The Sweetest Revenge

I just knew I was going to have a terrible birthday. From the moment I woke up, things had been going downhill. First, my coffee machine broke, leaving me caffeine-deprived and grumpy. Then the sky turned an ominous shade of grey, as if the weather wanted to rain on my parade. I could feel that gut feeling—like the universe was holding its breath, waiting to see what would go wrong next. I couldn't shake the feeling that today wasn't just going to be bad—it was going to be catastrophic. I opened i********: for my daily dose of mind-numbing videos, hoping for cute puppies or funny pranks to distract myself. Then the first thing I saw when I opened the app was Jake's face. Of course. His perfectly chiseled jaw, once charming, now made me want to hurl my phone across the room. But instead, I tapped on the post, my stomach twisting in knots. There he was, standing next to Celine—the kind of girl I could never be. Her soft blonde waves framed a face that probably never saw a bad day. She wore an irritatingly bridal white dress, and the way she clung to Jake made me feel like it was only a matter of time before they got married. Then I saw the caption: "Engaged to the love of my life. Can't wait to start this next chapter with you." Engaged. That word hit me like a train. We’d been broken up for two months, and somehow, in that short span, he was ready to marry someone else. Memories came rushing back—our late-night talks, the plans we made, the promises that clearly meant nothing to him. He had dropped hints about marriage, especially in those last few months, and now, he was ready to start a new chapter with someone else. How long had they even been together? I blinked back tears, my brain calculating how fast he must have moved on. My hand trembled as I scrolled down to the comments. A flurry of congratulations flooded the page. People cheered for them like it was some fairy tale and not the cruel reality that had blindsided me. The words felt like daggers. "So happy for you guys! You're perfect together! Finally!" Finally? Like I was some temporary obstacle in the way of Jake's real happiness. I should've stopped there. I should've put my phone down, gone for a walk, anything but this self-inflicted torture. But I couldn’t look away. That’s when I noticed the second post: a close-up of Jake and Celine holding something. My heart stuttered as I realized it was a tiny baby onesie. "Three months along and counting!" Three months? My world tilted, and a wave of nausea hit me like a punch to the gut. Three months meant they had gotten pregnant while Jake and I were still together. That bastard. Had he been seeing her behind my back? Was I just a placeholder while he secretly built this perfect life with Celine? I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. Jake hadn't just moved on—he'd bulldozed through our relationship and built something new on the ruins without a second thought. All those months mourning us, he’d been starting over. Starting a family. That was supposed to be our family. I wanted to scream. To smash something. Instead, I just sat there, the weight of it all pressing down on me, suffocating. Then it hit me. He posted this today—my birthday. He knew what today was and chose to share that. I dropped my phone onto my bed and pressed my palms into my eyes, trying to hold back the tears. How could he? Had he been seeing her while we were still together? I didn’t want to think about it, but the pieces were falling into place. Jake wasn’t just moving on; he had moved on fast enough to build an entirely new life with someone else. Someone else that wasn't me. A bitter laugh escaped my lips. It wasn’t just my birthday or the engagement or the pregnancy that stung—it was how easy it all seemed for him. Like what we had never really mattered. I glanced around my room. It still held remnants of Jake—the books we picked out at that used bookstore, the coffee mug he left behind. I still had photos of us, even the furniture we had chosen together. I hated that I hadn’t gotten rid of these things. They taunted me with memories of what could have been. I dragged myself to the mirror and caught my reflection. Puffy eyes, tear-streaked cheeks, and auburn hair that looked like it had been through a windstorm. I wasn’t a mess, but standing there, I felt like one. Jake had no right to be happy after everything, yet here I was—still tangled in memories of us, still trying to figure out how to heal. The unfairness of it all gnawed at me. Why was I left alone, dealing with this emotional wreckage? My phone buzzed from where I'd dropped it, and I snatched it up, ready to throw it if it was another algorithm-suggested post about "healing." But it wasn’t. It was Sophie's daily "U up?" text. I dialed her number instead of replying. She picked up on the second ring. "Hey, Birthday girl!" she said, her voice cheerful as always, blissfully unaware of the emotional tornado I was caught in. "I just saw Jake's engagement post," I blurted out. "And they're three months pregnant, Sophie. Three months." My voice cracked, and the tears began to spill over. "And they posted it today..." There was a pause on the other end. "Wait, what? He's engaged? And... pregnant?" The disbelief in her voice was a small comfort. "Yeah," I said bitterly. "I don't even know what to think. It's like everything we had was just... a lie." Sophie sighed. "Emma, I know this is hard. But maybe this is a sign to let go. You deserve better than someone who would move on like that, especially if he was seeing her while you two were still together." The word deserve hung in the air between us. I wanted to believe her. Sophie was always the level-headed one, but right now, I didn’t want to hear about what I deserved. I wanted to scream. More than anything, I wanted Jake to feel the same gut-wrenching betrayal I was feeling. "I just can't believe he's so happy. He didn't even skip a beat," I muttered, staring at the photo again. "And here I am, still single, still stuck." "You're not stuck," Sophie insisted. "You just need time. This doesn’t mean you won't find someone." Her words were meant to comfort me, but instead, they lit a spark. I didn’t want to wait anymore. I didn’t want Jake to win—to be the one who moved on first while I was left picking up the pieces. "What if I prove him wrong?" I said suddenly. "What do you mean?" Sophie asked, cautious. "I mean... what if I show him that I'm fine, too? That I've moved on? I could— I don't know, start dating someone seriously." The plan began to take shape, and the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. "Emma..." "I'm serious. I could stage it. Make him think I'm in this great relationship." Sophie groaned. "You know these things always blow up in movies, right?" "Yeah, well, this isn't a movie. It's my life. And I'm tired of feeling left behind." There was a brief silence before Sophie broke it with a smirk in her voice. "So, what's your plan? Swipe through Tinder or hope some guy offers to help at the hardware store?" I laughed. She knew all the tricks, especially with her dating history. But then a sudden noise from outside grabbed my attention. I looked across the street at The Java Jive, the bustling restaurant filled with laughter and clinking dishes. An idea sparked in my mind. I remembered who works there—someone who might be just the person to help me pull this off. "I might have an idea."