Chapter 1

• Maya’s heels clicked against the pavement as she clutched the small, wrapped gift and approached Luke's house. She could hardly keep her excitement contained. It was Luke's birthday, and she’d spent the whole week planning a surprise for him. She imagined the look on his face when he saw her. They had been dating for three years, and today felt like a noteworthy milestone. Maybe, she thought with a hopeful smile, he’d finally pop the question.
• Maya brushed a hand over her dress, adjusting it and smoothing out imaginary wrinkles. She had chosen her favorite blue dress, the one Luke had once said that brought out her eyes. Her heart raced with anticipation as she pulled out the spare key he’d given her for “emergencies.” Indeed, a surprise visit counted, right?
• Carefully, Maya inserted the key and unlocked the door, pushing it open quietly. She stepped inside, surprised by the silence. The house felt different somehow, as if it wasn’t expecting her. But Maya brushed the feeling aside, focusing instead on her excitement.
• As she moved inside, she noticed something odd on the floor: a man’s shirt and a woman’s red blouse. Her stomach twisted. Luke had no female roommates or a sister who could casually leave her clothes lying around. A pair of heels, not her own, sat nearby. Her hands tightened around the gift box, her heart hammering in her chest as an uneasy feeling crept over her.
• “No,” she whispered, refusing to let her thoughts run wild. There had to be a logical explanation.
• But as she made her way down the hallway, she heard a faint noise coming from the bedroom—laughter mixed with soft murmurs. Her heart dropped, each step heavier than the last as she neared the bedroom door. The sounds grew clearer and unmistakable. Her worst fears were gaining shape, raw, and vivid.
• With trembling hands, Maya turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. The sight before her felt like a blow, knocking the air out of her lungs.
• There was Luke, tangled up with another woman. Not just any woman. It was Claire. Her best friend. The person she trusted most in the world after Luke. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn’t even notice her standing there, frozen, until she dropped the gift box.
• The noise of it hitting the floor jolted them both, and they turned to look at her, their eyes wide with shock.
• "Maya!" Luke scrambled to sit up, pulling the sheet around him as though it could hide the truth. His face was a mixture of guilt and panic. "This... This isn’t what it looks like!"
• Maya laughed a bitter sound that cut through the silence like a knife. “Not what it looks like? Luke? Then please enlighten me. Tell me what this is if it’s not what it looks like.”
• Still covering herself with a corner of the sheet, Claire dared to look up at her. “Maya... I... I’m so sorry,” she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.
• “Sorry?” Maya’s voice shook with anger and pain. Her hands clenched into fists as she struggled to hold back tears. “Sorry, it doesn’t even begin to cover this, Claire. You were my best friend. You knew everything about us. About our plans, our dreams… How could you?”
• Claire lowered her head, unable to meet Maya’s gaze. “I... I don’t know. It just happened.”
• “It just happened?” Maya repeated, her voice rising. “That’s your excuse? You betrayed me, both of you, and all you can say is that it just happened?”
• Luke got up, still trying to cover himself, and stepped toward her. “Maya, please. We can talk about this. Let me explain.”
• “Explain?” Maya shook her head, stepping back away from him. “There’s nothing to explain. I can see perfectly well what’s going on here.” Her voice broke, and she could feel the hot sting of tears forming in her eyes. She refused to let them fall. Not here, not in front of them.
• Luke reached out, desperation etched across his face. “Please, Maya. Don’t go. I... I made a mistake. But it doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”
• She laughed again, a hollow sound. “Love? Do you call this love? You were the one person I trusted with everything, Luke. I thought you cared about me, about us. But I was wrong. I was so wrong.”
• He took another step toward her, and she took another step back, holding up a hand to stop him. “Don’t. Don’t come any closer.”
• Claire looked up, her eyes pleading. “Maya, please... I never meant to hurt you.”
• Maya’s gaze shifted to Claire, her best friend, the person she’d shared many memories with—all the times they’d spent laughing, supporting each other, confiding secrets. And now, here they were—her boyfriend and her best friend, both of them tearing her heart to shreds.
• “I don’t even know who you are anymore,” Maya said, her voice a mix of heartbreak and fury. “I trusted you, Claire. I loved you like a sister. And this… This is how you repay me?”
• “Maya, please,” Claire whispered, tears streaming down her face. “I was weak. I don’t know what came over me.”
• “Weak?” Maya spat out the word, her voice trembling. “Weakness doesn’t excuse betrayal.”
• She felt a surge of anger, one she couldn’t contain. Without thinking, she picked up the gift she had brought for Luke, the one she had spent hours choosing, wrapping, and making perfect. She threw it at them, the box bouncing off the bed and landing on the floor.
• “Here,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Happy birthday, Luke. Enjoy it with her.”
• With that, she turned and ran out of the room, out of the house, out of the life she’d thought she knew. The cool night air hit her as she stumbled down the steps, her vision blurred by tears. She kept walking, her mind racing, her heart shattered. How could they? How could the two people she loved most do this to her?
• She didn’t know how long she walked or where she was going. All she knew was that she needed to get away, far away from the lies, the betrayal, the pain. She wiped at her tears, anger still simmering within her.
• After what felt like hours, she stopped, finally allowing herself to feel the total weight of her heartbreak. Her phone buzzed in her bag, and she saw Luke’s name flash on the screen. She ignored it, letting it ring. Then came a text, his desperate words appearing one by one, begging her to return to talk.
• But there was nothing left to say. She had seen enough, heard enough. Any explanation he gave would only dig the knife deeper. She let out a shaky breath, staring up at the sky. The stars blinked back at her, indifferently mocking her heartbreak.
• Taking a deep breath, Maya whispered to herself, “I will get through this. They don’t deserve my tears, my pain.” She wiped her cheeks, straightening herself. She wasn’t going to let them destroy her. She was more substantial than this.
• With one last look at her phone, she blocked Luke’s number, then Claire’s. It was over.