed after being asked the question: how far will you go for love? Janiya wanted to show the real life scenarios between couples, and in some cases, how those wronged can inevitably snap. Janiya is a pantser rather than plotter, so even though she knows how she would like House of Lies to end, she prefers to free write and allow the words to flow to her rather than outline.