A Friend's Betrayal
I clenched my phone so tightly my fingers ached, Lily's last message blurring before my eyes.
"Celeste, you should understand. Bianca has a point. Maybe it's best to just let it go."
A hollow pit opened in my chest. Let it go? Let her go? My best friend—the one person who was supposed to stand by me—had chosen her side. I stared at the screen, willing the words to change, for some kind of explanation to appear. But the silence that followed was deafening.
My breath hitched. I called her. Once. Twice. Three times. No answer.
I stormed out of my apartment, my heart pounding, my thoughts a whirlwind of emotions. Betrayal. Disbelief. Fury. The cold night air bit into my skin, but I barely felt it. Lily needed to look me in the eyes and tell me why. Why she had turned against me when I needed her the most.
The coffee shop where we always met was just a few blocks away. Every step forward taunted me with memories—laughter, whispered secrets, promises that now felt like lies. And then I saw them through the glass window.
Lily sat across from Bianca, their heads close, their expressions relaxed. A slow, creeping realization settled over me. This wasn't a misunderstanding. This wasn't a mistake. This was planned.
Heat burned through me. I shoved the door open, the bell overhead jangling violently. Heads turned. I didn't care.
"Lily?" My voice cracked, but the anger was unmistakable.
She looked up, her expression freezing. I wasn't sure what I expected—guilt, shame, hesitation. Instead, there was only discomfort. As if I was the inconvenience.
"Celeste," she said evenly.
Bianca smirked, stirring her coffee lazily, her manicured nails clicking against the ceramic. "Took you long enough."
My hands curled into fists. "So this is what we're doing now? Meeting up behind my back?"
Lily sighed, setting down her cup. "Celeste, don't make this dramatic."
"Dramatic?" A bitter laugh bubbled up. "You were my best friend. And now you're sitting here, sipping coffee with the person who has spent months making my life hell."
Lily shifted, exchanging a glance with Bianca. "Look, maybe Bianca isn't as bad as you think. You always assume the worst."
I took a step closer, my whole body trembling. "Are you seriously defending her? After everything she's done? After she humiliated me, lied about me, made me feel like garbage?"
Bianca leaned forward, a slow smile curling her lips. "Oh, come on, Celeste. You always play the victim. Maybe you should consider that not everyone sees you as the innocent little angel you pretend to be."
Something inside me snapped.
"I don't pretend to be anything, Bianca. But I did think Lily was my friend." I turned to Lily, my voice quieter now, almost desperate. "Tell me. Tell me that she's twisting things. That this isn't what it looks like."
Lily hesitated. And in that hesitation, I had my answer.
My stomach churned. "Wow. Just… wow."
She sighed. "Celeste, I just—I don't want to be caught in the middle anymore. Bianca has connections. She can help me in ways you can't."
The words hit like a slap. "So it was never about friendship, was it? Just what I could offer you?"
She didn't deny it.
Bianca chuckled under her breath. "Poor Celeste. Always so naive."
The walls of the coffee shop felt like they were closing in. My pulse roared in my ears. I wanted to scream, to throw something, to shake Lily until she remembered who we used to be. But I did none of those things.
I just walked away.
Each step outside felt heavier, like dragging my own shattered pieces behind me. The cold air hit my face, but it did nothing to numb the ache in my chest. Lily was supposed to be my safe place, the one who knew me better than anyone. And now, she was just another name on the list of people who had let me down.
Tears blurred my vision, but I refused to let them fall. Not yet. Not in front of them.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. A stupid part of me hoped it was Lily, that she had come to her senses.
But it wasn't.
It was a message from an unknown number.
"You trusted the wrong person. You should have seen this coming."
My breath caught. My fingers trembled as I typed back.
Who is this?
No response.
A shiver crept down my spine, unease and rage twisting in my gut.
This wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
And if they thought I was just going to disappear quietly, they were dead wrong.