My best friend, divorced and looking for a fresh start, moved to the city to live with me. For three years, I covered everything. Food, rent, you name it. I split my clothes, my jewelry, my handbags right down the middle with her. We were inseparable. Even my boyfriend couldn't help but tease me. "Seven out of ten dates, and you bring your best friend along." "What's next? Is she going to be part of the dowry when we get married?" My friend, Lena, playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm like her second mom. Of course I have to keep an eye on you, make sure you're not mistreating my darling Cici." The three of us would laugh and roughhouse like that, a happy little tangle of limbs. With a soulmate and a loving partner by my side, I felt truly blessed. Until the day before my wedding, when I stumbled upon a viral post. [She used to be the one looking down on me, handing out her charity.] [Now, it's finally my turn to pity her. I'm letting her have the man.] The accompanying photo was of my boyfriend, Alex, hanging wedding decorations in our new home. … Just two days ago, the three of us were setting up the apartment. Lena was folding red paper lanterns, chattering away about all the things I needed to prepare for the wedding day. Suddenly, her voice cracked. "Cici, after the wedding, I'm moving south." "It'll be so hard to see each other..." Her eyes were red, as if she were a mother sending her own daughter off, filled with a genuine sadness and reluctance. Alex, who was taping decorations to the wall, paused. He turned and gave us a long, searching look, a hint of melancholy in his own expression. Lena grabbed a handful of confetti and tossed it at him playfully. "If you ever dare to hurt Cici, I'll never forgive you." Alex, usually a neat freak, didn't even get annoyed. He just bent down to clean up the mess, his voice muffled. "If her 'second mom' is that worried, why don't you just stay in the city?" "You can have my downtown apartment, rent-free. That way you can supervise me whenever you want, and my Cici won't be so sad." Lena’s eyes lit up instantly. She shot me a hesitant glance. "I don't know... that's a huge condo. The rent is at least three thousand a month. And after you're married, it'll be part of Cici's assets." I was ecstatic. I completely missed the flicker of resentment in Lena's tone. She was the older sister I never had, living next door since we were kids. In high school, when a bully took a pair of scissors to my hair, Lena grabbed the nearest stick and charged. When my first love cheated on me at twenty, Lena slapped him so hard his ear bled. We couldn't afford the settlement, so she spent five days in a holding cell for assault. When she got out, the first thing she did was comfort me. "Cici, you're such a pushover. What are you going to do if your husband bullies you after you get married?" "Then we just won't get married. We'll buy a big house together, get a cat, and when we're old, we'll sit on a park bench and sip bubble tea." That’s why, when I started dating Alex, Lena resented him for ruining our retirement plan. And Alex constantly complained about how much of my time she took up. They were always at each other's throats, sniping and bickering, sometimes getting so worked up their faces would turn red. I was always the one in the middle, trying to smooth things over. So when Alex suddenly seemed to understand how much I didn't want Lena to move so far away, and even supported us staying close, I was overjoyed. I grabbed her hand, my voice bubbling with excitement. "That's perfect! That apartment is just a short drive from our place! We can have our cat-cuddling, binge-watching nights again!" "Well... in that case, I'll stay. Someone has to make sure Alex doesn't have a secret mistress stashed away somewhere." At that moment, Lena and Alex exchanged a look, the corners of their mouths twitching upwards. They both smiled at me. And I see it now. They were laughing at me. At my wholehearted, foolish trust. But… Lena? How could it be Lena? When my ex cheated on me, she was the one who was the most heartbroken for me. She stayed up all night, listening to me cry, doing everything she could to make me smile. My fingertips were numb as I scrolled through the post. A lot of the comments were tearing her apart, calling her a shameless backstabber. But she replied. [She deserves it.] [When we were kids, she was the one trailing after me, eating my snacks, wearing my hand-me-down dresses.] [Now that she's landed a rich guy, she's always tossing me her cast-offs, acting all high and mighty with her charity. It makes me sick.] Lena had always struggled financially, but she refused any money or expensive gifts from me. I remember one day, Alex and I picked her up from work and overheard her coworkers mocking her for wearing the same few outfits on rotation. After that, whenever we went shopping, I would secretly take note of the things she lingered on. Then I’d buy them, cut off the tags, and remove the packaging. Lena, these don't really suit me. Can you do me a favor and take them off my hands? So that’s what she thought it was. Charity. The tone of the comments shifted. [OMG, the audacity!] [Girl, I support you. Steal her man. And when you're done with him, toss him back.] [How'd you do it? Teach me your ways!] Lena replied with a string of thank yous and winking emojis. [At first, I felt bad. I just wanted to test him, see if he was reliable enough for her.] [He was pretty standoffish in the beginning, but that just made me want him more.] [The other night, my 'best friend' had a high fever. I deliberately wore her nightgown and walked around the living room. When her boyfriend came out with a glass of water and saw me, his ears turned bright red.] [Let's just say the difference between an A-cup and a D-cup is… significant.] [I won't go into details. But let's just say, while my best friend was sleeping in the bedroom, he and I were busy in the living room. All. Night. Long.] I remembered waking up that morning, my fever broken. Lena was slumped by my bed, mumbling about how sore her back was. I had scolded Alex for sleeping soundly while Lena stayed up all night taking care of me. Lena had just laughed. "Don't be too hard on him. He was… working pretty hard last night too… taking care of you. You're going to be so happy with him." It felt like a thousand steel needles were being driven into my heart, over and over again. Twelve years of friendship, and only now did I see her second face. All her blessings and well wishes were just a cover for her betrayal. The comment section