CHAPTER 1 : BETRAYAL
Elizabeth Stone had rehearsed this moment all week. She never imagined it would become the worst day of her life.
He had never disrespected her once nor had he ever asked for anything outrageous.
Andrew Agresta was all she could ever wish for.
Elizabeth smiled as she adjusted the gift bag in her hands. Tonight she was going to break the promise she'd kept for the past 5 years.
She strolled into a lingerie store and bought a sexy two-piece, then headed to his apartment.
Imagining his reaction towards her surprise made her giggle.
~•"
On getting to his apartment, she didn't notice the car parked in his garage or the weird looks the neighbors gave her because of her excitement. Opening the door, she saw the mess in the living room.
A pair of red heels had been kicked across the room—an odd contrast to the apartment's colour-blocking interior—a hand bag and underwear were thrown in different directions.
The weird noises coming from the room were enough evidence of what was going on and what the couple were doing.
Then the perfume…
It smelt so familiar but she knew it wasn't hers nor Andrew's.
Taking slow steps to the master bedroom, she refused to believe what she heard; after all, seeing is believing.
Elizabeth's eyes widened as she stood frozen in the doorway, her gaze fixed on the scene unfolding before her.
The door, slightly ajar, had afforded her a glimpse of the truth she'd been desperately trying to deny.
As she watched, her anger gave way to a chilling sense of reality, and her heart slowly turned cold.
Elizabeth never expected this to happen; she believed that stuff like this only happened in novels, and that Andrew would never cheat on her. She stared at the door, her hands trembling as she tightened her grip on the gift bag.
She scoffed as she pushed the door harshly, interrupting the moment of the people in the room.
Despite being short-sighted, she could recognize the side view of her best friend, Penelope Garcia.
Both of them separated immediately.
Andrew looked shocked, different emotions flickered across his face before settling into indifference.
"What are you doing here?" he questioned, pulling the covers over himself and Penelope.
Elizabeth's face didn't reveal her true emotions. Instead, she smiled,
"Can't I come to my boyfriend's apartment anymore? Oh, sorry, my fiancé." She hissed sarcastically.
----------------
He wasn't remorseful, but rather, he asked her what she was doing at his apartment.
All the time she had been there, Penelope hadn't said a word, making her wonder if she was mute or something.
Turning her head slightly, she stared at Penelope with questions in her ocean-blue eyes.
"I never expected this from you, though." Bowing her head slightly, tears dropped slowly from Penelope's eyes. She looked so innocent Elizabeth almost wanted to believe it.
"Lizzy, I didn't mean to do this. I…..I never wanted this to happen. I wanted to tell you when it started, but I didn't know how to."
"I never wanted to destroy your relationship. I kept my feelings to myself because I didn't want to be the reason for your sorrow.
" I'm sorry; please forgive me?" she said, crying her eyes out.
"It was all my fault. I knew he was your boyfriend, but I still had feelings for him. Please forgive me, Lizzy."
"I...I never wanted this," she hiccuped.
Hidden beneath the curtains of her hair, a smirk threatened to slip, a total contrast to her tears.
Elizabeth stayed still and stared at her so-called best friend. Her hands tightened into fist as they hung by her sides, her hold on the wine in the gift bag getting stronger by the minute.
They had been friends since kindergarten, while she had met Andrew in college.
She had known Penelope far longer than she'd known Andrew.
They had clicked the moment they met; even their parents were friends.
Elizabeth thought they understood each other well enough.
She scoffed, "Right now, you look so pitiful, Penelope."
After her parents' death, Penelope's parents had asked her to stay with them, but because she didn't want to feel like a burden, she refused and only allowed them to sponsor her education.
Reminiscing about all their memories together, she couldn't understand what had changed in Penelope to make her act like this.
Andrew's roar snapped her back to the present.
Pain gripped her lungs till she couldn't breathe.
"She did nothing wrong; I was the one who went to her. She gave me everything you couldn't offer and more.
"She could help me build my career, but what can you do?
"Nothing," Andrew roared.
"Maybe you were sleeping with your sugar dadd—"
PAHH!
The slap cracked through the room like a whip.
Andrew froze, shock flaring across his face as his cheek reddened.
For a second, the entire room held its breath. Even Penelope, half-covered by the sheets, recoiled, her shoulders curling in as though she could fold herself out of the moment.
Elizabeth's hand trembled, but her voice didn't.
"That's for disrespecting me," she said quietly,
"And for cheating on me with my best friend."
Andrew's shock twisted into fury.
"HOW. DARE. YOU?"
He tried to rise, but the sheets tangled around his legs, leaving him panting, humiliated, and angrier.
Penelope's breath hitched. She had never seen him like this—never seen this sharp, ugly edge beneath his charm.
After 5 years together, Elizabeth had never either.
"I see," Andrew spat, his chest heaving.
He ran both hands through his hair several times.
"You now dare to slap me, Liz?"
She swallowed, her heartbeat loud in her ears, but she didn't back down.
"I'll ask you just one thing, Andrew."
"Why? After all these years… were you pretending?"
"I never pretended," he snapped, bitterness frothing in his voice.
"But you, where were you when I needed you?!! Always busy!"
"Always making excuses. Penelope was there for me every single time you weren't."
Penelope shrank even further, panic staining her features.
"You never understood my needs or our relationship," Andrew continued.
"You were always so busy. Doing what, exactly? Nothing."
Elizabeth's jaw tightened. The pain hit her chest like a fist, sharp and breath-stealing.
Andrew inhaled sharply, anger pushing him further.
