when Forever Breaks
1166 Words
The apartment was dark when Skylar stumbled in, but she didn’t bother with the lights.
Her fingers shook as she slammed the door behind her, her back pressing against it as if she needed the wooden barrier to keep her from collapsing completely. Her chest heaved, lungs fighting for air that refused to fill them.
The images wouldn’t stop.
Henry’s lips on Rose’s skin. His hands gripping her the way he once held Skylar. Rose’s face—her best friend’s face—flushed with pleasure.
A broken sound tore from Skylar’s throat, half sob, half scream, before she slid down to the floor, curling in on herself. Her shopping bags, filled with the dreams she had picked out just hours ago, sat abandoned in the corner. The crystal plates, the lingerie, the small tokens of love—all of them mocked her now.
Tears blurred her vision until she saw nothing but darkness. She pressed her palms against her eyes as if she could erase the memories by force.
This can’t be real. This can’t be happening.
For two years, she had given Henry everything—her time, her loyalty, her trust. She had defended him when her friends whispered that he was too good to be true. She had turned a blind eye to his late nights, his secretive phone calls, his absences, because she believed in him. Because she believed in them.
And Rose—God, Rose.
Her maid of honor. Her sister in everything but blood. The one person who knew every detail of her relationship with Henry, who had listened to Skylar’s fears, her dreams, her plans for the future. Rose had helped her pick out her wedding dress. Rose had toasted to her happiness. Rose had sworn she’d always have her back.
Skylar choked on another sob. “Why?” she whispered into the empty apartment. “Why would you do this to me?”
Her phone buzzed on the coffee table, its screen lighting up the dark room. Henry’s name.
Skylar stared at it, her breath caught in her throat. Her fingers twitched toward it, then stopped.
She couldn’t. She couldn’t hear his voice. Not now. Not when the sound of his groans over Rose still rang in her ears.
The phone stopped buzzing, leaving her in silence. Then it started again. And again. And again.
Henry.
Rose.
Her mother.
Even her father’s name flashed across the screen. They must have heard something—maybe Henry had told them, maybe Rose had spun her story first.
Skylar grabbed the phone and hurled it across the room. It hit the wall with a c***k, falling to the carpet face down.
The silence that followed was worse than the noise.
She crawled onto the couch, hugging her knees to her chest. Her tears soaked into her blouse, her sobs shaking her fragile frame.
How could two years end like this?
Two years of late-night talks, of Henry whispering “I love you” against her hair, of promises and dreams. Two years of waiting, of forgiving his busyness, of imagining their future together.
Had it all been a lie?
Her mind twisted with questions she didn’t want answers to. Was he always with her? Was Rose the reason he was late so often? How long had they been laughing at me behind my back?
The pain was unbearable, but the disbelief was worse.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw them again. Every time she tried to breathe, she heard Rose’s laughter, Henry’s voice murmuring the same words he had once said to her.
Skylar curled tighter, rocking herself like a child trying to escape a nightmare.
Her body trembled. Her soul felt like it had been split wide open.
---
Hours passed, though she lost track of time. The night bled into morning, and still she sat in the same spot, her body aching from the position, her eyes swollen and raw.
She hadn’t eaten. She hadn’t slept. She hadn’t moved.
Her phone lit up again in the corner of the room, cracked but still alive. Dozens of missed calls. Dozens of unread messages.
Her mother: Skylar, what’s wrong? Henry says you left upset. Please call me.
Her father: Sweetheart, we’re worried. Don’t shut us out.
Rose: Skylar, please, you don’t understand. It was a mistake. Please talk to me.
Henry: I can explain. Don’t end this over one mistake. Please, baby, I love you.
Skylar’s stomach twisted so violently she thought she might be sick.
A mistake.
That was what they were calling it.
Her entire world, her future, her dignity—shattered in one night—and they called it a mistake.
Her parents would expect answers. Her relatives had already booked flights for the wedding. The venue was paid for. The invitations were sent. How was she supposed to tell them there would be no wedding? That the groom was in bed with her best friend?
She buried her face in her hands. God, what am I going to do?
For a fleeting second, her heart betrayed her. A whisper of hope slid into her thoughts. What if it was just once? What if he regrets it? What if I forgive him?
But the moment she thought of forgiveness, Rose’s face flashed in her mind. Rose’s lips on Henry’s. Rose’s betrayal, deliberate and cruel.
“No.” The word broke out of her like a growl. “I could never forgive her.”
Maybe she could forgive Henry someday. Maybe love could bend that far. But Rose? The one she had trusted like a sister? The one who had stolen the most precious thing from her?
Never.
Her tears started anew, rolling down her cheeks, hot and endless.
She thought of her mother’s face, glowing with pride when Skylar had shown her the engagement ring. She thought of her father’s booming laughter when he had clapped Henry on the shoulder and said, “Take care of my daughter, boy.”
What would she tell them?
That she was a fool? That she wasn’t good enough to keep Henry’s attention? That her best friend had been closer to him than she ever realized?
The shame was unbearable.
She wanted to disappear. To lock herself in this apartment forever and never face the world again.
---
The hours crawled. The sun rose higher, streaming into her apartment, but it only made her misery more visible. She caught her reflection in the glass window and barely recognized herself.
Her eyes were red and swollen, her skin pale, her hair tangled. She looked nothing like the radiant bride-to-be she had been just yesterday.
Her chest ached with every breath.
She pressed her forehead against the cold glass, whispering to the city below, “What did I do to deserve this? Wasn’t I good enough?”
Her voice cracked, but there was no answer. Only silence.
And in that silence, Skylar Perry realized that her life, as she knew it, had ended.
- Writer
