Chapter 3

"Alright, I'll whip up a bowl of noodles for our little birthday princess. Gotta make sure you have good luck," Amara said.

With that, she turned and walked off.

Diego pulled me down onto the couch. "I'll go check on her. She's so clumsy. I swear she'll blow up the kitchen if I don't keep an eye on her."

That dream kept haunting me, feeling more real than ever before, until a sudden scream snapped me out of it.

I rushed into the kitchen and saw Diego grabbing Amara's hand, holding it under the faucet to cool the burn.

"It's just noodles. How did you manage to get yourself burned?" Diego frowned, his voice full of concern and tenderness. "Does it hurt? No. I'm taking you to the hospital."

When Amara saw me, her cheeks flushed and she quickly pulled her hand away, hiding it behind her back. "Esther, your noodles are ready."

"Noodles? You're this badly burned and you're still worried about noodles?" Diego muttered.

I walked over and took her hand. It was all red and swollen. "Does it hurt?"

"Come on, with hands like hers, of course it hurts. She's always so clumsy," Diego chimed in.

Amara, cheeks flushed with embarrassment and annoyance, yanked her hand back and slapped his shoulder.

Her fingers accidentally brushed the corner of his mouth. Diego stiffened.

Amara, her cheeks still flushed, turned to grab the bowl of noodles, but let out a sharp hiss as the heat burned her again, almost dropping the bowl.

Diego finally snapped. "Are you nuts? You're already hurt, and you're still trying to do things."

Then he spun toward me, sounding urgent. "Esther, I need to take her to the hospital. She got hurt making your noodles. I can't let her really mess up her hand."

I nodded numbly, watching as they half-guided, half-dragged each other out the door.

As the door closed behind them, memories from our childhood suddenly came rushing back.

Amara's dad got framed, and their company was drowning in debt, on the verge of going under.

My dad pulled every string he could, hustling for cash from all over, and somehow managed to pull their family back from the brink.

That was when I brought Amara to live with me. We ate together, slept together, and were as close as real sisters.

Even Diego used to complain that I was always taking her side.

"She needs me more than anyone right now. Why are you stirring things up?" I snapped at Diego back then.

Amara hugged me, sobbing uncontrollably, and swore, "From now on, you're my number one. If anyone ever messes with you, I'll go to war for you."

But I never imagined that the person she'd go all out against would be me.

Staring at that bowl of noodles, all mushy and clumped together, my stomach twisted and I started dry heaving.

I was so drowsy, kept retching, and felt totally weak. Still, I dragged myself downstairs to buy a pregnancy test.

Turns out, everything from that dream was real after all.

A cold chill swept through my whole body.

Normally, if someone close to me ever hurt me, I'd call them out and give them hell.

But this time, it was different. It was like the universe couldn't stand it anymore and was sending me a warning.

My phone buzzed.

Diego texted me: [She's in the hospital and needs someone with her. I won't be coming home tonight.]

So he was really not coming home tonight.

Amara had her own family, but he still decided to stay by her side instead of coming back to me.

Wow, he was really pulling out all the stops for her.

So when did they start seeing each other?

I grabbed my phone and dug through both of their social media posts, refusing to give up until I finally uncovered Amara's secret account.

There were hundreds of posts, each one laying out their entire love story.

The very first update was from three years ago.

The picture showed two hands intertwined, and the watch on one wrist. It was the one I'd given Diego.

The caption said: [The one I love most. If only we could be together forever.]

Three years ago? I remembered now.

That was when I hurt my leg and had to stay home for two months.

Diego hugged me, looking guilty, and said he had to go on a business trip for half a month. Turns out, he was spending that time at the beach with Amara.

I kept scrolling.

There were photos of them hugging, kissing, and having candlelit dinners together. They'd been keeping this secret from me for three whole years.

Then, a picture of a ring hit me like a punch to the gut.

I recognized that ring instantly. It was the one Diego used when he proposed to me.

The caption said: [This happiness should've been mine, but my best friend snatched it away. Go ahead and cry. It's fine. I'll make him mine before you do.]

The comments were all about hyping her up and dragging me through the mud.

The top comment said: [You're way too nice. Someone like her doesn't deserve to be your friend. She shouldn't even exist.]

Amara hit like on that one.

Someone asked: [If you two really love each other, how could your bestie snatch him from you?]

She replied: [But she liked him too, and since she saved my life, I owed her big time. So I had to let her have him, even though it killed me inside.

[The three of us grew up together, and he always said I was the only one he cared about. He even let me try on the wedding dress she designed before anyone else.

[He told me I looked stunning in it, and he couldn't stop kissing me, saying it felt like I was the bride.]

Wait, the wedding dress?