was going wild. [Damn girl, you're a genius! Her boyfriend got a serious upgrade.] [How did your friend land a rich guy with that body anyway?] [But wait, isn't he scared she'll find out?] Lena replied with more smug emojis. [Of course he is. Terrified.] [That's why he gave me a credit card with a ten-thousand-dollar monthly limit. Hush money.] [The funniest part is, I told my 'friend' that all rich men have mistresses. The idiot would never in a million years guess that I'm the one spending her boyfriend's money.] [But I think… I think he's actually falling for me.] [It used to be just sex. Now he secretly asks me to keep him company when he works late. He'll fly for hours just to eat at some hole-in-the-wall place with me.] [The other day, he even said he wished he had met me sooner. That if he had, I'd be the one trying on a wedding dress right now.] A tidal wave of humiliation and pain crashed over me, threatening to drown me. I stumbled into the bathroom. I stood under the shower, letting the cold water pour over me, again and again, but I couldn't calm the storm inside. Through a daze, I heard Alex calling my name. He burst in, his face a mask of panic, and swept me into his arms. I was a ragdoll, my soul sucked out of me. I let him numbly strip off my drenched clothes, carefully towel me dry, and wrap me tightly in layers of blankets. "Cici, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" His words of concern were the final straw. The tears came, a hot, endless torrent. The moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the photo of us on the nightstand. I had been studying in Germany. The day I arrived, my luggage and passport were stolen. The police were useless. When Alex found out, he jumped on the first flight out, and didn't leave my side until everything was sorted. No matter when, no matter where, he had said, if you need me, I'll be there. I asked myself again and again. How could it be him? The man who would tilt the umbrella so I wouldn't get wet, who set all his passwords to our anniversary dates, who whispered my name in his sleep. How could he turn around and offer that same tenderness to someone else? Alex’s family had never liked me. So he worked himself to the bone, networking, taking on extra projects, humbling himself to secure deals. After he landed the last big contract, he held me all night, his voice hoarse with excitement. "Cici, they finally said yes. I can finally, finally make you my wife." Tomorrow is my wedding. The invitations are sent. The venue is booked. The wedding dress Lena helped me pick is hanging in the closet. The jewelry Alex gave me is on the vanity. Everything is ready. My best friend. And the man I love most in the world. Together, they plunged a knife deep into my heart. I pushed him away and stood up, walking into the closet to find the torn nightgown that Lena had worn. "If you're not feeling well, just rest. Tell me what you need, I'll get it…" Alex followed me, stepping in front of me to block my path. But when he saw what I was holding, the words died in his throat. He was close. So close I could see his pupils contract, could see the flicker of panic in his eyes. I stared at his pale face, holding the nightgown up against my body. "Is it pretty?" He forced a strained smile, trying to act casual. "It's beautiful. My Cici looks beautiful in anything." "But… that one seems to be a little torn. We should just throw it out. I'll buy you a new one." "Yes. Torn. And dirty. Dirty things should be thrown out." He froze, his hand hovering in the air, his body trembling so hard he couldn't even look at me. I laughed, a soft, chilling sound. "Alex, why are you so nervous?" "Are you dirty too?" "No… I'm not!" His voice cracked, rising in pitch. He immediately realized his mistake and fell silent, then dropped to one knee in front of me. His face was filled with a sincerity I had never seen before. "Cici, is it because of the wedding tomorrow? Are you just nervous and overthinking things?" "We've worked so hard for this, for so long. How could I ever do anything to hurt you?" "When we first got together, I made a vow. If Alex Jennings ever does anything to wrong Cici Evans, may he be punished by losing her forever." "You know me. Losing you… that would be worse than death." We stayed like that, me standing, him kneeling, our eyes locked. The air was thick, silent. Until a ding broke the spell. Both our phones lit up with a new notification. Lena had updated her post. [What do I do? I really don't want to hurt my best friend.] [But I can't help it. I'm prettier than her, I have a better body, I'm more independent. Why should she get the good guy?] [If this gets a thousand likes, I'm going to him tonight and demanding an answer.] Less than ten minutes later, the post had over ten thousand likes. Almost everyone was cheering her on. [They're not married yet, what's the big deal?] [Go for it, girl! You have to fight for your own happiness! Don't live with regrets.] [I'll bet you $100 he chooses you tonight. I'll even venmo one lucky commenter as a wedding gift for you!] I turned off my screen. And met Alex's hesitant, uncertain gaze. He opened his mouth, his voice barely a whisper. "Cici, I… I have to go out for a bit. Something came up. I'll be back soon, okay? Will you wait for me?" I nodded. I even gave him a small, faint smile. So he wouldn't suspect a thing. The initial gut-wrenching pain had faded into a dull numbness, and now, it was all just… absurd. This man, who I once couldn't bear to be apart from for a second, now made my skin crawl. Every moment in his presence felt suffocating. He left, looking back every few steps. The moment he was gone, I started packing. As I was booking my flight, Lena shared a new photo on her post. Two hands, fingers intertwined, resting on the bright red silk of our marital bed. [We've decided not to call off the wedding tomorrow. We're worried my friend will get emotional and do something stupid. She can be a bit of a drama queen (lol).] [He promised that if we're still in love a year from now, he'll divorce her.] [But he doesn't want me to feel slighted. So tonight, our wedding night, belongs to just the two of us.] [I'm so happy right now, hehe.] I remembered when we first got the new bed for the apartment. Lena had accidentally spilled a single drop of juice on the sheets. Alex had flown into a rage, immediately throwing them out and buying a new set. Everything in our new home, he'd said, has to be perfect. Not a single smudge. And now, he was in that bed with her.
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