Chapter 1
Just before I went to sleep, I came across a post: "What kind of life counts as totally messed up?"
The top-voted comment was:
"So, my best friend's boyfriend pretended to be broke for nine years. She spent all that time living in a rental, and he kept saying their relationship was totally Platonic—never even touched her."
"But he gives me at least $300,000 a month. Now we've even got a kid together."
"Honestly, I'm just too soft-hearted. I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth, afraid she'd break down."
The post was accompanied by a photo of two hands intertwined.
My heart skipped a beat. That guy had the exact same mole on his hand as my boyfriend.
I scrolled down to the comments—everyone was tearing her apart.
She just picked one at random to reply to.
"The real third wheel is the one who's not loved. Tonight, her boyfriend found another excuse to come over and spend the night with me."
The photo showed Richard sitting on the couch.
I felt like I'd been thrown into an ice bath, my whole body trembling uncontrollably.
Richard had told me he was going on a business trip for a week.
*****
I called him on video, my voice trembling with nerves I didn't even realize I had.
"Richard, where are you?" I asked.
He smiled gently.
"Miss me? I'm on a business trip," he said.
But the background behind him was identical to the one in that photo.
I forced a smile.
"It's nothing," I said.
After I hung up, tears streamed down my face.
Since I'm the one he doesn't love, I won't stick around where I'm not wanted.
I'm stepping out of this relationship for good.
After I hung up, Richard's messages came in a flurry.
"Why did you hang up without saying anything?"
"What happened? You looked upset just now."
I didn't reply to any of them. I just put my phone on silent and buried myself under the covers, crying my eyes out.
In the middle of the night, I heard the sound of the door unlocking.
The bedroom door was flung open, and Richard rushed in, his face full of worry.
Emily, my best friend, followed right behind him.
He gently wiped the tears from my eyes and pulled me into his arms.
But he still carried the scent of Emily's favorite perfume on him.
"Why are your eyes all red from crying? What happened?" he asked.
I dodged his question.
"I thought you were out of town for work. Why are you back so fast?" I asked, my voice barely steady.
His hand paused on my back, and Emily jumped in.
"Richard was just in the next city. The moment he felt something was off with you, he bought a ticket and rushed back—dragged me along for the ride, too," Emily added with a little grin.
Richard nodded.
"Hey, I really have to say something here. How could you just ignore all my messages? I dropped everything at work and rushed back, and Emily even came over with her pregnant belly," he said.
I froze.
Emily never told me she was pregnant.
"I didn't even know she was pregnant. How did you find out before me? Don't tell me that baby's yours?" I blurted out.
I didn't even know what nerve I touched, but Richard suddenly shoved me away.
My head hit the headboard with a dull thud.
But instead of checking if I was okay, he just started blaming me.
"We've been together for nine years, and Emily's been your friend for even longer. Is that really how you see us?" he snapped.
I let out a cold laugh and pulled up that post again.
"So, what do you have to say about this?" I demanded.
"Wow, so your business trip turned into a sleepover with her?" I shot back.
I was getting more worked up, my voice rising without me even realizing it.
When Richard saw the post, his face went pale for a moment.
"She's your best friend. I only took extra care of her lately because of you," Richard said, sounding defensive.
Emily stepped forward, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at me.
"Sophia, this is all on me I just thought, you know, even bad publicity is still publicity, so I left that comment I never thought you'd actually see it" she said, her voice trembling.
I shot her a mocking look.
"You never even told me you had a boyfriend—so where did that baby come from?" I sneered.
Panic flickered across her face.
"You're mad at me for hiding it from you, aren't you?" Emily said, her voice shaky.
"I was terrified anyone would find out I got pregnant before getting married," she whispered.
"So the only person I told was my boyfriend."
Seeing I wasn't moved, she suddenly threw herself forward, ramming her pregnant belly against the edge of the bed.
"If you don't believe me, then I don't want this baby anymore!" Emily wailed.
Blood ran down her legs, turning the floor red.
Richard's face went pale as he rushed to catch her, frantically dialing 911.
After carefully settling Emily down, he stood up and slapped me hard across the face.
My ears were ringing from the slap.
"Sophia, why are you so jealous? Do you really need to watch your best friend kill her own child right in front of you—is that what you want?" Richard shouted.
"Don't think I don't know—you've been jealous of Emily since you were kids. She always outshines you in everything, and yet she still wanted to be your friend. Shouldn't you be thankful for that?" he snapped.
I covered my face, my eyes red as I looked at him.
"Richard, do you really think I'm that worthless?" I asked, my voice trembling.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Emily's cries interrupted him.
"Richard, it hurts so much" Emily whimpered.
He dropped to his knees beside her, gently wiping the cold sweat from Emily's forehead.
"Emily's better than you at everything," he spat.
"So what if Emily got pregnant before marriage? At least she didn't hook up with her stepbrother! At least she's not as disgusting as you—so filthy I can't even bring myself to touch you!" he yelled.