"And you know what? No matter what you do, I have stopped loving you, Elizabeth Stone."
Her breath caught—but she didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her break.
Elizabeth turned, hand on the door handle. Andrew opened his mouth again, ready to throw more poison, but she didn't bother listening.
Instead, she looked over her shoulder just once and said,
"Happy birthday, Andrew Agresta. Enjoy the wine."
She placed the gifts on the table, then walked out.
And this time, she didn't look back.
*~*▪︎"
With heavy limbs she staggered out the gate into the streets. She didn't know which direction she was heading, and she didn't care.
Elizabeth stared at the ring which had once symbolized her future now sitting heavily on her finger. Slowly, she removed the ring, tossing it into the trash.
The betrayal hadn't left her angry; it had simply cleared her out.
Every plan, every shared joke, and every memory had been scraped away, leaving a hollow, permanent quiet where her life used to be.
The sounds of moving vehicles and the laughter from passing students bounced off the emptiness of her mind like rain striking a thick window pane—close enough to see, but impossible to feel.
The mid-afternoon sun beat down, painting the city in a cruel, golden brightness that she could see but couldn't warm her.
After walking aimlessly for hours, she eventually arrived at the largest bar in the city.
Elizabeth had never been to a bar before; she was usually either at work or at home with Andrew or Penelope. Her entire life had been spent surrounded by those two.
She decided to enter the bar, and she walked in absentmindedly, bumping into someone.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking," she said half-heartedly.
The stranger shook his head, wondering what a beautiful lady like her would be thinking to look so disoriented.
After apologizing, she turned to the entrance and went in, deciding to get wasted. She preferred having a one-night stand than sleeping with that b*****d.
As she stood at the entrance, frozen in a mix of disgust and confusion, she couldn't help but wonder;
'What did I do wrong?' She thought to herself, unable to understand why he could do something so repulsive, so disgusting, and still manage to feel so non-chalant about it.
His expression, his demeanor, everything about him seemed so calm, so collected, as if he had simply accomplished something mundane, like tying his shoes or making a cup of coffee.
Elizabeth stood lost in thought, the crystal chandeliers reflected off polished marble floors a contrast to the bleakness of her mental state.
And then she remembered where she knew the perfume, without warning, a memory almost totally forgotten flashed through her mind——
It was a fleeting glimpse of a moment from her past, a moment she had long suppressed, hidden deep beneath the surface of her conscious mind. But now, as she stood there, it came rushing back, vivid and alive, like a whispered secret in her ear.
Elizabeth's mind wandered back to a day that seemed insignificant at the time but now felt like a pivotal moment in her life. It was a memory that was two months old, but it felt like just yesterday.
**"Flashback
Two months earlier, Andrew and Penelope had walked into Elizabeth's office, practically glowing.
"Liz, guess what? We have news," Andrew announced, his grin stretched wide, excitement buzzing off him.
Penelope nudged him with an exasperated smile.
"Andrew's being dramatic. As usual."
Elizabeth chuckled, spinning lightly in her chair to face them.
"All right, dramatic boy. Tell me. What's the big surprise?"
Andrew drew in a breath, as if bracing himself for a reaction.
"Penelope and I… we're going out."
Elizabeth's eyes had widened—then softened into a genuine smile.
"That's amazing! I'm happy for you. Really."
She had meant it. Back then, she truly had.
Andrew, Penelope, and Elizabeth had been inseparable since college—a trio that balanced perfectly. The kind of friendship built on shared pizza nights, cramming for finals together, and holding each other through heartbreaks.
Their lives had been woven tightly together.
So when Andrew and Penelope grew closer, Elizabeth never questioned it.
It made sense.
Or at least… it had seemed like it did.
At the time, she'd simply been relieved to see two of her favorite people smiling.
But now, replaying that moment in her mind, the puzzle shifted. Details she once overlooked slotted into place with painful clarity—the quick glances they thought she didn't notice, the inside jokes whispered between them, the way conversations would abruptly stop when she walked into a room.
Still… she had trusted them.
The crack in that trust came later, the night Andrew visited her apartment.
He'd hugged her tightly, almost too tightly.
And in that hug, she smelled it; Penelope's perfume.
Not faint. Drenched. Like he'd walked through a cloud of it… or someone.
Elizabeth had stiffened.
When she pulled back, she saw it; a smear of bold red lipstick on his collar.
Not hers. She rarely wore anything brighter than nude gloss.
Her heart had stumbled in her chest.
But she'd swallowed the rising fear, forcing a shaky smile.
Don't overthink it.
Don't assume the worst.
Andrew would never hurt you.
That lie sat heavy, like a stone she swallowed willingly.
She said nothing.
Pretended nothing.
Moved on as if her world hadn't tilted a little to the left.
But doubt, once planted, grows quietly and aggressively.
Looking back now, Elizabeth saw the truth clearly.
She hadn't been naive.
She had been hopeful—and hope had betrayed her far more cruelly than either of them ever could.
Elizabeth had never wanted her parents more than she did tonight.
The day they died in that terrible fire, she had been too young—too innocent to understand anything beyond the finality of them not coming back.
Tonight, that same helplessness wrapped cold fingers around her chest.
How she wished they were here.
She staggered toward the counter, her voice barely steady.
"Vodka."
"How many shots, miss?"
She gave a hollow laugh.
"Keep pouring."
One shot became two. Two became five. She lost count quickly, chasing a numbness she never quite reached.
A humorless laugh escaped her.
"Truly..." she whispered, bitterness coating every word.
"Love is blind."