The Only Exception

Epilogue

We stood behind the large, blue curtain. I could hear the muffled sounds of the speaker on the other side, but didn’t know what he was saying. I was forced into wearing a red shift dress, and a girl with auburn hair never looks good in red. I kept adjusting the long sleeves and pulling down the skirt to make sure it wasn’t showing too much leg.

“Will you stop fidgeting; you look breathtaking as always,” Trey whispered in my ear.

Trey’s brother, Tripp, smacked the back of Trey’s head, and he turned around. All three of the Chapman boys wore matching blue suits and could have been triplets, if they weren’t all a few years apart. Trigg’s wife was there in her red dress, carrying their daughter. Tripp didn’t have a wife, but Trey was permitted to bring his longtime girlfriend. It made me feel special and nervous all at the same time.

“Are we ready?” A lady came around the corner with a microphone attached to her ear.

Governor Chapman adjusted his red tie and took Mindy’s hand. “A quick prayer first?”

The lady nodded. “But make it quick.”

We all held hands in a circle. The first time I prayed with the Chapmans I couldn’t say a word and was nervous that I would mess something up. But after years of being part of their world, I finally felt comfortable in their circle.

“Dear Lord,” Governor Chapman began. “Please help to guide us on our new journey and to protect our family. All of our family.” His green eyes flickered to mine, and I shot him a wink. “Amen.”

“It’s time, governor.” The woman came back out.

The governor nodded and let his gaze fall on each one of us. “Are we ready?”

Trey squeezed my hand. I still wasn’t used to the shiny ring on my finger that he put there. I couldn’t help stare at it even longer when he squeezed my hand and brought my attention to it. “I’m ready,” I whispered to Trey before he placed a quick kiss on my forehead.

“Get a room,” Tripp whispered and then Mindy smacked the back of his head before smiling at me.

Then I heard the speaker loud and clear. “And my fellow Americans, I’d like to introduce you to your Republican nominee for president, Kirk Chapman!”

The lights were blaring as the curtains opened and Trey pulled me onto the stage. I used to hate being in the spotlight as his girlfriend, and now as the fiancé of the potential future president’s son, the lights were even brighter. But with Trey by my side, it wasn’t as bad. Nothing shone as bright to me as his green eyes did. It was like he would always tell me, there was always an exception to every circumstance. No matter how much I would be bothered by other people’s comments, I knew that my exception would always be by me. Trey was the only exception.





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To my loyal readers,

Thank you so much for picking up this book whether it was in Eformat, an EARC, or the paperback. If you pirated it...well...I guess it’s good that you like me, but really you should buy it because that supports an Indie author.

On a more serious note, there has been a lot of talk out there about heavy subject matter, like the stuff in this book, as being used as a trope for authors. I didn’t write this book because that is ‘what’s hot’ I wrote this book for the survivors of rape. The ones who have been called ‘sluts’ for wearing a short skirt at a party or that they were ‘asking for it’ because they were flirting with a guy. It seems as if some people believe that it’s the girl’s fault and this causes her to believe it is her fault, which leads to even worse consequences.

The fact is that most rapes do not get reported and most girls do not go and get help when they need it. They know it’s out there, but it’s an embarrassing and emotional situation. We have all these classes available about self-defense and when you first enter college you sit through a seminar on what women need to do to not get raped. What about teaching people not to be rapists?

I did not write this book to prove that I had a political agenda. This book is a complete work of fiction, with peppered in flakes of my own experience. I know what it’s like to be the girl at a party that wants the guy to notice her, but he ends up noticing too much of her. I wanted to show Monica’s vulnerable side after the event happened and how she was able to overcome it. The contraception bill is very real and I did my best to show both sides of that. When I first wrote this story it was very one sided, but as I did more research, I was able to see both sides of this political bill. This is not just a love story, but a story of survival.

If you or anyone you know has been in a situation like Monica’s, I want to let you know that you are not alone. Even if you get a call from the guy’s friends telling you to keep your mouth shut, you don’t need to. There are resources on campuses with student counseling services and they will direct you to where you need to go. They will help you through this. You are not alone. You are not a slut for wearing your short skirt. It doesn’t make it right for someone to take advantage of you if you’re drinking. You are a survivor and you will overcome this.

-Magan





About the Author

Magan Vernon is a Young Adult and New Adult writer who lives with her family in the insurance capital of the world. She is in a very serious, fake relationship with Adam Lambert and constantly asks her husband to wear guyliner. He still refuses. She also believes her husband is secretly an alien, disguised as a southern gentleman.





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Other Works by Magan Vernon

The My Alien Romance Series:

How to Date an Alien

How to Break up with an Alien

How to Marry an Alien

The My Paper Heart Saga:

My Paper Heart

On Paper Wings





Acknowledgements

This book was a true labor of love. I know I’ve said that before, but this one really pushed me to the breaking point.

I had a random idea that I wanted to write a book about a conservative guy and a liberal girl for years, but could never think of the perfect story. Then I watched an episode of New Girl in which Schmidt pretends to be Thugg Romney. Trey Chapman was born. But Monica...Monica was a work-in-progress from the beginning. I knew she had a past that she needed to escape and I tried to tip-toe around it, but if it wasn’t for my critique partners, this story wouldn’t have gotten the dark light it needed.

First off, I have to thank Laura Pauling for asking the questions that needed to be asked and making me not skirt around the issues. Leigh Talbert Moore, thank you for having late night political discussions with me and getting to the root of the character’s conflicts. Juliana Haygert, thank you for making sure that I didn’t keep changing character’s names and keeping it real in the New Adult genre. Kelly Viel, my alpha reader, thank you for making Monica’s actions a little bit more real and keeping Trey grounded in reality as well. Chelsea M. Cameron, what would I do without you? You are my rock in all things New Adult. Karen Hooper, thanks for keeping me sane in all things writing and putting me in my place when I needed it.

To The Indelibles, thank you for supporting me when I went out on a limb and wrote a political New Adult that may have hit on some tropes of the genre, but did them in a way that none of you cringed at me.

Regina Wamba, at Mae I Design, I know how hard it was for us to stare at hot pictures all day, but I think your cover really gets the full “panty dropping” and politicalness that I was going for.

Marcie at Looking Glass Editing, thank you for taking on this project when no one else would. I came to you saying that I had something controversial and you rolled up your sleeves and said “heck yeah!”

Lizzy Seeberg, we never met. I only know your story and after reading it in the Huffington Post and the rude comments that followed, it gave me the courage I needed to finish this book.

To the remarkable organizations that help women in Monica’s position every day: Slut Walk Chicago, RAINN, Students Active for Ending Rape, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, and Illinois State’s Student Counseling Services. Thank you for helping all of the survivors.

Last but not least, to my wonderful family. Tim, you are truly the love of my life who was there for me during my darkest times and showed me there is a light at the end of the tunnel. You are more swoon worthy than Trey Chapman and will always be my hero. Olivia and Claire, you don’t appreciate mommy writing right now, but I write these books for you. Because someday I want you to look up to awesome heroines and not just color on all of mommy’s books.